Magical Toys

Just read an interesting article about childhood toys. As a fifty-something who collects nostalgic toys (and around 5000 marbles!), I connected with this article. And, for the most part, my son (now 17.5) has rarely had a battery operated toy (unless it was a gift from grandparents who also supplied batteries). We bought things like wagons, tricycles, balls, blocks. As he got older, it was bikes, Frisbees, Lego's, sports equipment. Board and card games. Now that he's a teen, he prefers music and things for his car. We tried to see that he had as much of an "old-fashioned" childhood as possible. Playing in the sandbox (built by Dad) with his buddies, making mud pies...things that cost very little but are still fondly remembered.

If you haven't already bought all of your children's presents, try to keep this article in mind as you shop. As a child, our presents were: a pair of pajamas or a night gown, a book, and a toy of some sort...board game, jacks and marbles, a doll (and it did not cost more than some people in third world countries make in an entire year). That was it. We children made gifts for each other, usually an ornament depicting something about our siblings...a baseball ornament for one brother, a knitted ornament for a sister who loved knitting. When we were grown, we had those memories to take with us and begin the traditions anew in our own homes.



This is the article that I just read. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

When Toys Were Magical Without Being Pricey by Christy Oglesby