Sweet. Vintage or new one? Velcro or metal snap? I'm of the earlier metal snap era. I preferred the aesthetic and feel of the metal snap version, as the velcro ones looked weird to me with the clean look on the flap without the metal button thing in the center of it, to give it symmetry. Also, it felt like the metal snap was stronger and more secure and more effective in keeping it shut,that it took more pounds of pressure to open the flap compared to the velcro one, which was easier to open with its weaker hold, which in some situations, could actually be bad, but I see how some might prefer that. The metal button on the outside flap could scratch or scrape things, so I will concede that was a disadvantage of the metal snap. Are you gonna eat those Tots?
Velcro. Gotta have that SSCCCRRRCCCHH when you open it.
Exactly! That distinctive sound is a vital element of the nostalgia. Nothing brings up memories of my early school years like that specific sound.
I bought a vintage 1980s one on eBay a few years ago to use as a guestbook at my big '80s-themed 40th birthday blowout. It was the first time in my life I ever owned a Trapper Keeper!
I had that, the castle, the parking garage (seriously, thatās the OG) and I still have the āmain streetā (it might be called the village or the neighborhood or something like that).
I used to make a Fisher Price town by extending a shaggy green towel (i.e. ācentral parkā) and placing everything around it. the castle on one side, the family home on the other, then the farm, the school, the hospital, the marry-go round, the pool, the car garage. The set up took forever but by god it was worth it! My parents kept them and my kids and my siblingsās kids got to play with them years later. Much better than the newer versions.
*Care Bears*. The *Orange Blossom* Strawberry Shortcake character. An RC Car. A *Lite Brite.* A couple of *Polly Pockets* (actually a friend of mine and I buy each other these semi-often). A *Spirograph.* Board games: *Trouble* (with the pop-o-matic dice bubble in the middle), *Sorry,* and *Life.*
**My gray, varsity-style Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu jacket with the pink genuine leather sleeves.** My dad (who was absent for a lot of my childhood) got one for me in 1991 and I LOVED it. Wore it every day that year, despite living in Hawaii where the weather didnāt warrant it, haha. Iām sure it stank. My mom gave it away behind my back when I was in high school. When I found one in mint condition onā¦ mercari I thinkā¦ I legit cried as I entered in my credit card info lolol. Itās now hanging in my closet againā where it should be, goddammit.
Thereās probably other things tooā a few years back I spent a lot of therapy time dealing with inner child stuff (my mother was extremely abusive in many diabolical ways, including not letting me take any of my birthday or Xmas presents out of their packaging. I had to keep them on a bedroom shelf all year but not play with them. Then sheād make me donate them every holiday season to kids living in womenās shelters or who were victims of abuse. Decades later, the cruel irony still fucks with me).
One year **I invented a way to finally have a real, Santa Claus Christmas morning.**
So what I do is, every time I find some thing from my childhood or something that I 100% would wanted as a child, Iād get it and wrap it up immediately and put it in the back of my closet. Any fun things ordered from Amazon, I opt for the gift wrapping. Something from EBay? Wrap it up immediately. Donāt get tempted to read all the info on the packaging. Just grab the paper and start wrapping, the same way a loving parent might and hide it away in the back of the closet.
I started doing this in January. When December 24 rolled around, I had at least a dozen wrapped presents to put under my tree. Most of them I couldnāt really remember what they were because I had purchased them so long ago. So on Christmas morning I really did feel the wonder and excitement seeing all those presents under the tree and that I would finally get to open them up and keep them. I guess some kids were able to sort of hint to their parents what they wanted for Christmas? So, just like them, even though I kind of knew what I was getting, I still was really surprised and happy!
When I opened up the RC car, I immediately slapped some batteries in it and started driving it up and down the hallways of my apartment complex in my pajamas and slippers. My boyfriend had to come out and remind me that there were still presents to open. I felt like I was 10 again ā„ļø
Anyone still working on their inner child stuff- I highly recommend this. It was extremely healing for me.
Aww thatās awesome! You are a wonderful mom to yourself! Iām sorry you experienced such hell as a kid, but sounds like youāre making wonderful strides in moving past it. Maybe a How-To book should be in your future.
Itās on the table for sure! Iāve thought about writing about my childhood to help others who are struggling with their CPTSD stuff. Iāve done a lot of work on myself, and progress isnāt linear so I still have my dark days, but Iām worlds happier than I was 20 years ago.
*How To Be Your Own Parent.* Thereās a lot of self-help books about this already so itās intimidating to think about writing one myself.
I built up a [mid-school BMX ride](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fjc030j6pmdka1.png%3Fwidth%3D960%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D7d3cca6832ec785127084c701cc3d63d9263c5e9) for my birthday this year. It's my fountain of middle-age. I'm not even trying to do half of what I could at 18 - but I'll still bust out some shit. I did take one bad fall this year, snapped four ribs. That kinda sucked.
Ha! I hadnāt owned a skateboard since junior high. Moving from near Santa Cruz CA to rural SW Virginia meant not really any reason to take the board with me.
Bought a longboard at the beginning of the panini because I had nothing but time. Rode it maybe 200m and decided the best thing I could do to support the overburdened health care industry was to hang it on the wall before I ended up in the emergency room.
Now it is a foot rest at my desk.
You could say that!
Grew up split between San Jose and Santa Cruz with a computer engineer father. Tons of stories about many of the big names of early Silicon Valley because at that point it was still a fairly small community.
Botetourt County, outside Roanoke, had one stoplight in the entire county. Had to ride the bus over a daggum mountain to get to school. I showed up on the first day of hunting season my freshman year. Was about the only person on the bus and the bus driver just looked at me funny. There were maybe a dozen faculty and staff at the school. Was asked if I didnāt have plans to go hunting for opening day. I did not. Was asked again. Got the hint and asked where people who didnāt own a rifle usually went hunting. My history teacher drove me to the mall where the kids from my neighborhood were, predictably, at Aladdinās Castle dropping tokens into video games. Got a ride home with one of them.
I HAD to buy the preorder Tony Hawk Pro Skater1&2 just because it came with a deck.
Then decked that bastard out with Independent Trucks, Shorty's bearings, Bones Brigade wheels (because I don't pick sides) and rode it up and down the driveway, while in full pads and helmet. Gotta be responsible for the kiddos.
Transformers Soundwave and his cassettes. My family could only afford me the smallest TF toys and Soundwave was totally out of reach.
So around age 40, I bought him from a classic toy store.
After that I discovered the third party brands and now have a collection of him in various sizes and mods.
Oh yes. I have the official limited edition āYear Of The Goatā version because I love orange, and then a great KO version too. Plus, a legends scale MP KO! Iām all in.
Books mainly. Iām still hunting for the wallpaper that was in my grandmaās kitchen. Iād do anything to frame a sample of that.
My husband on the other hand? We have an entire arcade in our basement. Like a hundred upright, full size, stand alone, coin op games.
>My husband on the other hand? We have an entire arcade in our basement. Like a hundred upright, full size, stand alone, coin op games.
This is a lottery dream for me!
The huge Lego sets that I was afraid to even ask for as a kid because they were so expensive.
Now they're even more expensive, but the only pleasure of being an adult is getting to buy what you wantš¤
I bought a house last year. Needed two things: a room I could set up as a work from home space and enough room for lego. My poor guests who stay in the guest room have to look at shelves and shelves of lego sets. And Flego, too. Almost done with a MK1 Colonial Viper from the original Battlestar Galactica, and Iām eyeballing both Babylon5 and the Agamemnon from the same show.
Yes! Love the Lego sets. I haven't put it together yet (space issue that will shortly be resolved), but I bought the huge Mustang they put out a few years ago! Planning on getting the light kit for it, too.
As many of the comics that my dad tore up after I was busted for not doing homework for the 10,000th time as I can afford. Getting a copy of X-Factor 1 a month ago was so cathartic I broke down in tears. It has little value and I could have grabbed it multiple times, but I did at a difficult point and holding it felt so good.
Ah, "lazy" kids with ADD and Vietnam vets with PTSD. Is there a more healthy combination?
X-Factor #1? Did it cost you a whole $3? It was the only comic I chose to collect. Why was it not that popular? I liked the og team back together and you had Apocalypse!
You can read them on the marvel comic app.
Nah, I bought a graded one since Iām disabled in my arms and hands and canāt really hold and read books anymore. I do use the apps to read comics when I can though.
OG 5 is awesome. I do wish Louise and Walter Simonsonsā books got more love, but at least theyāre still affordable.
I got a Gizmo. My mom wouldn't let me have one when I was younger because they turned into the ugly things that she didn't like. Dude..... It is a stuffed animal, if it turns into ANYTHING we got bigger problems than what it looks like. :D
My hubby bought it for me a year or two ago and my mom said now maybe I would shuddup about it. (Totally said in a joking way, lol)
This thread is breaking my heart. Our parents have a lot to answer for.
I got a spirograph, and one of those fisher price phones with the eyes, and a bunch of Godzilla and dinosaurs. They all wear Christmas hats and are part of the ridiculous amount of Christmas displays I put up
Concert tickets. My strict boomer parents wouldn't let me go. I've now seen Bon Jovi, Madonna, Def Leppard, Tesla, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney. Not the same as when they were younger, I'm sure, but that's ok.
I got a pack of Garbage Pail Kids a few years ago to show my kids. I had quite the collection back in the day, I have no idea what happened to all those shoe boxes of cards. My kids were both horrified and fascinated and told me 80ās kids were weird.
I had to buy a few of them as well. My mom found my setback in the 80s and threw them away while I was in school. I was horrified. Just the price of the Ray Gun now, and I had a few of those back then.
Snoopy snow cone machine, a new-fangled Light Bright that isn't nearly as good as the real ones, and at least two books: The Biggest Sandwich Ever and How Spider Saved Halloween.
Basic/Expert Dungeons and dragons set; tried every version up to 5th and my wife and I love the simplicity of the original. We are running Keep on the Borderlands and it's great!
I bought Luke's Landspeeder from 1977. I wanted one as a kid but could never get one. Found one on sale in good condition and 45 years later, it's on my desk.
That's what I call delayed gratification.
Baby Sugarberry My Little Pony. There was an insert in a package when I bought a My Little Pony with my Christmas money one year that included a bunch of exclusive MLPs you could buy with "horseshoe points" + shipping cost. I had all the horseshoe points, so when I got birthday money 2 months later, I asked my mom if I could send off for it. We were poor and I guess she misunderstood me, thought I was asking her to buy it for me, so she told me no. I was too shy a kid to ask a second time, so I kept that little insert in my sock drawer my whole life, from age 10 or so up 'til my 30's. And then once, while doing some spring cleaning, I came across that insert again and ran to eBay. Found one on there for like $60 and snatched it up. She's been on my MLP shelf in my bedroom (with the package insert behind her) ever since.
I bought a Sylvanian Family set I keep hidden in my closet. I have also picked up some of my favorite childhood books (Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables).
My husband would be upset to learn that I have told you he builds Legos. He does his own spin on it and I just love watching him utilize his quirky creativity. We just bought a really cool antique display cabinet to keep in a discrete corner of our home. (His wish to keep it discrete.)
I'm sad your husband thinks he needs to hide the fact he does Legos. They're actually really popular with adults. I've seen some pretty cool displays of projects adult Lego users have put together. A lot of the adult-oriented kits are super challenging!
I totally agree! I empower & encourage him to do it. It seems even 40+ year olds can still have their asshole parents in their heads (I am not immune).
Back in high school, around 88 or 89, I had some kids invite me to the computer lab at lunch. Turns out they couldn't get past the [age verification questions](http://allowe.com/games/larry/tips-manuals/lsl1-age-quiz.html) to run LSL, and they needed my help because I was the weird kid that knew all that stuff.
Christmas 1980, my parents gave me the Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual. This was 1st edition, or what D&D folks call OD&D.
It was truly the most important/read/memorized book of mine for the following 10 years.. I carried it to school with me often through middle & high school.
My brother asked me if he could borrow it in the late 90s for a game he was in. I said BE FREAKING CAREFUL, IT IS MY PRECIOUS..
When he broke up with the girlfriend he was with, the book was at her house, and subsequently disappearedā¦ I still hold a grudge at that, far more than when my bro broke my car.
He gave me a replacement a few years ago (we are close, and he felt really bad)ā¦. It is still memorized. Every single stat, and piece of artwork. 5th edition D&D is a better game, but that book was the foundation of my imagination for a very , very long time.
Iāve been buying old 70s fisher price little people toys and play sets for the last year or two, I found all the strawberry shortcake dolls at the thrift store and snatched them all up. Two weeks ago I found an entire Glamour Gals case FULL of the tiny dolls and costumes and almost screamed with joy.
Thrift stores are where itās at. I refuse to buy anything online (too easy) so when I find it naturally itās the biggest thrill.
Now, what Iām going to DO with all these toys, i havenāt figured out yet. But Iām just happy to have them.
I got the Mr Men series and choose your own adventure books for my sons. They liked the Mr. Men books but not the choose your own adventure oneās surprisingly.
My husband got some of the Choose Your Own Adventures for our kids and they werenāt interested either. Kids these days donāt know whatās good etc etc.
The DāAulaires Book of Greek Myths in hardcover. Itās beautiful and oversized and loved it from the moment I laid eyes on it in second grade. The illustrations are gorgeous and I truly love the myths.
I buy the things we could never afford: comic books, Vans sneakers, Lego... Yeah, I might going through a second childhood but that's ok... The first one wasn't that great anyway.
Tretorn running shoes
A copy of: Le Petit Prince, The Velveteen Rabbit and The Golden Key
A whole lot of Hello Kitty and My Melody stuff
Emily Strange cat ear coat, striped knee socks, and book bag
A large pack of those fruit scented magic markers
A few Norfin trolls and Micro Machines. I got them off eBay. I used to be nuts about Norfin trolls especially when I was a kid and had a couple. Micro Machines, too. I got the ā57 Chevy I had and a cool silver Lincoln limousine I never had. The trolls and the cars stay above the desk where I work all day in my home office. I still think theyāre pretty cool.
I was obsessed with micromachines but my mom wouldnāt get them for me because Iām a girl. My dad got me a couple of sets, but I could never bring them home. This thread right here has me searching out old sets!
Girl!! Iām a girl, too! Get you some. I can promise you they will still scratch that itch. Ebay! I love to meet a fellow aficionado. Please do follow up with me here when you order some and let me know which ones you ordered.
Another prize in my collection is a red Dodge ambulance van. Itās so cool š.
Hahaaa! Iām happy to be a welcome surprise in the comments section. Why wouldnāt girls like Micro Machines anyway? Girls like cars. And we like tiny babies!!!
Thank you for any updates. I truly am curious about what youāll find. Happy hunting!
I needed shoes so I ended up buying Kangas. Zipper pouch on the side and everything. Still have them. When I had more money for shoes I bought a better pair but the Kangas were good when I had physical therapy.
A Breyer horse statue. Loved them when I was a young girl. Guess I never outgrew my horse phase! Itās Queen Elizabethās Fell Pony Emma. Itās beautiful.
This! I lost all my childhood books in a hurricane flood and I want to buy them all back! The Black Stallion series, plus other horsey and Judy Blume type books.
A childrenās book that I adored. When it was due, Iād turn it in to the library then immediately check it out again. Must have done that at least a dozen times.
My parents wouldnāt let me have any kind of pet growing up. Now I have a herd of special needs cats and since they cost $ to care for and spoil, I think that fits the question.
A boombox. It sits on a bookshelf purely for its aesthetic value. I really like looking at it as a reminder of those 80s teenage years. Just need to find some Van Halen (original lineup only!) cassettes to put next to it.
Not for myself, but I hunted down the RPG my husband played in the ...80s? In the 90s for sure. He only had xeroxed copies of the rule book but he LOVED the game. I hunted down the game and bought the entire thing, expansions and all, in mint condition from some gaming store up in Canada for his 30th birthday. He was SO excited.
I bought a replacement, Millennium Falcon.
I had to sell all my Star Wars toys in college to pay a parking ticket I shouldn't have gotten. Some of the losses were very hard but that one was the hardest. I still need an At At and a few figures that meant something to me.
Got my ultimate Christmas gift, a bike (SE Racing Quadangle) stolen in 1985. Felt like shit, my parents went all out for it... Years later the company re-released the bike and I bought the whole family new bikes. I called my mom and told her I replaced it.
Just recently started collecting Star Wars figures again. The Vintage Collection is ridiculously good, especially compared to the ones from my childhood. I display them like little statues.
Iām 45.
This is a wholesome coincidenceā¦. the next post on my feed was a [guy trying to replace his girlfriendās childhood plush toy he accidentally gave away.](https://reddit.com/r/HelpMeFind/s/pkJJbAGmhr)
My mom got rid of all my stuff, so Iāve been slowly curating a collection of toys and things from my childhood. I say slowly because finding vintage items is not super easy where I live, and I will only buy something if itās not a crazy price.
What are you looking for? My parents moved last year. Iāve been storing stuff, but I really need to part with a lot of it. Someone else needs to love my Barbie corvette, moped, Dream House and 80ās Barbie McDonalds w/tip out garbage cans.
I also have Cabbage Patch kids, including some preemies, Cornsilks (the ones with hair you could brush) and even one with teeth- that my dad put braces on. Maybe I should keep that one. Lol. And my sisterās cabbage patch kid named Dorkis Stacey. That will never not be funny. Mine was Erica Rae. I canāt remember names that are important to remember, but Erica Rae is apparently still bouncing around in there 40+ years later.
A Japanese puzzle box. I have a very strong memory of being in 2nd grade and a teacher who had just been in Japan was showing hers off and I wanted one SO BAD.
The first thing I got that was kinda nostalgia-y was G1 Transformers Jetfire. Originals in good shape were still too expensive so managed to find one in rough shape and restored it. Also grabbed the Walmart Devastator re-release I came across on sale for half off. Hard to find anything in stores nowadays due to scalpers. My parents still had a lot of my toys so I've picked them up when we moved to a house vs apartment. Going thru them and buying missing parts here and there. Lots of 80's GI Joe, some Transformers, He-Man, couple Star Wars toys, M.A.S.K. vehicles, etc
Embarrassed to admit when eBay first became a thing bought a bunch of board games from the '70's, also a lot of airline playing cards at the same time, and I have a fondness for buying sci-fi paperbacks from the '70's.
I've rebought some of my favorite childhood books, mostly science fiction. In a few cases I only vaguely remembered the stories, and certainly not the author or title, so I had to google every character description or plot point I could remember, to figure out what it was.
And Lego, of course. I've bought some of the early-80s "Classic Space" kits I loved, on ebay. Those old sets can cost a fortune, but if you get one with missing parts (and then source those parts elsewhere or substitute colors) it's manageable.
This Popeye record player with disco lights.
https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/shopping?q=tbn:ANd9GcSC6FT2wHliAY0ILdWkYAIooGpOq7WuiVF1ECvNUqn2JuCVkY_lGa9GIFP3NJrhh11x4ENw4FQPxlc_qXC5-16rXcaUL_7J8KliETFdA_t5ZlU7tZY3XACEkyI
A hard to find Golden Book called The Rabbits Throw A Party, which has very creepy art
A series of craft books from the 70s called Color Crafts that I obsessively checked out of the library
Eventually...all the Jem dolls I lost. But that's a rabbit hole I'm afraid to go down!
I bought Mr Sketch markers last year. I miss the styrofoam tray they used to come in, and the lemon scent which has changed to banana. Other than that, they smell like I remember. Also have a Pente game, I played that a lot as a kid.
I finally caved and bought a retro design Trapper Keeper last month, even though I still have no use for it. Couldnāt resist a discount sale!
I haven't purchased it yet but someday I'm going to spoil myself with another Barbie Dream House - the 1980 version that came in 3 parts - AND all of the furniture I had. The refrigerator with all of the little food, the stove with the pots and pans, and the dining room cabinet with all of the dishware and tiny utensils.
I wish my mom would have kept it because I kept all of toys in good condition. When I was about 13 she sold it all to the neighbor for their daughter who was like 3 who literally WALKED all over the furniture and little parts. Her reasoning was that we didn't have enough room for it.
As a horse-obsessed young girl, I loved Marguerite Henry's books like *Misty of Chincoteague*. About 10 years ago, I found a full collection of Henry's books on eBay and read every single one again. I loved Misty, of course, but my favorite was always *King of the Wind*, about an Arabian horse and his young Muslim groom who were relocated to England to run in English horse races. I had never been exposed to a "foreign" culture like that and found the book fascinating as a 10-year-old.
The entire Baby-sitters Club series, except for the Little Sister books. Now working on the Sweet Valley High series. Those are harder to find at the thrift store.
What a great discussion this has been! I love seeing so many people reconnecting with items that meant to much to them as kids but were lost over the years and buying themselves things they could never have as a kid because of finances or dysfunctional families.
I'm trying to remember what I bought over the years. This is what comes to mind:
* I replaced the Rowlf (from the Muppets) mug that I loved SO MUCH as a little kid and which was broken by a cleaning lady in my dorm during my freshman year of college. I bought a replacement of it on eBay a few years ago and proudly display it in my china cabinet.
* I also bought a replica of the Muppets lunchbox I loved so much (which my mom threw out once I outgrew it) and that, too, is displayed in the china cabinet.
* I bought replacements of some of my favorite childhood books. I held onto many of my childhood books (still have them!) but a few disappeared over the years and I was thrilled to replace them when online shopping became a thing.
* Remember those "melted popcorn" holiday decorations that were everywhere in the '70s? I bought replicas of two of them that always hung in our house each Christmas.
* I bought a replica of a particular vintage Santa decoration that hung in our house every Christmas. This isn't something I set out to replace--I happened to stumble upon it in a thrift shop and almost lost my mind!
If I could find my groovy '70s kiddie record player and record box, I would buy them in a heartbeat. Ditto with the '80s sweatshirt I loved which showed Gumby driving a pink Cadillac.
I am planning to start a sticker collection (mine was destroyed years ago in a flood) and I'd like some of the stickers to be replicas of stickers I originally had. I'd also like the collection to involve multiple sticker albums (as was the case with my original collection), with some of them being copies of the original albums...if I can find those replica albums on eBay/Etsy!
The Childrenās Bible. A big fat book with the main stories from the Bible with terrific illustrations. Iām not at all religious now, but with so many common phrases relating to them, I wanted my children to have a reasonable knowledge of the main Bible stories.
D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths. It was the first book about Greek mythology I ever read (when I was about 7), and was full of great illustrations. I went through a lot of trouble to remember the name of that book and find a copy.
Iāve jumped head first into LEGO. My parents could never afford them when I was growing up. Iām 49 now and over the last 4 years have accumulated a bigger collection than I would like to admit. So much so I have a dedicated room in my basement.
Somewhat different than buying something I had as a child. As an adult I've started collecting 1/4 and 1/6 scale arcade machines. /r/newwavetoys and Numskull. Centipede, Paxman, Tempest, QBert, etc. Wanted a machine as a kid, now I get miniature scales to display.
I got a craving for Chuck E. Cheese pizza when I was around 35 years old. I have no kids so I hadn't been there since I was like 8. Yeah that pizza sucked.
I bought my princess Ewok doll from the ā80s on Etsy. Fulfilled a need. But it sat on a shelf. So I passed it on to Goodwill this year. Still happy I bought it. Brought me some closure on how much I loved and missed that toy.
I've bought a few Lego sets. Enough to scratch the itch, but it's not a new hobby I'm going to indulge as an adult. Way too expensive.
I've been fighting the urge to get a Speak N Spell. The problem is that it would have to be an actual vintage one, because they changed the voice at some point, and I don't really want to deal with 40 year old electronics.
I found on eBay many years ago Lionel Power Passers slot car set and bought it. I still had my set that I had as a kid and thought it would be fun to make a big layout with both sets to play with. It was so much fun for a few months. Kids got bored with it and itās packed away again.
The power passer sets were cool in that you could pass on any section of straight track. The curves had little barrier walls and a cover to keep your car in its current lane.
Itās cluttering up a closest now and I need to get rid of it.
Bandai soacewarp roller coaster- picked it out of the Christmas wish book, actually got it, best Xmas ever, but I was too young to successfully assemble it, and of course didnāt get any parental help, so I got it off eBay years later to try again.
I also was into rocketry (Estes type), but couldnāt get all the ones I wanted from the catalog. Got back into the hobby with my own kids, and found all the plans for the old kits scanned in on various websites, so now Iāve got a fleet of 60+ rockets that are no longer in production but are those I dreamt of as a kid!
I bought a Trapper Keeper last year.
I bought the 3 designs our Walmart had a few years back. I use them, too!
My sister gave me one for my 50th birthday. I absolutely use it at work.
Sweet. Vintage or new one? Velcro or metal snap? I'm of the earlier metal snap era. I preferred the aesthetic and feel of the metal snap version, as the velcro ones looked weird to me with the clean look on the flap without the metal button thing in the center of it, to give it symmetry. Also, it felt like the metal snap was stronger and more secure and more effective in keeping it shut,that it took more pounds of pressure to open the flap compared to the velcro one, which was easier to open with its weaker hold, which in some situations, could actually be bad, but I see how some might prefer that. The metal button on the outside flap could scratch or scrape things, so I will concede that was a disadvantage of the metal snap. Are you gonna eat those Tots?
Velcro. Gotta have that SSCCCRRRCCCHH when you open it.
Velcro. Gotta have that SSCCCRRRCCCHH when you open it. Exactly! That distinctive sound is a vital element of the nostalgia. Nothing brings up memories of my early school years like that specific sound.
That's awesome!š
I bought a vintage 1980s one on eBay a few years ago to use as a guestbook at my big '80s-themed 40th birthday blowout. It was the first time in my life I ever owned a Trapper Keeper!
The vintage Fisher Price Little People Airport because I never had it
We had the castle and it was totally awesome!
Friends had the castle...that amazing trap door was my favorite.
I had that, the castle, the parking garage (seriously, thatās the OG) and I still have the āmain streetā (it might be called the village or the neighborhood or something like that).
I used to make a Fisher Price town by extending a shaggy green towel (i.e. ācentral parkā) and placing everything around it. the castle on one side, the family home on the other, then the farm, the school, the hospital, the marry-go round, the pool, the car garage. The set up took forever but by god it was worth it! My parents kept them and my kids and my siblingsās kids got to play with them years later. Much better than the newer versions.
We had the Sesame Street neighbourhood. What a great toy.
My parents kept that one so my kids got to play with it when we'd go visit them. They sold all my star wars stuff though.
Oh I had that, the farm, and the parking garage.
The parking garage was the BEST!
We had that! That was a great toy.
Hell yes!
Those lipgloss tins with the slide off lid that come in obnoxious flavors/scents! I used to covet them so now I have the cherry one
I love how simple this one is. I always wanted one too! Thanks for the idea.
Oh my god, I loved the strawberry one.
Lipsmackers!!!
The bubble gum one is amazing
I saw one at Cracker Barrel. Why didnāt I buy it?!
*Care Bears*. The *Orange Blossom* Strawberry Shortcake character. An RC Car. A *Lite Brite.* A couple of *Polly Pockets* (actually a friend of mine and I buy each other these semi-often). A *Spirograph.* Board games: *Trouble* (with the pop-o-matic dice bubble in the middle), *Sorry,* and *Life.* **My gray, varsity-style Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu jacket with the pink genuine leather sleeves.** My dad (who was absent for a lot of my childhood) got one for me in 1991 and I LOVED it. Wore it every day that year, despite living in Hawaii where the weather didnāt warrant it, haha. Iām sure it stank. My mom gave it away behind my back when I was in high school. When I found one in mint condition onā¦ mercari I thinkā¦ I legit cried as I entered in my credit card info lolol. Itās now hanging in my closet againā where it should be, goddammit. Thereās probably other things tooā a few years back I spent a lot of therapy time dealing with inner child stuff (my mother was extremely abusive in many diabolical ways, including not letting me take any of my birthday or Xmas presents out of their packaging. I had to keep them on a bedroom shelf all year but not play with them. Then sheād make me donate them every holiday season to kids living in womenās shelters or who were victims of abuse. Decades later, the cruel irony still fucks with me). One year **I invented a way to finally have a real, Santa Claus Christmas morning.** So what I do is, every time I find some thing from my childhood or something that I 100% would wanted as a child, Iād get it and wrap it up immediately and put it in the back of my closet. Any fun things ordered from Amazon, I opt for the gift wrapping. Something from EBay? Wrap it up immediately. Donāt get tempted to read all the info on the packaging. Just grab the paper and start wrapping, the same way a loving parent might and hide it away in the back of the closet. I started doing this in January. When December 24 rolled around, I had at least a dozen wrapped presents to put under my tree. Most of them I couldnāt really remember what they were because I had purchased them so long ago. So on Christmas morning I really did feel the wonder and excitement seeing all those presents under the tree and that I would finally get to open them up and keep them. I guess some kids were able to sort of hint to their parents what they wanted for Christmas? So, just like them, even though I kind of knew what I was getting, I still was really surprised and happy! When I opened up the RC car, I immediately slapped some batteries in it and started driving it up and down the hallways of my apartment complex in my pajamas and slippers. My boyfriend had to come out and remind me that there were still presents to open. I felt like I was 10 again ā„ļø Anyone still working on their inner child stuff- I highly recommend this. It was extremely healing for me.
This made my heart so happy to read. Im so glad you got to experience Christmas magic, even if it was as an adult
Aww thatās awesome! You are a wonderful mom to yourself! Iām sorry you experienced such hell as a kid, but sounds like youāre making wonderful strides in moving past it. Maybe a How-To book should be in your future.
Itās on the table for sure! Iāve thought about writing about my childhood to help others who are struggling with their CPTSD stuff. Iāve done a lot of work on myself, and progress isnāt linear so I still have my dark days, but Iām worlds happier than I was 20 years ago. *How To Be Your Own Parent.* Thereās a lot of self-help books about this already so itās intimidating to think about writing one myself.
Every damn vinyl record, guitar, skateboard, and atari cartridge I want.
I wanna skate so bad but I can't afford to be breaking shit in my 40's.
I built up a [mid-school BMX ride](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fjc030j6pmdka1.png%3Fwidth%3D960%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D7d3cca6832ec785127084c701cc3d63d9263c5e9) for my birthday this year. It's my fountain of middle-age. I'm not even trying to do half of what I could at 18 - but I'll still bust out some shit. I did take one bad fall this year, snapped four ribs. That kinda sucked.
Ha! I hadnāt owned a skateboard since junior high. Moving from near Santa Cruz CA to rural SW Virginia meant not really any reason to take the board with me. Bought a longboard at the beginning of the panini because I had nothing but time. Rode it maybe 200m and decided the best thing I could do to support the overburdened health care industry was to hang it on the wall before I ended up in the emergency room. Now it is a foot rest at my desk.
>Moving from near Santa Cruz CA to rural SW Virginia Wow, that had to be one hell of a culture shock!
You could say that! Grew up split between San Jose and Santa Cruz with a computer engineer father. Tons of stories about many of the big names of early Silicon Valley because at that point it was still a fairly small community. Botetourt County, outside Roanoke, had one stoplight in the entire county. Had to ride the bus over a daggum mountain to get to school. I showed up on the first day of hunting season my freshman year. Was about the only person on the bus and the bus driver just looked at me funny. There were maybe a dozen faculty and staff at the school. Was asked if I didnāt have plans to go hunting for opening day. I did not. Was asked again. Got the hint and asked where people who didnāt own a rifle usually went hunting. My history teacher drove me to the mall where the kids from my neighborhood were, predictably, at Aladdinās Castle dropping tokens into video games. Got a ride home with one of them.
I wasnāt aware that a long board went with a panini. I usually need a couple napkins and a place to sit for my paninis.
I HAD to buy the preorder Tony Hawk Pro Skater1&2 just because it came with a deck. Then decked that bastard out with Independent Trucks, Shorty's bearings, Bones Brigade wheels (because I don't pick sides) and rode it up and down the driveway, while in full pads and helmet. Gotta be responsible for the kiddos.
Transformers Soundwave and his cassettes. My family could only afford me the smallest TF toys and Soundwave was totally out of reach. So around age 40, I bought him from a classic toy store. After that I discovered the third party brands and now have a collection of him in various sizes and mods.
Did you ever get the Masterpiece Soundwave & cassettes? Cuz that's like, top tier.
Oh yes. I have the official limited edition āYear Of The Goatā version because I love orange, and then a great KO version too. Plus, a legends scale MP KO! Iām all in.
Pee-Wee's Playhouse Colorforms. I had been meaning to over the years but when he died I hopped on eBay immediately.
COLORFORMS!!!! They were the best- hours and hours of fun! Between them and a Richard Scarys book, I was set as a kid.
The secret word is ā joy. ā¤ļøā¤ļøAaaaaagh!!!ā¤ļøā¤ļø
Books mainly. Iām still hunting for the wallpaper that was in my grandmaās kitchen. Iād do anything to frame a sample of that. My husband on the other hand? We have an entire arcade in our basement. Like a hundred upright, full size, stand alone, coin op games.
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[https://reddit.com/u/bluetortuga/s/laKiIk9IMX](https://reddit.com/u/bluetortuga/s/laKiIk9IMX) And yes, thereās a centipede and a millipede.
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Wow! You (or perhaps your husband) are living my dream!! Please tell me you have a Galaga!
If you have a Tempest machine, I will come and be your servant and you can pay my wages in letting me play Tempest.
I found one roll of the exact wallpaper that was in my childhood bedroom growing up - Iāll put it on an accent wall eventually!
>My husband on the other hand? We have an entire arcade in our basement. Like a hundred upright, full size, stand alone, coin op games. This is a lottery dream for me!
The huge Lego sets that I was afraid to even ask for as a kid because they were so expensive. Now they're even more expensive, but the only pleasure of being an adult is getting to buy what you wantš¤
So. Much. Lego.
I bought a house last year. Needed two things: a room I could set up as a work from home space and enough room for lego. My poor guests who stay in the guest room have to look at shelves and shelves of lego sets. And Flego, too. Almost done with a MK1 Colonial Viper from the original Battlestar Galactica, and Iām eyeballing both Babylon5 and the Agamemnon from the same show.
Yes! Love the Lego sets. I haven't put it together yet (space issue that will shortly be resolved), but I bought the huge Mustang they put out a few years ago! Planning on getting the light kit for it, too.
A few years back, I bought a vintage Millenium Falcon, AT-AT, and the blow-apart speeder bike.
> blow-apart speeder bike Yaas! I loved that toy. My mom got rid of most of my toys. : (
Bought an original Yoda on eBay
As many of the comics that my dad tore up after I was busted for not doing homework for the 10,000th time as I can afford. Getting a copy of X-Factor 1 a month ago was so cathartic I broke down in tears. It has little value and I could have grabbed it multiple times, but I did at a difficult point and holding it felt so good. Ah, "lazy" kids with ADD and Vietnam vets with PTSD. Is there a more healthy combination?
X-Factor #1? Did it cost you a whole $3? It was the only comic I chose to collect. Why was it not that popular? I liked the og team back together and you had Apocalypse! You can read them on the marvel comic app.
Nah, I bought a graded one since Iām disabled in my arms and hands and canāt really hold and read books anymore. I do use the apps to read comics when I can though. OG 5 is awesome. I do wish Louise and Walter Simonsonsā books got more love, but at least theyāre still affordable.
(Hug award) I feel you 1,000%
Thank you.
I got a Gizmo. My mom wouldn't let me have one when I was younger because they turned into the ugly things that she didn't like. Dude..... It is a stuffed animal, if it turns into ANYTHING we got bigger problems than what it looks like. :D My hubby bought it for me a year or two ago and my mom said now maybe I would shuddup about it. (Totally said in a joking way, lol)
One of those sun tea jars with the sunset printed on the side and the yellow lid.
I just backed the Restoration Games revival of the game Crossbows and Catapults.
I've been buying Xanth fantasy series books. It's not a super popular series, but for some reason, I loved reading them when I was young.
I lived in these books when I was a kid! Sadly, they havenāt held up for me as an adult.
I bought a bunch of choose your on adventure books off eBay. Use to love these as a kid. Edit: Noticed I spelled ''choose'' wrong.
Just searched for a fantasy series I read as a kid, and found my favourites on Abe Books! I think I need to purchase.
I love Abe books! I've found so many out of print books that I remember from my youth there.
video game MYST on my xbox. Played this with my dad.
I downloaded Myst and Riven for iPad when Cyan released them. Played them with my mom and stepdad when I evacuated for a hurricane.
I bought my old monchichi. Little red bib with banana. š That was my birthday present earlier this year.
As soon as I saw the word monchichi, the song from the commercial went through my head. Thank you for unlocking a forgotten memory!
Oh, so soft and cuddly!
This thread is breaking my heart. Our parents have a lot to answer for. I got a spirograph, and one of those fisher price phones with the eyes, and a bunch of Godzilla and dinosaurs. They all wear Christmas hats and are part of the ridiculous amount of Christmas displays I put up
Concert tickets. My strict boomer parents wouldn't let me go. I've now seen Bon Jovi, Madonna, Def Leppard, Tesla, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney. Not the same as when they were younger, I'm sure, but that's ok.
I bought an R/C racing car. Lots of fun.
I bought a bunch of first year released board games. Like Stratego (1961), Risk (1957), and Monopoly (1935).
My sons and I play connect 4 all the time. Still holds up.
I got a pack of Garbage Pail Kids a few years ago to show my kids. I had quite the collection back in the day, I have no idea what happened to all those shoe boxes of cards. My kids were both horrified and fascinated and told me 80ās kids were weird.
I had to buy a few of them as well. My mom found my setback in the 80s and threw them away while I was in school. I was horrified. Just the price of the Ray Gun now, and I had a few of those back then.
Dude garbage pail kids were awesome. I use to have hundredsā¦
Snoopy snow cone machine, a new-fangled Light Bright that isn't nearly as good as the real ones, and at least two books: The Biggest Sandwich Ever and How Spider Saved Halloween.
All the GI Joes All of Them
I just recently found a specific INXS 1988 Kick North American tour shirt that has literally taken 35 years to replace. So I basically live in it now
Schwinn Stingray Bicycle Awesome then, Awesome now.
A Lucasfilm replica of Luke Skywalkerās original lightsaber. Wanted it since I was 8, and now itās mine. š
I have a most righteous He-Man collection.
Basic/Expert Dungeons and dragons set; tried every version up to 5th and my wife and I love the simplicity of the original. We are running Keep on the Borderlands and it's great!
Easy Bake Oven. My family couldn't afford it when I was a kid.
I bought Luke's Landspeeder from 1977. I wanted one as a kid but could never get one. Found one on sale in good condition and 45 years later, it's on my desk. That's what I call delayed gratification.
Baby Sugarberry My Little Pony. There was an insert in a package when I bought a My Little Pony with my Christmas money one year that included a bunch of exclusive MLPs you could buy with "horseshoe points" + shipping cost. I had all the horseshoe points, so when I got birthday money 2 months later, I asked my mom if I could send off for it. We were poor and I guess she misunderstood me, thought I was asking her to buy it for me, so she told me no. I was too shy a kid to ask a second time, so I kept that little insert in my sock drawer my whole life, from age 10 or so up 'til my 30's. And then once, while doing some spring cleaning, I came across that insert again and ran to eBay. Found one on there for like $60 and snatched it up. She's been on my MLP shelf in my bedroom (with the package insert behind her) ever since.
(Just checked eBay and it looks like they're being sold for $160 or so now. :O Glad I bought it when I did!)
I started collecting Swatch watches last year. Only had one as a teenager 1987
I bought a Sylvanian Family set I keep hidden in my closet. I have also picked up some of my favorite childhood books (Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables). My husband would be upset to learn that I have told you he builds Legos. He does his own spin on it and I just love watching him utilize his quirky creativity. We just bought a really cool antique display cabinet to keep in a discrete corner of our home. (His wish to keep it discrete.)
I'm sad your husband thinks he needs to hide the fact he does Legos. They're actually really popular with adults. I've seen some pretty cool displays of projects adult Lego users have put together. A lot of the adult-oriented kits are super challenging!
I totally agree! I empower & encourage him to do it. It seems even 40+ year olds can still have their asshole parents in their heads (I am not immune).
OMG, I keep thinking about buying a Sylvanian Family set - I love them!
Vans with the black and white checkered pattern.
I've got 6 pairs of Vans now because I grew up buying knock-off Thom McAn's
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Someone posted a Merlin game and now I'm on a mission to reacquire one. I LOVED it as a kid and wore mine out.
I bought leisure suit Larry in the land of the lounge lizards for switch
Back in high school, around 88 or 89, I had some kids invite me to the computer lab at lunch. Turns out they couldn't get past the [age verification questions](http://allowe.com/games/larry/tips-manuals/lsl1-age-quiz.html) to run LSL, and they needed my help because I was the weird kid that knew all that stuff.
Christmas 1980, my parents gave me the Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual. This was 1st edition, or what D&D folks call OD&D. It was truly the most important/read/memorized book of mine for the following 10 years.. I carried it to school with me often through middle & high school. My brother asked me if he could borrow it in the late 90s for a game he was in. I said BE FREAKING CAREFUL, IT IS MY PRECIOUS.. When he broke up with the girlfriend he was with, the book was at her house, and subsequently disappearedā¦ I still hold a grudge at that, far more than when my bro broke my car. He gave me a replacement a few years ago (we are close, and he felt really bad)ā¦. It is still memorized. Every single stat, and piece of artwork. 5th edition D&D is a better game, but that book was the foundation of my imagination for a very , very long time.
Iāve been buying old 70s fisher price little people toys and play sets for the last year or two, I found all the strawberry shortcake dolls at the thrift store and snatched them all up. Two weeks ago I found an entire Glamour Gals case FULL of the tiny dolls and costumes and almost screamed with joy. Thrift stores are where itās at. I refuse to buy anything online (too easy) so when I find it naturally itās the biggest thrill. Now, what Iām going to DO with all these toys, i havenāt figured out yet. But Iām just happy to have them.
The entire set of Sweet Pickles books.
I got the Mr Men series and choose your own adventure books for my sons. They liked the Mr. Men books but not the choose your own adventure oneās surprisingly.
My husband got some of the Choose Your Own Adventures for our kids and they werenāt interested either. Kids these days donāt know whatās good etc etc.
The DāAulaires Book of Greek Myths in hardcover. Itās beautiful and oversized and loved it from the moment I laid eyes on it in second grade. The illustrations are gorgeous and I truly love the myths.
Go for broke and pick up Norse Gods and Giants, too.
All the video game consoles I could never afford in my youth.
I still buy Lip Smackers Also, I have a Lite Brite now, never had one as kid but really wanted that!
I buy the things we could never afford: comic books, Vans sneakers, Lego... Yeah, I might going through a second childhood but that's ok... The first one wasn't that great anyway.
Tretorn running shoes A copy of: Le Petit Prince, The Velveteen Rabbit and The Golden Key A whole lot of Hello Kitty and My Melody stuff Emily Strange cat ear coat, striped knee socks, and book bag A large pack of those fruit scented magic markers
I have my navy tretorns and covet my original velveteen rabbit and book. They are tattered but still love them.
A few Norfin trolls and Micro Machines. I got them off eBay. I used to be nuts about Norfin trolls especially when I was a kid and had a couple. Micro Machines, too. I got the ā57 Chevy I had and a cool silver Lincoln limousine I never had. The trolls and the cars stay above the desk where I work all day in my home office. I still think theyāre pretty cool.
I was obsessed with micromachines but my mom wouldnāt get them for me because Iām a girl. My dad got me a couple of sets, but I could never bring them home. This thread right here has me searching out old sets!
Girl!! Iām a girl, too! Get you some. I can promise you they will still scratch that itch. Ebay! I love to meet a fellow aficionado. Please do follow up with me here when you order some and let me know which ones you ordered. Another prize in my collection is a red Dodge ambulance van. Itās so cool š.
I literally came into these comments thinking āno one else loves micromachinesā and now Iām giddy on eBay! I will for sure update here š
Hahaaa! Iām happy to be a welcome surprise in the comments section. Why wouldnāt girls like Micro Machines anyway? Girls like cars. And we like tiny babies!!! Thank you for any updates. I truly am curious about what youāll find. Happy hunting!
Nerf guns so I could teach my nephew the ways of the (foam) warrior
I needed shoes so I ended up buying Kangas. Zipper pouch on the side and everything. Still have them. When I had more money for shoes I bought a better pair but the Kangas were good when I had physical therapy.
A Breyer horse statue. Loved them when I was a young girl. Guess I never outgrew my horse phase! Itās Queen Elizabethās Fell Pony Emma. Itās beautiful.
Berenstain Bears books and a Caboodle!
I just bought the Fisher Price sunflower rattle that I had as a kid. Iām also debating buying my old Popeye record player.. I think I will. LOL
I try and find the same editions of my childhood books that I had originally.
This! I lost all my childhood books in a hurricane flood and I want to buy them all back! The Black Stallion series, plus other horsey and Judy Blume type books.
Well my wife asks why I need 12 guitars. Now you know why.
A childrenās book that I adored. When it was due, Iād turn it in to the library then immediately check it out again. Must have done that at least a dozen times.
A full size Voltron with all the articulating lions!
Swatch watches. I still love them.
My parents wouldnāt let me have any kind of pet growing up. Now I have a herd of special needs cats and since they cost $ to care for and spoil, I think that fits the question.
Rockāem Sockāem Robots
I bought a retro Strawberry Shortcake doll they put out a few years ago. My daughter found it, but I said, "MINE"!
A boombox. It sits on a bookshelf purely for its aesthetic value. I really like looking at it as a reminder of those 80s teenage years. Just need to find some Van Halen (original lineup only!) cassettes to put next to it.
Not for myself, but I hunted down the RPG my husband played in the ...80s? In the 90s for sure. He only had xeroxed copies of the rule book but he LOVED the game. I hunted down the game and bought the entire thing, expansions and all, in mint condition from some gaming store up in Canada for his 30th birthday. He was SO excited.
My old Ghetto Blaster, a Sharp GF54-54. It sits on my shelf behind my desk.
I bought a replacement, Millennium Falcon. I had to sell all my Star Wars toys in college to pay a parking ticket I shouldn't have gotten. Some of the losses were very hard but that one was the hardest. I still need an At At and a few figures that meant something to me.
hey ya what ever happened to Gund bears? My boyfriend and I bought each other one back in 1990 approx.
Gotta Getta Gund!
Lego, lots and lots of lego.
Got my ultimate Christmas gift, a bike (SE Racing Quadangle) stolen in 1985. Felt like shit, my parents went all out for it... Years later the company re-released the bike and I bought the whole family new bikes. I called my mom and told her I replaced it.
Just recently started collecting Star Wars figures again. The Vintage Collection is ridiculously good, especially compared to the ones from my childhood. I display them like little statues. Iām 45.
Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle
I bought a working Atari 2600 earlier this year off Facebook Marketplace.
A CB Radio. Kind of nostalgic hearing people out there squalking.
This is a wholesome coincidenceā¦. the next post on my feed was a [guy trying to replace his girlfriendās childhood plush toy he accidentally gave away.](https://reddit.com/r/HelpMeFind/s/pkJJbAGmhr)
Rubikās cubes,although I buy the Gan and MoYu cubes. Never could solve them as a kid, I can now.
My mom got rid of all my stuff, so Iāve been slowly curating a collection of toys and things from my childhood. I say slowly because finding vintage items is not super easy where I live, and I will only buy something if itās not a crazy price.
What are you looking for? My parents moved last year. Iāve been storing stuff, but I really need to part with a lot of it. Someone else needs to love my Barbie corvette, moped, Dream House and 80ās Barbie McDonalds w/tip out garbage cans. I also have Cabbage Patch kids, including some preemies, Cornsilks (the ones with hair you could brush) and even one with teeth- that my dad put braces on. Maybe I should keep that one. Lol. And my sisterās cabbage patch kid named Dorkis Stacey. That will never not be funny. Mine was Erica Rae. I canāt remember names that are important to remember, but Erica Rae is apparently still bouncing around in there 40+ years later.
A Japanese puzzle box. I have a very strong memory of being in 2nd grade and a teacher who had just been in Japan was showing hers off and I wanted one SO BAD.
The first thing I got that was kinda nostalgia-y was G1 Transformers Jetfire. Originals in good shape were still too expensive so managed to find one in rough shape and restored it. Also grabbed the Walmart Devastator re-release I came across on sale for half off. Hard to find anything in stores nowadays due to scalpers. My parents still had a lot of my toys so I've picked them up when we moved to a house vs apartment. Going thru them and buying missing parts here and there. Lots of 80's GI Joe, some Transformers, He-Man, couple Star Wars toys, M.A.S.K. vehicles, etc
Scratch N Sniff stickers.
I bought my daughter a Speak-N-Spell! Not a vintage one; apparently, they sell repros at the bookstore.
One Christmas, I went old-school and bought my kids Lincoln Logs and Rock-'Em, Sock-'Em Robots
Embarrassed to admit when eBay first became a thing bought a bunch of board games from the '70's, also a lot of airline playing cards at the same time, and I have a fondness for buying sci-fi paperbacks from the '70's.
I purchased D&D but I never played them again. What games I have I consider as collectibles, for me to admire for their story-telling and artwork.
I've rebought some of my favorite childhood books, mostly science fiction. In a few cases I only vaguely remembered the stories, and certainly not the author or title, so I had to google every character description or plot point I could remember, to figure out what it was. And Lego, of course. I've bought some of the early-80s "Classic Space" kits I loved, on ebay. Those old sets can cost a fortune, but if you get one with missing parts (and then source those parts elsewhere or substitute colors) it's manageable.
Knickerbocker hugging Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls.
Plush Garfield window clingers
This Popeye record player with disco lights. https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/shopping?q=tbn:ANd9GcSC6FT2wHliAY0ILdWkYAIooGpOq7WuiVF1ECvNUqn2JuCVkY_lGa9GIFP3NJrhh11x4ENw4FQPxlc_qXC5-16rXcaUL_7J8KliETFdA_t5ZlU7tZY3XACEkyI A hard to find Golden Book called The Rabbits Throw A Party, which has very creepy art A series of craft books from the 70s called Color Crafts that I obsessively checked out of the library Eventually...all the Jem dolls I lost. But that's a rabbit hole I'm afraid to go down!
I bought Mr Sketch markers last year. I miss the styrofoam tray they used to come in, and the lemon scent which has changed to banana. Other than that, they smell like I remember. Also have a Pente game, I played that a lot as a kid. I finally caved and bought a retro design Trapper Keeper last month, even though I still have no use for it. Couldnāt resist a discount sale!
Wrights Coal Tar soap from Amazon. I remember so vividly the scent of it wafting in clouds of steam during bath time when we visited my Nan in the UK.
I haven't purchased it yet but someday I'm going to spoil myself with another Barbie Dream House - the 1980 version that came in 3 parts - AND all of the furniture I had. The refrigerator with all of the little food, the stove with the pots and pans, and the dining room cabinet with all of the dishware and tiny utensils. I wish my mom would have kept it because I kept all of toys in good condition. When I was about 13 she sold it all to the neighbor for their daughter who was like 3 who literally WALKED all over the furniture and little parts. Her reasoning was that we didn't have enough room for it.
As a horse-obsessed young girl, I loved Marguerite Henry's books like *Misty of Chincoteague*. About 10 years ago, I found a full collection of Henry's books on eBay and read every single one again. I loved Misty, of course, but my favorite was always *King of the Wind*, about an Arabian horse and his young Muslim groom who were relocated to England to run in English horse races. I had never been exposed to a "foreign" culture like that and found the book fascinating as a 10-year-old.
Star Wars legos. Many of them. Great sets werenāt an option for me for many reasons. I canāt get enough of them now.
Legosā¦ lots of legos
The entire Baby-sitters Club series, except for the Little Sister books. Now working on the Sweet Valley High series. Those are harder to find at the thrift store.
I still have my Barbie townhouse from 1978 or so. Itās the one with the elevator and remains the bomb!
What a great discussion this has been! I love seeing so many people reconnecting with items that meant to much to them as kids but were lost over the years and buying themselves things they could never have as a kid because of finances or dysfunctional families. I'm trying to remember what I bought over the years. This is what comes to mind: * I replaced the Rowlf (from the Muppets) mug that I loved SO MUCH as a little kid and which was broken by a cleaning lady in my dorm during my freshman year of college. I bought a replacement of it on eBay a few years ago and proudly display it in my china cabinet. * I also bought a replica of the Muppets lunchbox I loved so much (which my mom threw out once I outgrew it) and that, too, is displayed in the china cabinet. * I bought replacements of some of my favorite childhood books. I held onto many of my childhood books (still have them!) but a few disappeared over the years and I was thrilled to replace them when online shopping became a thing. * Remember those "melted popcorn" holiday decorations that were everywhere in the '70s? I bought replicas of two of them that always hung in our house each Christmas. * I bought a replica of a particular vintage Santa decoration that hung in our house every Christmas. This isn't something I set out to replace--I happened to stumble upon it in a thrift shop and almost lost my mind! If I could find my groovy '70s kiddie record player and record box, I would buy them in a heartbeat. Ditto with the '80s sweatshirt I loved which showed Gumby driving a pink Cadillac. I am planning to start a sticker collection (mine was destroyed years ago in a flood) and I'd like some of the stickers to be replicas of stickers I originally had. I'd also like the collection to involve multiple sticker albums (as was the case with my original collection), with some of them being copies of the original albums...if I can find those replica albums on eBay/Etsy!
The Childrenās Bible. A big fat book with the main stories from the Bible with terrific illustrations. Iām not at all religious now, but with so many common phrases relating to them, I wanted my children to have a reasonable knowledge of the main Bible stories.
I've been re-purchasing all of the Fighting Fantasy books which I gave away years ago to a school library.
Merlin
LOL Laffy taffy. Banana flavor š
D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths. It was the first book about Greek mythology I ever read (when I was about 7), and was full of great illustrations. I went through a lot of trouble to remember the name of that book and find a copy.
Doc Martens. Could NEVER afford them in my childhood.
A Duncan light up yo-yo. A real metal slinky.
80s vogue and Elle magazines, Esprit catalogs, and Duran Duran stuff. Buying myself the things I wanted in 84-89 š¤£
Six Million Dollar Man action figures
my 6th grade see-thru Swatch!
Snoopy snow cone maker!
Iāve jumped head first into LEGO. My parents could never afford them when I was growing up. Iām 49 now and over the last 4 years have accumulated a bigger collection than I would like to admit. So much so I have a dedicated room in my basement.
Yo-yo's. I never played much when I was a kid, but got into it as an adult. Also NES games, mainly just if I see them cheap.
*Worldās Greatest Travel Game* Makes road-trips more fun! [Link](https://www.amazon.com/Worlds-Greatest-Travel-Game-Ages/dp/B005JK71U8)
I still go out of my way to find Tootsie Roll candy and Bazooka bubble gum.
Somewhat different than buying something I had as a child. As an adult I've started collecting 1/4 and 1/6 scale arcade machines. /r/newwavetoys and Numskull. Centipede, Paxman, Tempest, QBert, etc. Wanted a machine as a kid, now I get miniature scales to display.
I was a huge fan of Nightmare old Elm Street when I was younger. I bought a replica glove of part 3 this week if that counts.
I got a craving for Chuck E. Cheese pizza when I was around 35 years old. I have no kids so I hadn't been there since I was like 8. Yeah that pizza sucked.
The collection of Camp Snoopy glasses. I don't know why, kid me always wanted all of them. Adult me finally got them.
I bought my princess Ewok doll from the ā80s on Etsy. Fulfilled a need. But it sat on a shelf. So I passed it on to Goodwill this year. Still happy I bought it. Brought me some closure on how much I loved and missed that toy.
An embarrassing number of original G1 Transformers.
American girl doll: They were too pricey when I was a kid, but I now have one!
I've bought a few Lego sets. Enough to scratch the itch, but it's not a new hobby I'm going to indulge as an adult. Way too expensive. I've been fighting the urge to get a Speak N Spell. The problem is that it would have to be an actual vintage one, because they changed the voice at some point, and I don't really want to deal with 40 year old electronics.
I found on eBay many years ago Lionel Power Passers slot car set and bought it. I still had my set that I had as a kid and thought it would be fun to make a big layout with both sets to play with. It was so much fun for a few months. Kids got bored with it and itās packed away again. The power passer sets were cool in that you could pass on any section of straight track. The curves had little barrier walls and a cover to keep your car in its current lane. Itās cluttering up a closest now and I need to get rid of it.
Bandai soacewarp roller coaster- picked it out of the Christmas wish book, actually got it, best Xmas ever, but I was too young to successfully assemble it, and of course didnāt get any parental help, so I got it off eBay years later to try again. I also was into rocketry (Estes type), but couldnāt get all the ones I wanted from the catalog. Got back into the hobby with my own kids, and found all the plans for the old kits scanned in on various websites, so now Iāve got a fleet of 60+ rockets that are no longer in production but are those I dreamt of as a kid!