I think I have to break the rules here and give my top three favorite toys, actually.
They’re all toys that my sister and I played with together, and I just don’t know if I could pick a top one.
First up, Strawberry Shortcake dolls, which we always called “smelly dolls”. That kind of sounds gross now that I think about it, but we called them such because all of them had a fruity aroma that matched their names.
The other two:
My Little Ponies (We never watched the show, but we had so many pony families that we played with.)
Our dolls. My sister and I each had five (including several My Friend dolls, which other children of the 80’s will remember!) and we spent hours playing with them.
All three of these toys remind me a bit of the Calico Critters that Sonia and Zoe used to love…simple, cute toys which, with a little imagination, become unique characters with distinctive personalities.
And not to sound like an old curmudgeon, but I love that neither the Calico Critters nor my childhood favorites have that grown-up look…the modern morphed face with enormous eyes. They just looked like cute kid toys, and I really love that.
(I think it’s fascinating to look at how characters have changed over my lifetime; here’s a collection of images if you are interested too!)
I still have my “My friend Mandy” doll, I absolutely loved that doll. I hoped to pass it on to my daughter, but she did not think it was as wonderful as I did. I also adored anything Strawberry Shortcake, I had my whole room decorated with Strawberry Shortcake.
My girls didn’t get into my old dolls either! I saved them and all the accessories, thinking they’d be loved again. But out of all three of my girls, none of them ever got interested in dolls. They preferred to do their imaginary play with stuffed animals and with Calico Critters.
For me it would be my dolls, too. I had a baby doll, Sally, that I eventually had to give back to my sister because APPARENTLY she was hers (she’s 17 years older than me), and a lovely Alice in Wonderland doll. Also there was a Winnie the Pooh stuffed bear, very old and sweet with a jingly thing in his stomach, that I eventually had to give back to my brother because APPARENTLY he was his… (he’s 16 years older than me!) My children also did not take to my dolls, sadly. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would have passionately adored the calico critters as a child. I can hardly wait to get some to have here for my granddaughters!
I am older and it was the 60’s era Barbies and Francies and homemade Kens (less loved Barbies shorn of their manes) that we played with by the hour and made up all kinds of dramas.
Interestingly, my mother never let me have a Barbie – she felt they were inappropriate for a young girl, so my best friend kindly let me use hers. My older brother finally convinced Mom to let me have a Francie, since she was more teenage looking (ie, less chesty). Mom was right – and I loathe all the new, trashy looking dolls. But — we had a blast 🙂