As Christmas slowly fades and the New Year's realities take hold its fun to day, Old Christmas Day or Twelfth Night, to recall those very minor toys we got as kids.
When I say minor toys I mean those gifts that weren't the main event. They weren't even the support act. They were often stocking fillers and ended up under the sofa.
The Slinky would fit into this category. Often available in lots of smaller shops, the metal toy that could walk downstairs, would be added to the Christmas pile or stuffed into the stocking with a coil of alloy sticking out saying 'play with me play with me'. Once Major Matt Mason or Project SWORD had been played with the Slinky was indeed sent on its debut mission down the stairwell.
Slime was another filler. You know the stuff. Its been around for years. A sort of alien goo that lived in a plastic tub. You could pour it on things like Action Man or Sindy or shove your fingers into the tub to make farty sounds and blame your Grandma! Slime felt quite wonderful and disgusting at the same time. Cold. Wet. Flatulance in a canister.
Chinese Metal Puzzles always came in a small red cardboard box. I think there released by Spears. They were basically steel rings and triangles that could be clipped together and then unclipped if you could. They were puzzles after all. These often ended up stuffed down the side of the settee only to surface during the summer with a coating of crumbs.
These are just three I remember. I'm sure you can remember more readers.
How about card games like Memory or Go Fish? I also remember yo yo's or gyro tops being in stockings,but it was mostly candy.Slime made it out of the stocking and into the "Main Event" one year in the form of the Slime Monster Game, a board game that starred a big monster that dripped slime out its nose to foil your opponents little person game piece.I still have a few of those game pieces and they still look suitably horrified!
ReplyDeleteOh yes Brian, Card Games! These are now being reproduced as new retro toys from yesteryear in many shops here. Games like Happy Families and Snap and Memory. In fact lots of vintage pocket money toys are now available as new items driven by nostalgia for a simpler time.
DeleteIve heard Memory is also called Husker Du, which means "Do You Remember" in one of the Scandinavian Dialects I believe. It was also a great rock band ,fronted by Bob Mould, a great solo artist in his own right.
DeleteYes, I know the band Husker Du but not the expression or the game name. I had some of their stuff I think on a compilation album along with bands like Sonic Youth, the Pixies and Finland's Hanoi Rocks I seem to recall. Bob Mould sounds like a fun guy! ha ha.
DeletePun taken(groan).Love Hanoi Rocks! Michael Monroe is still out there doing his thing,Bless him!
DeleteA set of colourful felt tip pens were an annual stocking filler, Woodsy. I liked them though... I enjoyed drawing as a kid.
ReplyDeletefelt tips were the best Tone, I agree. I recall huge long tins of them gleaming on the Christmas settee waiting for me to colour in one of those ace colouring books we used to get. I loved those colouring books!
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