Real toys - before computers were thought of! (Favourite Childhood Toys)

Member Name: SusanLesley

Product:	Favourite Childhood Toys
Date:	11/11/08 (286 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great fun and happy memories

Disadvantages: Some of them aren't about any more

I have read quite a few of these reviews on people's 10 favourite childhood toys and I thought it was about time I had a go, as mine will be a fair bit older than most of them! I am almost 54 after all!

These are in no particular order of preference as my number one favourite depended on my mood at the time!

Lego

Now I am talking about REAL Lego, not the boxes that you buy these days which have the specific bricks to build just one model. In my day - the 1960's - we had a set of basic bricks and made models using our imagination. The bricks were either red or white and had one, two, four, six or eight pips on the top and there were grey base plates which must have been about 20 by 30 pips or something like that.

My grandmother would often buy me a little box of bricks to add to my collection and I ended up with a big boxful - I wish I had kept them! LOL! I remember when the first Lego light came out. It was a tiny bulb set inside a clear brick and it had two wires which you had to attach to a large battery that had two metal prongs on the top!

I loved playing Lego with my dad as he could build really good models for me!

Sindy

This was my first doll that looked like a teenager rather than a baby. My Sindy came in jeans and a stripy top and she had auburn hair like me. I really liked this as most of the dolls at the time were blond.

I had lots of outfits for her and I won her sister Patch and her boyfriend Paul and some outfits for all of them in a competition. I also had knitting patterns to knit extra clothes for them. As I was an only child until I was 11 Sindy was a real friend to me and went everywhere with me.

Tressy

This was another teenage type doll but she really was state of the art - her hair grew! You had to press a button on her tummy and a pull a section of her hair and she grew a pony tail. To return her hair to a short style there was a key to put into a hole in her back and turn to wind the hair back in.

She came with shampoo and hair styling products and a book of hair styles that could be done with her hair at various lengths.

Whot

This one was a card game that I used to play with mom and dad. They were the sort of parents that always had time for us and played with us.

The Whot cards looked like normal playing cards but had numbers and shapes on them so you would have crosses numbered one to twelve, squares numbered one to twelve etc. I think there were about 6 or 8 different shapes. The idea was that you were dealt about seven cards and the first person to get rid of their cards won. You could play a card of the same number or the same shape as the card on the table. If the 3 of triangles was showing and it was your turn you could play either any triangle or any number 3 thus changing the 'suit'. There were also 2 or 3 Whot cards which could be played at any time.

Monopoly

I am not going to explain Monopoly here - you all know what it is. I loved the game, in fact I still do, and mom, dad and I played it a lot! I didn't find out until I was in my 30's that mom had never liked the game. She had played all those times with me and never told me, bless her!

Sorry

This is another board game and is basically a version of Ludo played with cards rather than dice. The cards were numbered one to twelve (I think). Numbers one and two would get a man out of home to start his circuit of the board; two would get you another go! Number four would be moved backwards and number seven could be split between two or more men. These instructions were all written on the cards.

A simple enough game but I always enjoyed playing it.

Draughts

Now this one is a standing family joke! I used to play draughts a lot with my dad. He would make a move and let me think I was winning by taking his piece and it would set him up to take two or three of mine! Mom would say, 'Oh Jim, she's only a child, let her win' but dad would say. 'No, when she beats me she'll know she's done it on her own merits!' I beat him once in my life! At least I knew he didn't LET me win! LOL!

Seriously though mom and dad would never let me win just because I was a child. They may have helped me along here and there but they never let me know. I appreciate this - I don't agree with people letting children win at games all the while as it doesn't prepare them for real life.

Colouring books

This is a simple one. I loved having a new colouring book and some crayons or felt pens at Christmas. My mom and my auntie would always have a go as well! In fact I think I might ask Father Christmas if he still has some ..........

Washing Machine

When I was about 7 I had a little washing machine. Now, to get the idea of this you need to know that, in those days, mom used a washing machine (Hoover I think) which was about waist height and square across the top. The wringer came off and was stored inside the machine when not in use. It was electric and the washing was done, wrung through the wringer, rinsed in the sink and then put in the separate spin dryer.

My little washing machine was a replica of moms and it actually worked. Of course it wasn't electric but it had a handle on the back which turned the agitator inside the machine. It meant I could really wash my dolls clothes and handkerchiefs! It wouldn't take anything bigger than that!

Iron

Now I am REALLY going back into history with this one! When I was little my grandmother was still living in a house with no running water or electricity - the toilet was at the bottom of the yard and washing was done in the brew house out in the yard too.

The ironing was done with the old flat irons heated up on the range in the kitchen. I had my own little flat iron (in fact I still have it) and mom would heat it up so that I could use it and I used to iron my grandfather's handkerchiefs for him!

So there you are, my ten favourite toys, and I bet some of them are a bit before your time!

Writing this has brought back some lovely memories though!

Summary: Happy days!