Inspire Nostalgia: Remembering Childhood Toys

"Play is the work of childhood." - Mister Rogers

Some of us love the sound of music. Some prefer the sound of a distant thunderstorm, a rain forest, the crackle of a bonfire, or the sizzle of bacon in the morning. But for others, there's nothing better than hearing a child laugh as they play with their toys.

My mother once said that when she would have migraines, all she could do was rest to help with the symptoms. But hearing us play in the next room--laughing with our toys--would always make her feel better. She knew my siblings and I were content with our toys while she recuperated from the serious headache. Then, she would later join us and it'd be the best day ever. Hearing us play with our toys warmed her heart. She said it was the best sound in the world.

For this blog, I decided to be nostalgic and look back at my childhood toys. I'm leaving out baby dolls and Barbies for this specific post (I'll feature those later, so stay tuned!), but instead, I'm featuring the toys I spent hours playing with as a child. I'm a child of the '90s, so many of these toys are probably ones you also owned. These toys weren't electronic (gasp!), but who needed electronics when we used our imagination? I was creative with the stories I created with the toys. That's part of being a kid. You make up the wildest stories with your toys and then you start over with another story the next day.

Me, circa 1996...playing toys and living my best life.

I'm glad these toys taught me the value of creativity and imagination. They taught me to be open to many possibilities. They taught me about farming, working at an airport, fashion and makeup, being a doctor, how to serve tea, and so much more. But most importantly, these special toys taught me how to have fun. They taught me how to laugh and be carefree.

I might not be a little kid anymore, but I still love these toys. They haven't changed. They have always been there for me--no matter what. It's time for me to be there for them and remember how they used to make me feel.

Correction: How they still make me feel.

Please enjoy this photo collage/album of my childhood toys. Take a walk down memory lane with me. Remember the toys that helped inspire you. 

My Fisher-Price Sweet Home dollhouse.

Polly Pocket!

A variety of toys: hair and beauty salon toys, tea set, and a doctor's kit.

My toy farming set.

My toy airport set.

My toy parking garage set.

My first dollhouse and my first toy kitchen set.

My second toy kitchen and washing machine set. I played with these ALL the time! Back in the day when cooking and doing the laundry seemed fun! 

My toy Disney and animated character figurines.

Toy blocks and a Fisher-Price pull toy dog.

Betty Spaghetty dolls. I played with these ALL the time! Looking back now, they're a "weird" concept for a doll--stringy, spaghetti hair and skinny arms and legs--but I loved them!

Fashion Polly dolls (also known as Polly Pocket dolls). I LOVED these dolls! This was my favorite toy to play with when I was in elementary school.

Some of the toy sets, including two houses, two mall sets, and a ski resort playset. 

Some of the other toy sets I owned for Fashion Polly, including an apartment set, a hotel (with an amusement park attached!), and a rock concert set. It was so much fun to play with these!

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Wasn't it fun to take a walk down memory lane? It's important to be nostalgic at times. I heard a quote once that stuck with me: "If you carry your childhood with you, you will never become old." I loved these toys so much. Like I already mentioned, these toys taught me how to be creative. They taught me how to tell stories, think of characters, and use my imagination in the craziest scenarios. I would spend hours playing with the toys and it wouldn't seem like that much time had elapsed at all. That's part of being a kid.

Let's remember those days. Let's remember how our childhood toys made us laugh. Let's remember how it felt to sit for hours on our knees at the coffee table, playing with race cars, Polly Pocket, and so much more. Remember those days. They helped you grow into the person you are now.

-KJL-