As I embark on my journey/mission of hunting down presents for the kids I can’t help but reminisce about some of the simpler toys I enjoyed growing up. These were generally toys that didn’t require purchasing a life long investment in AA batteries. The first toy that really comes to mind was Stretch Armstrong, the blond-haired muscular guy in his speedo put out by Kenner where you could pull his arms and legs to extreme lengths. Hours of fun until the limbs started leaking goo. Then there were the Matchbox/Hot Wheels cars. I remember the Tonka trucks, the real ones built with metal. Erector sets, Lincoln logs (the wood ones). There was the Rubik’s Cube, Pick-Up Stix, Barrel of Monkeys. How about the G.I. Joe Action figure? There were the simple toys that were big hits like the Slinky, the Hula Hoop, the original Frisbee which goes to show that great toys don’t need to be hooked up to your TV. I remember those little green plastic army men providing hours of fun on the battlefield. Obviously there are plenty of other nostalgic toys I failed to mention. What were some of your favorite toys?
Great post Matt! I had forgotten about Stretch Armstrong. You brought back good memories of some of the toys you grew up with. I know you had quite a match box car collection. The two toys I remember everyone enjoying were 1) Whirl-A-Paint ( I think that’s what it was called)involving a process of oozing paint out of squirt bottles onto spinning paper discs to create quite the works of art and 2) Lite-Brite which used translucent colored stick pins to make pictures on the face of a light box.
And what about Etch-A-Sketch?!