Friday, March 7, 2008

Everything Old is New Again

My parents saved a lot of my brother’s and my toys from when we were kids. Well, to be honest, they probably would have rather not saved as much as they did, but they subscribed to the “pick your battles” philosophy and assumed it would be just as easy to let us pack up 4000 toys and stick them in the attic for a few years.

They probably didn’t bank on moving to a new house and having to cart all these boxes across town, but they did it and still have some boxes of my childhood treasures lurking in the corners of their home.

Recently my daughter has gotten into Barbies. She probably would have liked them sooner, but I was reluctant to be the designated Barbie dresser so I tried to hold out until I thought she could do the dressing herself.

The new Barbie interest prompted me to look for my old Barbies. The search led Craig into our attic first where he was unsuccessful at unearthing Barbies, but he found my stash of old Matchbox cars. K and M happily sorted through the cars, each claiming certain models as their own for some seemingly arbitrary reason. It has been fun watching them enjoy the same cars that I did as a kid.

The Barbie search concluded at my parents’ house, where my Dad located a rather large box full of Barbie regalia as well as other miscellaneous stuff that I’d chosen to stuff in the same box.

M was beside herself with excitement at inheriting so many Barbie dolls, clothes and furniture. She immediately sat down to play.

My old Barbie dolls are a little worse for wear. One doll’s torso has a tendency to separate from her legs. Another’s arm routinely falls off. A poor Ken doll has the unfortunate habit of losing his head at random times. But they still have a lot of life in them. To M, they are new, and made even more exciting because she knows her Mommy used to play with the same dolls. They will engage in new adventures in the hands of my little girl. That, in itself, is worth saving.

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I remember reading Highlights Magazine as a kid while waiting in the doctor’s office. Who doesn’t? Wouldn’t it be fun to share this blast from the past with our kids? Write a post today about the things you used to do as a kid that you’re now doing with your kids and send your link to the Parent Blogger’s Network and you could win one of 5 subscriptions to either Highlights or High Five Magazine.

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Don Mills Diva said...

That is so great. Almost makes me want to save everything of Graham's...almost.

Courtney said...

I found your Blog on the Parent Bloggers' site, and I loved reading about your hunt for Barbie. When my Girlie(s) gets a little older, I am prepared to hand over my beloved dolls...I'm just hoping she starts her infatuation a little later than I did.

Sandy said...

That is so cool! Just today I was watching a kid play with an old Chewbacca (from Star Wars) playset and thought to myself that I'd wished I'd saved some of my old toys.

Anonymous said...

How cool that you found them! My cousin had that set -- similar, and I always wanted to go to her house to play. She was older and would never let me!

S said...

I would have loved to pass on my toys to my kids, but that would have required my mother to save them. Which she didn't.

Kind of sad, that.

She's lucky to have the Barbies.

Scarlet said...

That Ken doll sounds like a typical male. ;)

Mayberry said...

My mom has a Barbie stash at her house too -- my daughter loves it! Some of them were mine, and some belonged to a relative 15-20 years older than me. So there is some funky stuff!

Alex Elliot said...

My kids have a bunch of my old toys. They much prefer the Fisher Price Little People from the 70's that are choking hazards than the new ones!

Anonymous said...

Due to my history I do not have anything from my childhood. However, my husband's mom saved a lot! We have his old playmobile, lego, a stick horse and so much more. I love it!

 
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