Category Archives: Vintage Childhood

Then and Now :: Groovy Playhouses

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I’m just gonna go out on a limb and say it. This is quite possibly the coolest playhouse EVA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It rules on so many levels. And yes it’s hip, but most importantly it looks like it would be SO fun to play inside. It got me thinking, “What did play houses look like back in the day??” So I went on a hunt. Lemme tell ya, it was a little hard to find. For example, I love this image, these kiddos are so cute (and stylish!). That playhouse is a tad grim though, eh?

OK,  this is more like it! A-frame goodness….with a built-in sandbox on the side.

This clever little playhouse is made of cloth. Love the big flowers….

This isn’t vintage, but it’s made of vintage sheets. It’s enough to make me want to hop on the tee pee bandwagon!

images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

I love all of those so much! I was curious if I could find some modern counterparts that had as much style and here’s what I turned up!

I really like this rad little pad—the double doors are very cool and it seems so light and airy inside! (nevermind that it KINDA looks like a 70s office building…)

image: modern play shed

This one is interesting but I have to admit it sort of looks like you’re playing inside a stylish piece of cheese:

image: smart playhouse

I like it better at night:

So this one….it’s slick, but seems so dark. Not very cheery, ya know? I’m all for hip design for kids, but not sacrificing FUN!

Ahhhh, see? This one is pretty groovy.  AND it still seems fun. Wouldn’t you rather have a fun slide than a CHIC! MODERN! MIDCENTURY! WOOD BOX! (ahem, playhouse above)

This one is quite adorable. The clear ceiling makes it really airy!


image: modern cabana

And finally….check out this bad boy. It ain’t purty but you know you would have one helluva good time staging battles and pretending your backyard was the planet of Tatooine. And your golden retriever a wookie.

Mmm hmmm. Featuring a 4-Sound Electronic Console. That *is* gym-dandy.

Vintage Kiddo :: The 70s Retro Playground.

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As you guys all pretty much know by now, I am crazy about the 60s and 70s. I kind of thought I’d seen and remembered it all, until a friend sent me a few photos of a playground that still had swings and slides from the 1970s. And lawdy did it ever take me back! I had TOTALLY forgotten about most of these, but seeing them again made me smile. I know they don’t make them like this anymore for fear of accidents (the metal designs are begging for injuries) but at the same time it makes me a tad sad that we are a generation who bubble wraps their kids. Look HOW MUCH FUN these things are….I am especially fond of the rocket ships and space themed playgrounds. Just think how many space missions went down on these cool things:



And what kid didn’t want to spin around at a zillion miles an hour on one of these dealies??

Aw, look at these guys. I ask you, what’s wrong with them? They’re totally cute. So much more fun than the plasticky stuff on playgrounds today.


Oooh, yeowtch! Remember sliding down one of these babies on a hot hot day?? Yeah. Butt burner for sure.

OK, who came up with this one? The sliding wall of doom. [“Frank, got an excellent idea for down at the playground. We take a 10-foot tall piece of metal, stick it on an angle and let that sucker bake in the hot afternoon sun. The kid’s will love it!”]  I guess it was still pretty fun—when it wasn’t giving you burns on your hands or blinding the hell outta you.

I vaguely remember these McDonalds playgrounds—pretty hilarious. Love the Big Mac police guy climber dealie. And the Mayor McCheese spinner was the best! For some reason these seem way less germ-laden then the current McPlayhouses I see. I’m sure it’s all in my imagination, but still…

OK I don’t know what the hell this thing is….and even I have to admit it looks like it’ll slice yer head off:

Ahh, the ol orange juicer!  How I loved these!

The capper, however is this guy. WOWZA! Never tangoed with him on the playground, but imagine how cool it would have been??

Oh Giganta, how we miss ya. Do you guys have modern playgrounds in your area or are there still some remnants of the glory days??

IMAGES: Props to scotamus on Flickr, who has THE BEST vintage playground photos, please check him out.
And thank you to neatocoolville for the groovy MickyDees shot.

Vintage Kiddo :: Coin Operated Rides

Best of Dottie, Vintage Childhood, ,

Image: Greenkozi

I loved shopping with my Mom when I was a little girl. Not for the ride in the cart or the ability to “accidentally” grab a box of Cookie Crisp. Oh no.  It was the hope that I could get a ride on one of these sweet treats.

Of course the most popular were the ponies and horses—a little flirt reminder of merry go rounds.


Images: PigRock, AnnieBee, eclectica miami

 

Of course horse is a horse of cours of course but what about a ride on other animals that aren’t necessarily known to carry humans.

Like a snail. Or pelican.

Images: Javier Agredo

or a goose or a cat…

Image: Bumblesweet

I can’t help but love this pink elephant.

Image: AnnieBee

Tops hats are perfect for giraffes, aren’t they? Who wouldn’t love to see that outside of Red Owl Supermarket?

Image:  AnnieBee

Even sea creatures were not off limits to encourage a child’s inner aquaman (or aqualady).

Image: Drumthwacket

Clearly taxi and cop cars were popular choices as well.

Image: NYC Comets

Cars are so much fun.  Which to chose? Race car or race car with Spiderman?

Image: BrechtBug, Kiddie Rides USA

But why limit your transportation to earth when you could blast off from Safeway in one of these beauties.

Images: Kiddie Rides USA

And then just some odd choices.

Hmmm… I never would have thought about taking a ride on Papa Smurf.

Iamge: Oerenhard1

Or a vintage Communist child?

Image: AgentYellow

These images are just a small small peek into Flickr’s photo pool, Just One More Ride Pleeeeze. I assure you, it will take you back.  Did you have a favorite growing up as a child?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23837798@N04/3390018523/

Vintage Childhood :: The Muppet Show Tonight!

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It’s time to play the music…

It’s time to light the lights…

It’s time to meet the Muppets on The Muppet Show tonight.

I know you know the rest of the song.

1976 might be known as the bicentennial year in US, but I will always think of it as the year the Muppet Show debuted.

I would patiently wait through my father’s mandatory viewing of the CBS Evening News for The Muppet Show.  From the first viewing, I knew this was something different.  This was the sophisticated older cousin to the innocence of Sesame Street. This was the Big Time.

This was what we  call the MUPPET SHOW!!!!!

Has any show been as beloved by the Muppet Show? And every one had their favorite muppet, right?

Like Gonzo?  Man, I loved him.

I’m still not sure exactly what he was, but he was a legend with the ladies. Lady chickens, that is.

You just had to love Fozzy, right? Kermits best bud and although his jokes were at times a touch, er. old, his deliver and smile made it all worthwhile.

Is it wrong to love Fozzy and also love his hardest critics, Statler and Waldorf–those curmudgeons in the balcony that had delighted in nothing more than heckling our hard working comics.

I always had a soft spot for Rowlf. Something about being that piano man/bartender vibe about him that was so comforting. And when he and Fozzy teamed up to sing, well, it was something real special.

And for those who always fall for the nerd, here is your prototype–the precurser to the gents on Big Bang Theory–Munson B. Honeydew was your man. With his hilariously tongue tied helper, Beeker.

And the sketches were actually quite genius. Who didn’t chuckle out loud after Pigs In Space? It did also launch the career of the stunning Miss Piggy, who is not only famous for her black belt in karate, her  wonderful fashion (lavender elbow length gloves–IN!) , and of course her clever yet simple diet tip that helped her keep her girlish figure…”Never eat more than you can lift.”

And you work that career! I wonder what her booking fee is nowadays?

Images via: MentalFloss, TV Acres, Lastfm

And then there was the really edgy rock band, Electric Mayhem, led by the funtastic spider with the gold tooth, Dr. Teeth and his band of misfits, like the wonderous Animal that probably inspired many a drummer who is on the charts today,  as well as Zoot, St. Floyd Pepper and Janice, everyone’s favorite straight haired hippy member of the band.

And they backed up some amazing guest stars!

Like Elton John!

Christopher Reeves!

Harry Belefonte!

Luke Skywalker & CP30!

Don Knotts!

Rita Moreno!

And MUMMENSCHANZ!!!!

Oh, what wonderful chaos.  And all of it managed with utter charm and love by Kermit the Frog. He was the hardest working frog in show business. And with such grace–with a freak out ever so often.

Image via: Halloween Swim Team

Kermit just radiated the sweetness of Jim Henson. Thanks for the amazing childhood memories, Mr. Henson.

Oh Muppets, you’ve been through it all. Movies to fashion. Lunchboxes to live music. You will always be loved.

And Muppet Show is available via Netflix for an easy afternoon of watching. And feel free to dance to the songs with your kids. Because I know I did!  Talk to them about their favorite characters and who the special guest star is.  Remember kiddos have fun when you have fun.  That is half the battle!

What is your favorite Muppet character? What was your favorite sketch?

Have a muppetsational Monday, ya’ll!

PS: Most of the photos are from MuppetWikia. Warning: if you visit that link, I cannot be held responsible for the three hours of lost time you’ll spend on the site.

PPS: This post is dedicated to Muppetgirl.

Welcome to the Doll Haus :: vintage toys

Best of Alix, Vintage Childhood, Vintage Toys + Fun Stuff

So I started out this week with the intention of talking about doll houses. When I was a little kiddo, I looooved my dollhouse. I would sit in front of that thing for hours, arranging and rearranging the furniture. I don’t even know if I made up stories, I just loved LOOKING at it and organizing it. There’s something about miniatures that gets me every time—things that are little are just cuter!

My crafty godmother made my dollhouse for me when I was around five or six. While it was pretty basic to start, it was still awesome. A few years later my mom and dad surprised me by totally tricking it out—they added a whole story to the top floor, including a music room and a rooftop garden. It was AMAZING. I loved it. My younger brother Karl was always fascinated by the dollhouse (and as a bossy big sister I was always complaining about his curious little fingers messing up my “just so” set up). That same Christmas my mother, who is from Germany and always had a cool dollhouse growing up, had a brilliant idea. She got my dad to build a special farm house for Karl. It was totally amazing. They based it on an old-school Euro farm house, so it had a kitchen/bedroom area on one side and a stable for horses/sheep/cows and a hay loft on the other side (all under one roof). It was kind of genius—and all his little guy friends were entranced! No one had heard of a dollhouse for boys before, and this was the perfect combination. I have to say, my folks were pretty inventive (and progressive) for a family living in Flint, Michigan in the 70s. (I can’t lie, I’m still jealous of the wee cans of Coke and Dr. Pepper the farm house came with…)

So that was the plan. To show off cute dollhouses. But lemme tell you I had a tough time finding cute photos. After pouring through oodles of random, poorly lit images of stuffy Victorian houses, all I came up with were these two photos:


images: top photo from vampire meadow, bottom photo from rubylane

Not bad, right? But alas,  two photos does not a post make. And then….and then people…. as if my mother’s German dollhouse was calling to me from beyond, a random chain of link clicking let me down another path. And  I stumbled upon the Holy Grail of dollhouse imagery: The Puppenhaus Museum. And my jaw dropped. There I found the most delicious collection of vintage 70s dollhouses you can ever hope to see—each with home interiors that are so cool and so colorful, I’d move in tomorrow. Welcome to the Puppenhaus my friends:



Ahhhhh! How I love those chairs and the wall unit! Now check out this classic A-frame:


Did you see that little blue lamp on the top floor? My Tante Maria had one just like it. LOVE! This next Haus ain’t too shabby either:



I’d move in to this sucka tomorrow. I also appreciate the stairs. For some reason my dollhouse, like so many, didn’t include stairs. It never bothered me, but years later when Jenny Kells, one of my 7th grade besties came over, and totally made fun of my non-stair havin’ dollhouse. She made the dolls stand on each others shoulders like second-rate Circus acrobats to get to the top floors…..hah!

OK. One world. WALLPAPER. *sigh*

We couldn’t talk about doll houses without mentioning it’s sweet little inhabitants:

I have to say, those little people never looked particularly comfy sitting in those chairs. What was the deal….you could design the swankiest of pads, but you couldn’t make a brotha’s knees bend??



OK, this one  killed me….a wee hair salon. HOW COOL IS THIS??? Please take note of the proprietress however…

A closer look perhaps? Someone needs her hair did.

But really it was always about the furniture and the sweet little details. Let’s end this post on a high note!






That’s our vintage kiddo toy post for the day! I hope you loved it as much as I did. And I have to ask, did you have a dollhouse? And more importantly….did it have STAIRS?

All images from the super rad Puppen Museum‚ and there are TONS more. Be sure to browse the 50s dollhouses.