Some favourite toys you had as a child

For 1949 Christmas I received a bone china doll, as things were still in short supply my mother and aunt looked all over many toy shops to buy me the doll, which I still have.

My second eldest brother was a merchant seaman and on a stop in Greece when I was aged 11 he bought me a doll dressed in Greek National dress, I also still have this doll.
 

When I was very young I loved playing with my doll house and other dolls and I loved my Howdy Doody marionette. I never really learned how to work the strings but I would tuck the top piece in the side of the piano bench which was the perfect height for him to stand up,at that point I could move the different strings without getting them all tangled up.
In my early teens I got a microscope that was advertised on the Mr. Wizard show. I spent hours looking at bug parts.
Then came the paint by number kits and my Jon Nagy learn to draw kit.
On a Joyce Meyer prog. she mentions that the first TV show she watched was Howdy Doody, now I know what it is, thanks, but what sort of marionette was it? I'm always wanting to learn. ☺
 
@Treacle this is an image of the exact Howdy Doody marionette I had. As you can see the strings can get pretty tangled up. That's why I put the top part between the seat of the piano bench. Once up I could move the different strings to move his legs and arms move,of course I couldn't make him walk but I still had a lot of fun playing with him.hoody 1.jpghoody 1.jpghoody2.jpg
 
Don't mean to be a downer but growing up in poverty toys were not part of what we got. Thankfully neighborhood kids shared what they got so many of the toys mentioned we played with too.
It was the same for us. We didn't have toys. I had a spinning top, which was my only toy for quite awhile. I did get a hula hoop and yo-yo, but I was around 10 before I got a pair of metal roller skates which I used so much, the wheels wore down (actual holes). Dad used to bring home second-hand board games from the Veteran's store. Pieces were missing, but we made do with what there was. My younger brother (by 7 yrs) had lots of toys.
 
Have you noticed how poorly-made and chintzy the modern versions of our favorite old toys are?

Pick-up Stix used to be made of wood. Now they're plastic sticks and very hard to play with.

TinkerToys were all wood. Mostly plastic now and you can't get the parts to stay together.

Lincoln Logs are junk.

Jacks were metal but they're plastic now.

And so on...… Poor kids today, they get frustrated trying to play with this junk.
 
Have you noticed how poorly-made and chintzy the modern versions of our favorite old toys are?

Pick-up Stix used to be made of wood. Now they're plastic sticks and very hard to play with.

TinkerToys were all wood. Mostly plastic now and you can't get the parts to stay together.

Lincoln Logs are junk.

Jacks were metal but they're plastic now.

And so on...… Poor kids today, they get frustrated trying to play with this junk.
It's all garbage, right down to the reduced in size board games.
 
Did anyone mention Mr. Potato Head? Remember, you had to wheedle a large potato from your mom, as the toy only came with the body parts.

The big problem is that the potato often ended up under the couch or the bed or in the toy boy and in a few days...….PEE-YEWWWWWWWW...… nothing smells worse than a rotten potato.
I remember when Mr. Potato Head came with a large plastic potato head, along with all of the parts... eyebrows, lips, etc.

As for the smell of potatoes gone bad, OMG, the worst!
 
It was the same for us. We didn't have toys. I had a spinning top, which was my only toy for quite awhile. I did get a hula hoop and yo-yo, but I was around 10 before I got a pair of metal roller skates which I used so much, the wheels wore down (actual holes). Dad used to bring home second-hand board games from the Veteran's store. Pieces were missing, but we made do with what there was. My younger brother (by 7 yrs) had lots of toys.
So sad Knight and Pinky. We were lucky because my grandparents raised us and we would get donations from our local council and neighbours who felt sorry for us although we had to share between the four of us. Sending you both a virtual toy from the past and it's not Mr Potato head !!!!! 🤗
 
It's all garbage, right down to the reduced in size board games.
I didn't know that.. the classic toys aren't the same quality as they were when we were children? :(
As my grandkids live in a different part of the country, ordering gifts and having the gifts delivered to them means I don't get to see the items. I hate to think they're substandard quality!!! :(
 
No kidding. I bought a Chutes and Ladders game for the little'uns and the board is so small, you can hardly fit the pieces on the spots. The kids get frustrated from the pieces getting moved around.
I can totally see that happening.

I am so glad I hung onto all of my old board games.
 
So sad Knight and Pinky. We were lucky because my grandparents raised us and we would get donations from our local council and neighbours who felt sorry for us although we had to share between the four of us. Sending you both a virtual toy from the past and it's not Mr Potato head !!!!! 🤗
Thank you, Treacle :)
 
I didn't know that.. the classic toys aren't the same quality as they were when we were children? :(
As my grandkids live in a different part of the country, ordering gifts and having the gifts delivered to them means I don't get to see the items. I hate to think they're substandard quality!!! :(
Not anywhere near, no even close.
 
The most fun me and my 2 older sisters had, was making a "house" out of a refrigerator box. They cut windows and hung curtains from scrap fabric Mom had left over from sewing clothes for people.
I remember my son when he was 6, we bought him a Peg Perego ride on but he enjoyed playing with the box more than riding the truck. 😄 I guess all kids are wired that way.
 
We used to play marbles at school and roll them into drains that had holes ?, different marbles had different values. We never wore gloves and picked them up with our hands. How I live to tell the tale confounds me !!!!!!!!! 🤔
 

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My best friend, Jimmy Collins, lived at the end of my street. He was an only child, so he had lots of toys. He was a quiet, generous boy. He gave me marbles to play with the rest of the boys..to their chagrin, because I was so good, I won most of the time. He also sold me his old bicycle for $5 .. the only bike I had. I rode it into the ground :LOL:
 
We used to play marbles at school and roll them into drains that had holes ?, different marbles had different values. We never wore gloves and picked them up with our hands. How I live to tell the tale confounds me !!!!!!!!! 🤔
I remember the big bucket of marbles we had! Baby brother had collected hundreds upon hundreds!
 


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