Sunday 16 November 2008

Sunday November 16th, 2008 Memories of Christmas Toys Past

Late one night I started thinking of the Christmases of my childhood and remembering favourite toys. Everyone has fond memories of special toys they loved to play with. Toys stimulated the imagination and could entertain you for hours. Here were some of my favourites.

Barbie

1959 saw the introduction of Barbie, the teen-age fashion doll. I loved playing with Barbies more than anything else. I had a lot of them: Barbie, Ken, Allan, Midge, Skipper, even Tutti. My Barbie had an orange convertible and lived in a fold out home, full of cardboard furniture. If you're wondering what your old Barbie or other toys are worth the library carries books with toy price lists, such as the 2008 edition of Toys & Prices. It also has references to books and web sites and tips for collecting.

Paper Dolls

Paper dolls were popular when I was a child. One year I got Sleeping Beauty paper dolls for my birthday, I loved the fairy godmothers. I also enjoyed cutting out people and furniture from the Eaton's catalogue to play with. According to the book Schroeder's Collectible Toys, Antique To Modern: Price Guide, paper dolls can be worth between twenty and three hundred dollars. This applies to uncut dolls. If you played with your dolls they aren't worth as much. If you'd like to read Paper Dolls Of The 1960s, 1970s And 1980s Identification & Value Guide by Carol Nichols, we can try to borrow it for you.

Kenner Easy-Bake Oven

In the December 2007 issue of Canadian Living magazine, Rick Mercer spoke of the Easy-Bake oven he had as a child. His cakes took hours to bake since his Dad put in a 40 watt bulb, instead of a 100 watt. Years later he realized that his father was probably just afraid that he would burn himself. In 2003 David Hoffman published The Easy-Bake Oven Gourmet. It features recipes for appetizers, main dishes and decadent cakes by top chefs. We don't carry this book, but if you still have your old easy-bake oven and are interested, we can borrow it from out of town.

Batteries Required

I had some amazing battery operated toys that my mother bought in New York. There was a white bear wearing blue coveralls that rocked in a rocker while talking on a telephone. I also had a monkey in a red plaid shirt that flipped tiny magnetic hamburgers in a frying pan. How I wish I still had these toys. Do you still have old battery operated toys? The 2008 edition of Toys & Prices, has a list of the top ten toys, in mint condition, of course. Number one is the Smoking Popeye from the 1950s, valued at $3,775.

Tea Sets

When I was little my grandfather made me a table and chair set that was great for tea parties. It didn't matter whether the guests were dolls, stuffed toys or real people. I'd put out a little tea set and easily imagine myself having tea and cake. I have a friend who excels at tea parties. Her table is always set perfectly and she's a great hostess. If you haven't outgrown tea parties check out author Tracy Stern's book Tea Party: 20 Themed Tea Parties With Recipes For Every Occasion, From Fabulous Showers To Intimate Gatherings.

Give-A-Show Projector

It was like having a movie theater in your own home. In 1960 Kenner created the Give-A-Show Projector and it was popular for the next three decades. It was a combination of slide projector and flashlight. You turned down the lights, aimed it at a blank wall and let the fun begin. As you slowly pulled the slide through the projector, a mini movie played on the wall. Kenner had the rights to feature cartoon characters such as Mighty Mouse and Bullwinkle.

For more on toy history visit http://memorylab.deanlabs.com These are just a few of the toys I loved. I hope it reminded you of some of your favourites. Maybe right now your children or grandchildren are making memories with toys they received last Christmas. With luck, maybe they'll let you join them.

Karen Craib, Library Technician

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