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What was your favorite childhood game or toy? Mine were my Barbie, Bike and Jump rope. Colorforms. And you? (Original Post) debm55 Feb 22 OP
A little horserace game. Spin the spinner & move horse forward. SheltieLover Feb 22 #1
Thank you very much for sharing with us.SheltieLover. I remember the horserace game. debm55 Feb 22 #4
Can't recall name of game. SheltieLover Feb 22 #7
I had a MAGIC 8 BALL, too, Thank you SheltieLover. debm55 Feb 22 #40
We couldn't afford a Barbie for me. dhol82 Feb 22 #2
Thank you very much for sharing with us, dhol82. The MaryHeartline doll sounds very interesting. debm55 Feb 22 #5
I actually liked my etch-a-sketch...jump rope, my sister's hoola-hoop hlthe2b Feb 22 #3
Thank you for your selections , hlthe2b. I enjoyed all except for etch-a-sketch. I could never make anything but a debm55 Feb 22 #6
I probably owe my ability to sign my signature surprisingly well using those e-sign digital pads... hlthe2b Feb 22 #8
Wow. Thank you hlthe2b. That is very interesting. debm55 Feb 22 #9
An erector set, a science lab and a crystal radio kit WheelWalker Feb 22 #10
Those are terrific. Thank you for sharing with us, WheelWalker. debm55 Feb 22 #19
Paper dolls, with clothing we cut out and tabs to hold clothing to the paper dolls. No Vested Interest Feb 22 #11
I remember fighting my sister buzzycrumbhunger Feb 22 #15
HAHAHAHAHHA, thank you buzzycrumbhunger. debm55 Feb 22 #41
Thank you very much No Vested Interest. I remember the paper dolls. Some paper dolls had clothing that you had to punch debm55 Feb 22 #20
Spirograph surrealAmerican Feb 22 #12
Thank you very much for sharing with us, surrealAmerican. I also liked any kind of craft supplies, too. Spirograph was debm55 Feb 22 #42
I had a few... buzzycrumbhunger Feb 22 #13
I loved my Spirograph. Thank you for sharing that one with us, buzzycrumbhunger. I could play that for hours. I got the debm55 Feb 22 #21
Breyer horses, books, Spirograph and paint by number sets biophile Feb 22 #14
Thank you very much, biophile. I loved the Breyer horses. They had a kinds of horses. and yes the paint by number sets. debm55 Feb 22 #43
Three things PJMcK Feb 22 #16
Wow, PJMcK , you sure had a selelection of toys. My Barbie drumped Ken for the GI Joe. She couldn't resist a man in debm55 Feb 22 #44
Bike, and baseball glove. perfessor Feb 22 #17
Lincoln logs, Tonka trucks and plastic whiffle balls and bat set. nt PufPuf23 Feb 22 #18
My Dad put in a lot of overtime to build my brother and I a rather large Lionel Train set. NNadir Feb 22 #22
Kick the can and marbles MadLinguist Feb 22 #23
Bike, sidewalk skates, paper dolls. Srkdqltr Feb 22 #24
Wonderful, Srkdqltr. Thank you, very much for sharing with us. debm55 Feb 22 #30
My dozens of teddy bears. I didn't like nor have a doll. sinkingfeeling Feb 22 #25
Oh thank you very much sinkingfeeling. Your bedroom must have been wonderful. I never had a teddy bear.Always wished I debm55 Feb 22 #27
Hopscotch, Jacks, and Pick Up Sticks. Polly Hennessey Feb 22 #26
Excellent choices, Polly Hessessey. Love your choices. debm55 Feb 22 #28
Connect the dot books & Nancy Drew books SheltieLover Feb 22 #29
I loved Nancy Drew Books too. BlueKota Feb 22 #33
I never read those. SheltieLover Feb 22 #35
YES! Connect the dot books and coloring books. Nancy Drew so enjoyed reading them. Thank you SheltieLover. debm55 Feb 22 #56
Mine was a black and white stuffed panda bear BlueKota Feb 22 #31
;-{) COMET PIPER TRI-PACER GAS POWERED AIRPLANE Goonch Feb 22 #32
Oh wow! That looks so neat. Thank you for sharing with us. debm55 Feb 22 #54
Chess and my cap gun. Sometimes we put a bunch of them together on the step Ziggysmom Feb 22 #34
Oh I forgot about my cap gun SheltieLover Feb 22 #36
HAHAHHAHAAHH, Thanks SheltieLover. I rememeber those. debm55 Feb 22 #37
I had a holster for it SheltieLover Feb 22 #39
That's great. Thank you SheltieLover. debm55 Feb 22 #53
Thanks Ziggysmom. We used to use rocks to get a bigger bang. Cousin threw a roll of caps in the BBQ. ----VERY big bang. debm55 Feb 22 #38
I don't know that we ever had the cap gun buzzycrumbhunger Feb 22 #58
Football. LoisB Feb 22 #45
Thank you very much , LoisB, for sharing with us. That's great. debm55 Feb 22 #52
American Bricks nuxvomica Feb 22 #46
Thank you very much for sharing with us, nuxvomica. They sound great. I like the idea and the creativeness of what you debm55 Feb 22 #51
I was born the same year nuxvomica Feb 23 #65
Gee, for some reason I don;t remember them. debm55 Feb 23 #67
I had,2 favorites WmChris Feb 22 #47
Neat, Thank you very much for sharing with us, WmChris. debm55 Feb 22 #48
I really enjoyed traveling the world with my View-Master. Borogove Feb 22 #49
Thank you very much, Borogove. I really enjoyed my View-Master.and all the things you could see. debm55 Feb 22 #50
Yes! Forgot about my viewmaster & kaleidoscope SheltieLover Feb 22 #55
Hard to name a favorite because I liked a lot of things wnylib Feb 22 #57
Thank you very much, wnylib, for sharing with us. debm55 Feb 23 #62
Baseball, glove, and bat Bristlecone Feb 22 #59
Lego Woodwizard Feb 22 #60
Wonderful. Thank you verymuch, Woodwizard. debm55 Feb 23 #63
Bicycle and baseball. CanonRay Feb 22 #61
Great. Thank you CanonRay for sharing with us. debm55 Feb 23 #64
I was pre-Barbie, but I loved my Dolls! lucca18 Feb 23 #66
Hahahahahahahah. that is funny. Thank you very much for sharing with us. lucca18 debm55 Feb 23 #68

SheltieLover

(79,498 posts)
1. A little horserace game. Spin the spinner & move horse forward.
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 05:16 PM
Feb 22

Then later Sorry & Scrabble.

SheltieLover

(79,498 posts)
7. Can't recall name of game.
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 05:28 PM
Feb 22

It was small. A small rectangle & had 4 or 5 horses with bases tucked into their slots.

I've always loved horses.

Then there was my deck of Gypsey Fortune Telling Cards & my Magic 8 Ball. Lol

dhol82

(9,648 posts)
2. We couldn't afford a Barbie for me.
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 05:17 PM
Feb 22

But, I had Mary Heartline doll. She had a really cool drum majorette outfit!

debm55

(59,277 posts)
5. Thank you very much for sharing with us, dhol82. The MaryHeartline doll sounds very interesting.
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 05:22 PM
Feb 22

hlthe2b

(113,555 posts)
3. I actually liked my etch-a-sketch...jump rope, my sister's hoola-hoop
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 05:19 PM
Feb 22

Gawd, I must be old.

I don't recall being all that "into" dolls, though I had a couple. I wanted a DOG! (that wish delayed for a very long time, sadly)

debm55

(59,277 posts)
6. Thank you for your selections , hlthe2b. I enjoyed all except for etch-a-sketch. I could never make anything but a
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 05:26 PM
Feb 22

Square. on it.

hlthe2b

(113,555 posts)
8. I probably owe my ability to sign my signature surprisingly well using those e-sign digital pads...
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 05:29 PM
Feb 22

to the etch-a-sketch, believe it or not.

No Vested Interest

(5,294 posts)
11. Paper dolls, with clothing we cut out and tabs to hold clothing to the paper dolls.
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 05:41 PM
Feb 22

We also sometimes drew and colored our own designs for extra clothing for the paper dolls.

buzzycrumbhunger

(1,827 posts)
15. I remember fighting my sister
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 05:54 PM
Feb 22

… to be the first to cut the Betsy McCall paper dolls out of the McCall’s magazine each month. They were good for about half an hour’s entertainment.

debm55

(59,277 posts)
20. Thank you very much No Vested Interest. I remember the paper dolls. Some paper dolls had clothing that you had to punch
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 06:17 PM
Feb 22

out and other dolls had clothing you had to cut out yourself.

surrealAmerican

(11,830 posts)
12. Spirograph
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 05:47 PM
Feb 22

I had a number of different sets - endlessly fascinating.

... and tinker toys; and another similar sort of construction set (that I can't remember the name of) that had flexible, flower-shaped connectors.

I also liked those spool knitting looms, and craft supplies of all kinds.

debm55

(59,277 posts)
42. Thank you very much for sharing with us, surrealAmerican. I also liked any kind of craft supplies, too. Spirograph was
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 07:57 PM
Feb 22

my favorite.

buzzycrumbhunger

(1,827 posts)
13. I had a few...
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 05:51 PM
Feb 22

Spirograph—though the pens were horrible and the plastic always broke around the nibs—and I also had those ugly trolls—with the cave house—which would probably be worth something if my mum hadn’t tossed it when we moved.

My sister got the “good” Barbie and store-bought clothes. I got the dumb little sister, Skipper. We used to use mum’s high heels as sports cars, and poor Skipper couldn’t sit all the way in the seat because her dumb legs were straight and didn’t bend.

We also put in hours and hours making clothes for them, though. Seems funny to think I have Barbies to thank for being able to use a sewing machine with some expertise.

I think my favourite things as a child were books, though. I’d take a bedside lamp into my closet and read all day long. Still a reader to this day.

debm55

(59,277 posts)
21. I loved my Spirograph. Thank you for sharing that one with us, buzzycrumbhunger. I could play that for hours. I got the
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 06:23 PM
Feb 22

good Barbie from my aunt. I too made clothing for her on my mother's sewing machine. Every special occasion I would get a Mattel made Barbie outfit.

biophile

(1,357 posts)
14. Breyer horses, books, Spirograph and paint by number sets
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 05:53 PM
Feb 22

Horse crazy, loved to read, and do art.

debm55

(59,277 posts)
43. Thank you very much, biophile. I loved the Breyer horses. They had a kinds of horses. and yes the paint by number sets.
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 07:59 PM
Feb 22

PJMcK

(24,980 posts)
16. Three things
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 05:56 PM
Feb 22

1. GI Joe action figures. I had various uniforms for the doll and I even had the Mercury spacecraft.

2. Matchbox cars. I probably had 50 or 60 of the little vehicles.

3. James Bond attaché case. Based on From Russia With Love, the case held a toy rifle, a plastic knife in a hidden compartment and a booby trap when opening the case. Bond was probably not a good role model for a 7-year old!

debm55

(59,277 posts)
44. Wow, PJMcK , you sure had a selelection of toys. My Barbie drumped Ken for the GI Joe. She couldn't resist a man in
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 08:10 PM
Feb 22

uniform. LOL. That James Bond case sounds interesting. Thank you for sharing.

NNadir

(37,791 posts)
22. My Dad put in a lot of overtime to build my brother and I a rather large Lionel Train set.
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 06:26 PM
Feb 22

I loved that thing.

I wish I had used to experience to understand what a transformer was and how it worked and why it was necessary, but I just played with the trains.

My father was like that; he'd do anything to keep his boys happy; work his ass off as a laborer, work two jobs or more, just to buy us stuff for Christmas.. He was that kind of guy, perhaps because his own father was such a terrible person.

There are parents who had horrible parents who repeat the behavior; and there are parents who had horrible parents who do everything to be different than the horrible parent. My father, and albeit not quite as dramatic, my wife, happily exemplify the latter.

MadLinguist

(904 posts)
23. Kick the can and marbles
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 06:35 PM
Feb 22

Kick the can was this great neighborhood game, where all the kids for half a mile around came. Coalitions formed, broke and reformed over the course of a summer afternoon. High drama and daring-do! Friendships and rivalries waxing and waning all summer long.
Marbles was all about personal skill and I adored besting arrogant little boys who thought no girl could ever shoot marbles. Plus I just loved the look and feel of marbles. Still do. Winning a coveted marble in a match was the best feeling and it was revived every time I looked at the prized victory marbles in my collection.

debm55

(59,277 posts)
27. Oh thank you very much sinkingfeeling. Your bedroom must have been wonderful. I never had a teddy bear.Always wished I
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 06:48 PM
Feb 22

did,

SheltieLover

(79,498 posts)
29. Connect the dot books & Nancy Drew books
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 06:49 PM
Feb 22

Sent grandaughter a connect the dot book for V Day. Important life skill.

BlueKota

(5,248 posts)
33. I loved Nancy Drew Books too.
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 07:10 PM
Feb 22

Their was another short lived series of books called the Kim Aldrich Mysteries, that I enjoyed too.

debm55

(59,277 posts)
56. YES! Connect the dot books and coloring books. Nancy Drew so enjoyed reading them. Thank you SheltieLover.
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 09:57 PM
Feb 22

BlueKota

(5,248 posts)
31. Mine was a black and white stuffed panda bear
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 07:08 PM
Feb 22

that my Aunt Kay and Uncle Don bought me, after I came home from the hospital. The doctors thought they saw something on one of my kidneys, but it turned out to be nothing serious. I was four. I carried that bear with me everywhere for a long time.

Ziggysmom

(4,097 posts)
34. Chess and my cap gun. Sometimes we put a bunch of them together on the step
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 07:19 PM
Feb 22

and hit it with a hammer for a bigger bang.

SheltieLover

(79,498 posts)
39. I had a holster for it
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 07:48 PM
Feb 22

Because I was convinced I was a cowgirl...in Chgo burbs. Deep love of horses warped my reality.

debm55

(59,277 posts)
38. Thanks Ziggysmom. We used to use rocks to get a bigger bang. Cousin threw a roll of caps in the BBQ. ----VERY big bang.
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 07:48 PM
Feb 22

buzzycrumbhunger

(1,827 posts)
58. I don't know that we ever had the cap gun
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 10:26 PM
Feb 22

… but yeah, taking a roll of caps out to the sidewalk and walloping them with a hammer was fun!

Edited to add that we also used to build volcanoes in the sandbox, then put those snakes inside all the passages and light them on fire. Vesuvius!!

nuxvomica

(14,017 posts)
46. American Bricks
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 08:27 PM
Feb 22

They came in great cardboard drums instead of boxes and were superior to Legos because their limited colors (red and white) and shapes demanded more of your imagination. They even had little white inserts of sculpted doors and windows so if you are trying to make a model of a suburban brick home in the 1950s you had everything you needed. The standard piece was rectangular with eight nibs and sockets and I discovered you could created sturdy, futuristic circular towers by overlapping them on the corners.

Thinking about this made me realize it inspired my novel. It was only two years ago that I realized the main character's name was inspired by an Italian comic book character. Hmm.

debm55

(59,277 posts)
51. Thank you very much for sharing with us, nuxvomica. They sound great. I like the idea and the creativeness of what you
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 09:46 PM
Feb 22

described. I was born in 1955, so it was a little before my time.

WmChris

(697 posts)
47. I had,2 favorites
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 09:14 PM
Feb 22

20" Wizard motor bike
Twin McCullough chainsaw engine powered racing go-kart

debm55

(59,277 posts)
50. Thank you very much, Borogove. I really enjoyed my View-Master.and all the things you could see.
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 09:41 PM
Feb 22

wnylib

(25,622 posts)
57. Hard to name a favorite because I liked a lot of things
Sun Feb 22, 2026, 10:16 PM
Feb 22

First, though, was my gray and black tabby cat, Smokey. We played together a lot.

Board games -- Chutes and ladders, Candyland, and Cooties.

Dolls -- Barbie was not around until I was past the doll age. But I had a big collection of all kinds of dolls, clothes for them, and a wooden doll bed (which Smokey commandeered for himself). To me, my dolls were real people and I told them stories that I had learned.

Collections -- shells and sea glass from the beach on Lake Erie, colored pop beads from gum ball machines.

Outdoors -- jump rope (especially double dutch), bicycle rides and races

Books -- I was hooked on reading early.





lucca18

(1,462 posts)
66. I was pre-Barbie, but I loved my Dolls!
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 01:28 PM
Feb 23

A lot of times I would eventually cut their hair, to give them a new hairstyle.
I always regretted doing that!

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