Retro Round Up :: What I wanted under my Christmas tree as a kid.

 

Well, we have less than two weeks left for holiday shopping and I’m sure you all are pretty much finished, right?  As I round out the the Peach’s list of holiday goodies, I can’t help but think back to what was on my own Christmas lists many years ago. So, I’ve decided to feature all of the goodies I wanted as a child on this Retro Round up. Some I did get and some, well… maybe one day.

FASHION PLATES. I played the hell out of this toy when I was a kid. My favorite was the gauchos with boots.  Spectacular. From Ebay seller, Belmonddrury.

How many crappy half baked flat cakes did you make with THIS gem? Who knew it was powered by a lightbulb.  Hmm… How to cook over a lightbulb cookbook is long overdue on the bookshelves in my opinion… From Etsy seller, Whimsy Vintage.

 

I remember thinking I was going to use this Snoopy Sno Cone machine to launch my flagship snow cone store as a kid.  From Etsy seller, Yesterday’s Revival.

 

I was so in love with Mork from Ork as a kid that if I had this, I would have probably kissed the face away of this activity book.  From Etsy seller, Colleen Roush.

 

Speaking of TV show inspired toys. Oh, man. I loved me some Donny and Marie Osmond. And these dolls! I wanted her dress. So. Freakin’. Bad. From Etsy seller, River View Gems.

Oh, these sweet sweet sneaker skates. If it was good enough for Tootie from The Facts of Life, it was good enough for me!

 

Strawberry Shortcake, gee, yer looking swell. The cute little girl with the strawberry smell! The weirdest plastic smelling strawberry smell, but still…that didn’t keep me from wanting one of these cuties! From Etsy seller, Ribbons and Retro.

 

Whenever I would go to a friend’s house who owned one of them, we’d all play on the SitnSpin until someone threw up. Good times! From Ebay seller, BimKids.

 

Saving the best for last…

Behold, the BARBIE TOWNHOUSE from Etsy seller, Quilted By Julie. My cousin Cheryl got this one year and I think I would have eaten her broccoli for months to put my Barbie in that glorious elevator.

And would you look at the interior? That great stained glass lampshade and all the pillows? Barbie could have run a fern bar on the second floor.

What were some of the things on your list to Santa?

Happy Monday!

 

 

27 thoughts on “Retro Round Up :: What I wanted under my Christmas tree as a kid.

    1. Heather did you ever see the Monster Fashion plates? (well they weren’t technically called fashion plates…but they were the same dealio but with monsters and superheros)
      I wanted to track some down for wolfie!

  1. I had that fashion plates and those Donnie and Marie dolls. I still remember Marie’s dress. Best doll dress ever!

    PS: My mom refused to get us the Easy Bake Oven because we would burn the house down. It was her version of “You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out!”

    1. It is TOTALLY the female version of “you’ll shoot your eye out”. I NEVER got one! Still a bit miffed. I would go over to Nicki Witkins house and bake the shit outta her over. Aww yeah!

    2. LOL hilarious…..my mom wouldn’t buy it because she thought it was gross, I think.
      BUT i scored with not only Donny & Marie but also with a bunch of outfits (all of which i still have, thank you very much!)

  2. Ahhhh!! I loved Fashion Plates, I remember making one with a girl that had short curly hair, legwarmers, and rollerskates. Love those! And we were just talking about the Barbie Townhouse yesterday–the elevator was my favorite 🙂 Oh, memories…Thank you for that.

    1. I was all about the culottes and boots plate! I did get it and loved the heck out of it. Crossing my fingers I unearth that bit of awesome when I go home for the holidays this year.

  3. OMG. FASHION PLATES! I loved those. But I especially loved the fabric templates–the one with the hinged plate over the doll body, and you’d put in fabric and make dresses!

    And, yes, I DID have the Barbie townhouse. And it was AWESOME.

    1. I love it, Jody! I can only imagine the HOURS spent with your sister rocking that townhouse. I had the Barbie camper/trailer which I remember spending the entire day after Christmas putting it together and putting the thousands of stickers all over that thing. hee hee! It’s waiting for me in Colorado.

  4. oh what a cool post.
    I too wanted a number of these. But the Barbie Dream House, rather than the towne…and what I got was the Cottage…but whatevs. I was thrilled. ah and the sno cone machine. On the list year after year I guess santa knew I’d make a mess;) Being this stuff is all vintage now just gave me a reminder how old I am btw. but I still love you anyway;)

    1. I am pleased to report I got one and I loved it. My parents, on the other hand, hated it. It wasn’t the most stable thing around and it was kind of honkin’ big.
      I still have some of the furniture.

  5. Wow, I always thought that I was an unfortunate child, but I had five of those! (wish that I still did) I remember wanting a real rabbit fur coat as a pre-teen. Now, as a vegetarian and animal lover, I shudder…but at the time, they were all the rage. I ended up getting one made out of polyester that was supposed to *look* like fur. I remember crying right there in front of my parents. What an awful kid!

    1. Girl, you just made me think about this girl in my glass named Gina who had the short rabbit fur coat and she’d let us try it during recess for 25 cents a minute. SO. GOOD!

    2. hahaha i know, me too….I was thinking “mostly everything I REALLY coveted, I got.”
      the one glaring omission? The Dorothy Hamill Ice Skating doll. OH i wanted that thing!!! Kristin Jacobs got it and i was dying.
      I told that story to greg when we first started dating and he found one for me MIB and gave it to me for xmas.

      He’s a keeper!

      1. You know you picked the right guy when he’s buying your dream childhood gift for you. Please tell me you still have it!

        You are so right, Alix–the Dorothy Hammill ice skating doll was a total want of mine. I remember that sweet red dress she wore. Sigh!

  6. oh, oh, oh, oh!

    I HAD that Donny and Marie set! I loved that dress! They had holes in their hands that held the microphones, and a stage set with dressing rooms on the back side.

    My daughter is getting Fashion Plates for Christmas this year! I bought them for a pretty penny this summer. I felt compelled, as I enjoyed them SO MUCH as a kid!

    On several occasions your blog has brought back memories of forgotten childhood items. Thank you!

      1. They do!! The 5 and Dime at Laurel Village has some in the toy aisle. They look less cool; maybe there are only 2 parts instead of 3? I don’t know. Worth looking for.

  7. We clearly grew up at the same time. I had that exact Easy Bake and I still have that Strawberry Shortcake (my parents used to get me a new one whenever the scent faded away). But I remember the rest of the toys from my friends’ houses. I clearly remember the playroom of the girl who had that awesome Barbie Townhouse. She also had a Barbie Mc Donald’s and jewelry store. I never had anything nearly that cool. Sigh.

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