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Childhood Toys

I don't know about you, but I love reminiscing about old childhood toys. There is nothing quite like toys from the 80's. I was (and still am) a sucker for a gimmick and I always loved new fangled toys.

Let's take a stroll down memory lane, shall we?



My favorite dolls as a child were Cabbage Patch Kids! I loved them! For my 2nd birthday, my parents bought me a red-headed one, so that it would look like me. The only thing was - she had glasses on and they scared me.

I would tug and pull at them yelling, "take 'em off....take 'em off." They made me cry.

Trust me, it didn't take much to make me cry.



Who remembers Puffalumps? Oh my word. I loved puffalumps! They were so soft and cold feeling (I guess because they were kind of silky), and they made the BEST cuddle partners at nap time. Oh how I miss my puffalump. I had a pink one!



Teddy Ruxpin was pretty high tech for our day. A talking bear! He wasn't a good cuddle partner because he was hard. He was part tape-player, so he was not soft in the least. He was very entertaining though. His eyes and mouth moved and he told fantastic stories. Ah, Teddy. I spent many a story time with you, old buddy.



Surprise, Surprise, Pupppy Surprise, how many puppies are there inside....there could be 3, or 4, or 5! I loved these! I bought several hoping for the puppy with 5 inside, but the most I ever got was 3. This was a great idea, I think. The stomach of the "momma puppy" opened up and inside were all her babies. Oh how fun! I think the best part of the whole thing though was the first 5 minutes after purchasing and opening the box. After finding out how many puppies you got, the fun sort of stopped.



POUND PUPPIES. These were fun, too. It was like you adopted them from the pound. Cute.



GLO WORMS! These were amazing! They were glow-in-the-dark and super fun. They were fun to cuddle with, but their faces were hard. Kind of like the Cabbage Patch Kids. Most doll type toys had very hard faces back in the day. They knocked me in the mouth many a time. It hurt.




Lite Brite - Lite Brite - turn on the magical colored lights! (I like the commercial jingles just as much as the real toys). This device created many hours-o-fun in our household. The only problem was that we lost a lot of the little pegs.

There are many more toys that I enjoyed playing with as a child, but these are a few that popped out in my mind. Baby Lovie got his very first toy yesterday. A cuddly, soft, teddy bear (accompanied by a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers). Thank you, Glamma! :) Baby Lovie lept in my tummy when he saw it. Probably he did.

I probably just didn't feel it. After all, he is Johnny Appleseed right now.



He is SO soft that I told Glamma that I will be sleeping with it for the next 8 months. ;)

He has red hair like me and Glamma. The bear. Not Baby Lovie. Baby Lovie doesn't have hair. And if he's anything like me, he won't for about 2.5 more years. HA! (I was bald for a loooong time as a baby).




What were some of your favorite childhood toys?
I am a modern day homemaker with a passion for family, cooking, celebrating, decorating, travel, and memory making! The Lord has blessed me with the desires of my heart in my husband and our two sons. We recently built our dream home and cultivating a loving and happy haven for my family is where I find so much joy.

Comments

  1. Oh my gosh, I love this post. Pound puppies, Cabbage Patch (mine's name was Penny), and all of those others shown were some of my favorites. I also had a ton of My Little Ponies! I miss those days!!!

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  2. I always liked Weebles and Little People. I got the new ones for my kids and they're just not the same! When you showed that Puffalump, it took me back in time. I had a bright blue elephant that I used to love! Thanks for the memories!

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  3. Well, your childhood toys were my children's childhoos toys, so I do remember them fondly. As for me, mine would be Thumbelina, the magical baby doll that moved her head ever so slightly. I loved her little tiny bracelet. I thought we were so cool when we got a stuffed poodle that had a transistor radio inside so you could listen to cool tunes in style. And, I have to confess, one of my favorite toys was the original, Barbie-sized, jointed G.I. Joe. He and I spent many hours building forts, conquering warring factions, and masterminding third world takeovers. Ah, memory lane. Can I count this stroll as exercise?

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  4. These toys brought back so many memories! Your flowers are beautiful and I love that sweet bear!

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  5. Oh my gosh I had the same puffalump!! I miss it so much all of a sudden - ha ha ha ha! :) And what gorgeous flowers!!

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  6. loved pound puppies, cabbage patch kids, and lite bright (we still use that in our classroom sometimes).

    But my favorite was Rainbow Brite!!

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  7. What a good 'ole walk down memory lane. Me and Ash had all of these except Puppy Surprise, though I remember that toy. And, what is it about red heads and baldness? Ashley didn't get hair for a looonnngg time either. Weird?

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  8. What a fun post.. I remember having all of those toys..

    But my favorites for sure.. were My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, and Rainbow Brite. Oh, I can't forget Gem and the Rockers..

    That bear is so cute.. and those flowers are beautiful!

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  9. OMGOSH! I've been gone a week and I come back to find you pregnant! Congrats!!!!

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  10. I'm not kidding when I tell you I had every single one of those toys! Oops, I take that back...I didn't have the puppy sunrise thing. Veronica Margie was my first Cabage Patch and she was a preemie.

    The Glamma bear is precious!

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  11. hey whit-

    http://www.worldpantry.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prmenbr=201614&prrfnbr=211954&pcgrfnbr=204131

    just one of those crazy things you're introduced to when you use a midwife. it's actually tasty, though!

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  12. I had *every one* of these! I totally forgot about Puppy Surprise, I looooved that thing! I remember getting 4 puppies once, dream come true! haha Such a great post, thank you for sharing!

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  13. OMG! I loved the cabbage patch dolls - the glow worms - the pound puppies too! HAHA We must be the same age (I already knew that!) My friend had a Teddy Rumpskin and I thought that was pretty neat.

    My favorite toys as a child - pillow pals and my skip it, jump rope, and roller blades. I also had a Honda 50 dirtbike that I LOVED!

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  14. Loved my Cabbage patch. her name was donna delia and she had red hair. No glasses, though. Loved her. Mom even bought a statue at one of those statuaries our moms like to go to b/c it looked like Donna Delia. Funny, huh? Before I read a single word about the Puppy Surprise, I was singing the song! Funny that you wrote it out! What a great jingle! And Puff Puff, can't forget about him. In fact, he's staring at me right now. No joke. Baylee found him and brought him to me to keep him safe.

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  15. I loved Cabbage Patch Kids...my daughter now has a few...they are always naked though...I didn't take their clothes off.

    Wow I remember all those toys and loved Pound Puppies!!!

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  16. What a fun post!!! Those of us at work that grew up in the 80s are always telling the "younger" crew what they missed out on. They should all read your post. I loved my SIMON!!! I loved it so much that I tracked down an original one on eBay so my husband & I could play it with our daughter. It sits in on our bookshelf and gets more use than any of the other toys in the house. :)

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  17. Man, I remember when the cabbage patch dolls came out, how everyone simply went NUTS trying to get one. Of course, I didn't get one. The only toys I remember from my childhood were a stuffed animal dog, a couple of dolls which didn't get much attention, and some outdoor toys to play with in the dirt. Now, if you were to talk about ALL the toys my 18 month angel has now, that would be another story!! *grin*

    BTW, congratulations on being pregnant!!! I hope you enjoy every little movement/flutter Baby Lovie gives you, until he/she pops out and starts giving you gray hair. Does morning sickness run in your family?

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  18. Oh man, I had forgotten all about Puffalumps! I actually did a post awhile back about my favorite old-shool toys. Lots were the same as yours but I also had Alphie, View Master and Popples. Remember those?

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  19. Pound puppies, puppy surprise, glo worms, lite bright-- oh my!!! I had all of those. All of them. 80s toys were the best!! I also had Care Bears, a light green one that I left on an airplane when I was about 5. It was traumatic. I didn't get another one until they became "cool" again in HS and I may or may not have borrowed my then baby sisters Care Bear. I can't remember what these were called, but, they were stuffed animals--like a dog, teddy bear, etc that were white, but, they glowed... Anyways, I can't remember what they were called, but, I still have one to this day.

    Those flowers are lovely!

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  20. I had not thought about Teddy Ruxpin in years. He made my sister cry... which I thought was hilarious. My favorites were probably my Strawberry Shortcake dolls, or My Little Pony... those were the BEST! Do you remember the mermaid ponies? Sigh.

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  21. Next time I am at my parents' house, I am definitely looking for my Puffalump! I think it's still around somewhere- I never realized how much I loved it until this reminder of it! I had some of the other toys too, as well as My Little Ponies. This is a great post... if only kids toys of today were so simple and gentle... hopefully once I have kids I can find some of the oldies!

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  22. My friend, thank you so much for the memory of "Puppy Surprise" I had completely forgotten about that toy, and how could I?? I loved it so much!!
    Thanks for this post, I loved it!!

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  23. You just described every single toy I had as a child. We are definitely products of
    the '80s. Cabbage Patch kids were probably my favorite. I had a ton! I had forgotten about pound puppies and teddy ruxpin. My mom has kept all of that stuff up in the attic, just waiting to pull it all out for the grandkids that she is pining for!

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  24. Girl - you realize that you referred to Baby Lovie as a boy (technically a 'he'), right?!?! Do you have an inkling that you aren't sharing?

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  25. 80's toys were the best! My favorites were Magic Nursery Babies, Little Miss Make-Up and Little Miss Dress-Up, I had a Cricket (talking doll) that I LOVED!

    Oh and of course Barbie!

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  26. I think I had every single thing you listed, but I had forgotten about Puffalump's and Teddy Ruxpin.

    I can't even imagine how many Pound Puppies I had. And Pound Kittys, too. Those were the days!

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  27. I absolutely loved my Porky Pig (until my brother donated to the Boy Scouts to earn his Eagle status). I had my picture taken with him and everything. He went everywhere I went. I have looked and looked for a replacement in every antique store in which I venture ... no Porky to be found. Probably everyone loved theirs as much as I did and they ended up too shabby for resale. Like V, I loved my Thumbelina doll. I still have her and love to turn her on. :)

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  28. I forgot all about the pound puppys! My favorite was lite brite and easy bake oven.

    I also loved Doodle bear! Ya know, where you could write on the bear with marker and then throw it in the wash to erase?

    Loved it!

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  29. LOVED Puffalumps and Pound Puppies! I was also a big fan of My Little Pony and even had one that you could make her hair "grow" by pulling its tail. To make it short again, you had to crank her neck back and forth. A bit morbid now that I think about it!

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  30. I am cracking up - I had all those toys and had totally forgotten about Teddy Ruxpin and Puffalups!!!

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  31. Great post!!! I had all those amazing childhood toys. Ah brings back memories......

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  32. o my goodness, my little pony!! kid sister!!!! alf.. i loved alf so much my parents had to pry him out of my little hands when he broke... i cried for days! i had teh elephant puffalump. oh goodness i loved him TO DEATH and i loved that cold feeling you were talking about. heaven! and care bears... i could go on for hours... :)

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  33. Jem and the Halograms!!! Truly outrageous.

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  34. You had a lite bright! Lucky!

    Beautiful flowers

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  35. i loved my Barbie dolls, my Care Bears (especially Good Luck Bear), my New Kids on the Block dolls, and especially my Glo-Worm too! i also had a Teddy Ruxpin, but he stopped working after a couple weeks :( i also had something called Marble Works, by Discovery Toys (best toys ever) which i found here: www.discoverytoysinc.com...they still make these things, and you should definitely make sure Baby Lovie has one when he's a bit older...it will entertain him/her for hours! :)

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  36. One of my friends worked for Mattel in the 80's and developed Puffalumps. I remember asking her at a party what she was working on and she explained the concept of a doll that turned inside out and was really soft and squishy. I thought she was crazy! What kid would want that? Looks like it was a good thing I never was in the toy biz!

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  37. What a fun post to go back down memory lane! I remember all those toys!!! Cabbage Patch dolls were probably my fave growing up!

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  38. I am bookmarking this post!!!!! LOVE IT!! I used to love puppy suprise and pound puppies...seriously, toys today are just NOT as cool

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  39. This made me miss toys. I may have to visit Toys R us today! (o: I was SOOOO into Pound Puppies. I also loved Popples! Remember those? Lite Brite could keep me occupied for hours. Also, I was a big barbie fan - I'd still play with them if I had them.

    And GORGEOUS flowers!!! (o:

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  40. oh i'm pretty sure we had every single one of those things listed in our house. kelly also had Fob,and we had every barbie you could image. we also had the plastic bug maker :)

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  41. What a great post!! I had forgotten about most of those toys. They were the best. It shows how time has changed. Congrats again on Baby Lovie. The flowers from Glamma (I LOVE the name) are beautiful.

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  42. Love seeing the old toys!

    I'll never forget the yummy smell of the Cabbage Patch Kids' face. Not to mention, every time I got one, I ripped off their clothes to ensure the Xavier Roberts signature was on the buttocks!

    :) Great post little Mama!

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  43. i love my cabbage patch and my little stuffed dog name mutt. i also loved gloworms and pound puppies. my little ponies and barbies. this was a fun stroll down memory lane.

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  44. Oh my...those toys brought back memories! They were all the ones that my kids had. The only doll I can remember was called a Kissy doll...and I still have her. You pushed her arms together and she kissed..her lips made the kiss and the noise too...I'll have to take a picture now!

    What an adorable bear...and the flowers are beautiful!

    Hugz,
    Michele

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  45. all my favorite toys! Wow...I now miss childhood.

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  46. I still have all of my cabbage patch dolls, and my puffalump, a pink elephant. I didn't have a glowworm, but I bought one for my daughter!

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  47. My Little Ponies were the best! Thanks for this post, it definately was a trip down memory lane as I had many of the same toys as you... ahh... how I long for the sweet innocence of childhood!

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  48. Whitney, from one girlie girl to another, you'll never believe what my favorite toys were for YEARS growing up------Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figures...!?!?!? So weird! I just loved these, and I played with them way more than my Barbies or my Cabbage Patch doll. How things change.

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  49. Oh my, I almost afraid to say my favorite childhood toys because it will certainly date me, but Velvet the doll with the hair that grew was my all time favorite

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  50. Yes yes yes! I loved Cabbage Patch kids, had a premie too! My dog nawed part of her arm and I cried! My mom put it in a "sling", still slung to this day! :)

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  51. well Contratulations on Johnny Appleseedy! That brings back memories as much as toys. I remember your fav toys because I have kids YOUR AGE!

    Now that I'm back from bloggy vacation, have you seen what I've got going....a contest! come see and bring your friends.

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  52. Ahem...I'm clearly much older than you:) When I was little little, my fave was probably my Weebles treehouse and then Stretch Armstrong. He required lots of bandaids so the jelly goo wouldn't ooze out all over the place. I also had a Mickey Mouse doll that walked when you squeezed his hands. He slept with me until my cousin threw up on him:(
    I think I was in 3rd grade when my love of Strawberry Shortcake began. I had just about everything SS! In high school we tried to find all my dolls but they must have been donated. I was heartbroken. Over the years I have collected all the originals and when they became popular again I of course bought everything possible for my daughter:) That's the fun thing about being a mommy:)

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  53. I saw a little girl the other day carrying a purple ball with a tail. I was so surprised, I practically squeeled, "You've got a Popple"! She enthusiastically replied, "You KNOW him?" - We were both so excited!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzzHB-cQVO8

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  54. I had all of those toys except Puffalumps? Never heard of those... I adored my cabbage patch dolls & any doll that peed - I know, it's weird, but I felt like they were more real if they could "pee" & hold a pacifier in their mouths...I also loved all of the others you mentioned...- Great post!!

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  55. Have you seen these yet? We have Harlow Hippo. I thought of you because they are called Lovies. http://www.thevillageshop.net/lovie.html

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  56. Okay, Whitney, I haven't been reading for the last week, but I just read a comment here that said you're pregnant. I must go back and catch up. Was that person mistaken or are you?!?

    My daughter is only a year older than you and I remember getting her a 'Cricket' doll. Do you remember those? They were about 3' tall and you put a cassette tape in the back and they had books to follow along.

    Anyhoo, I love reading your blogs. You're open, honest and young and fresh. Keep up the great work. I think you're headed as the next PW for your genre.

    Toodles~

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  57. This go me to rememembering RAINBOW BRIGHT and punky brewster.

    The 80's rocked!!!

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  58. Oh my, talk about reminiscent. I had totally forgotten about my puppy surprise. I also only got three in my momma dog's tummy. Congrats on the pregnancy, hope everything is going well. By the way, those flowers are beautiful!

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  59. wow. I owned every single one of those toys! And I had forgotton all about puffalumps!

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  60. I loved the glow worm and lite bright...I don't think I ever finished a whole design but I still thought it was awesome! I was actually a cabbage patch/barbie freak! I played with all of the girly barbie outfits and I loved playing house, playing school, and playing dance class!

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  61. All those toys bring back memories for me.My favorite toys were Rainbow Brite and Strawberry shortcake.

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