Hellobee

I have fond memories of having tea parties with my Cabbage Patch and Rainbow Brite dolls, and making phone calls on my Chatter Phone to far-away friends. So I was really excited to see that many of these toys are still around and popular amongst today’s kids. I think these toys are great because they appeal to the imagination and help children immerse themselves in the world of pretend. It helps them exercise their ability to think outside of the box and imagine what these toys can be beyond what they appear to be. Here’s a list of my favorite retro toys for the holidays.

1) Sock Monkey Jack in the Box: StarCakes received this for his first birthday from one of his godparents. At first it scared him, understandably since the monkey pops out of no where, but now he likes being able to turn the handle and listen to the music.

2) Care Bears & Popples: Both my partner and I had Care Bears and Popples growing up; he had Tenderheart Bear and a football Popple, I had Cheer Bear and a white Popple. I love that the Care Bears promote teamwork and compassion for others, qualities I hope my kids take away from watching the show.

3) Fisher-Price Rock-a-Stack: StarCakes loved this toy as an infant. He loved chewing on the rings when he was teething and then attempting to stack them as his hand-eye coordination improved. Once he was verbal we used the rings to help him learn his colors. Great multi-functional toy!

6) Cabbage Patch Kids & Barbie: These toys have evolved a lot since I was kid. I am glad that these dolls now come in a variety of shapes, sizes and looks to better reflect a diverse society. It’s a lot easier to find a doll that looks just like your little one!

7) Fisher-Price Lil Snoopy: StarCakes received this toy during his first birthday. But it’s actually GemCakes who likes dragging this little pup around the house and feeding it treats! She often equates this dog with our own dog, Elvis since they are similar colors.

 

8) Fisher-Price Classic Chatter Phone: I was really excited to get GemCakes one of these since I had one when I was a kid! She already loves using our cellphones to pretend calling people so it only made sense to buy her her own phone.

9) Radio Flyer Classic Red Tricycle: This was by far one of my most favorite toys as a kid when I needed to let out some energy. I used to zoom around the house as fast as I could pretending I was in an obstacle course race. I may have also used it to re-enact certain scenes from The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins that necessitated a bicycle!

10) Little Tikes Cozy Coup: Last time we visited my cousins, all of our kids loved playing with this car so much that sometimes they would get into fights over it! I love that has a removable bottom so both older babies and toddlers can enjoy riding in this cute car.

11) Little Tikes Shopping Cart: As a child, I used to fill my shopping cart with my stuffed animals and push them around the house like it was a stroller. Nowadays, my kids love pushing around their shopping cart and pretending to go grocery shopping.

12) My Little Pony: I loved watching the show as a child and owned a couple of the figurines (my favorite was Fluttershy). The Cheesecake kids actually love watching the new version of this show too. I appreciate that the overall message of the show is to be kind, cooperative and respectful of each other.

13) Roddy Hopping Horse: Recently on a trip to the children’s museum the kids bounced around on these Roddy horses. It was funny watching them chase and bump into each other. This activity seemed to tire them out and get them prepared for a nap – an added bonus!

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What retro toys do your kids enjoy playing with? Do you have toys that you used to play with that are still in good or mint condition?