Know These 5 Christmas Toys? We Know How Old You Are
There are very few toys that can stand the test of generations. Some of them do but most of them simply define a certain time in our society and then they fade into the dusty memories of musty Christmas decorations that adorn our homes this time of year.
Here are 5 particular toys that if you are of a "certain age" you either had, your siblings had, or you were jealous of the kid that had one.
- 1
GAF View Master
I honestly thought as a kid this would be the only way I would ever see far off lands like Australia, Tahiti, Germany, and Florida. Fortunately, I have traveled in person to all of those places in my adult life but the one thing that started me dreaming of going was this handheld slideshow to the world.
- 2
Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle
Greg Rodgers had this toy. I did not. I hated Greg Rodgers for a few weeks after Christmas because of this. For my generation, Evel Knievel was the man. He would jump a motorcycle over anything. Or at least try to jump a motorcycle over anything. When he crashed he was even cooler. To emulate Evel, we would build ramps and jump our banana bikes over crates, cartons, younger siblings, and pets until someone got hurt. Playing Evel Knievel was more fun than playing with Evel Knievel's toy. This toy sucked in real life. Take that Greg Rodgers you selfish toy hoarder.
- 3
Ten Speed Bikes
I know, it's a bike but there was a time when the basic bike and approved kid transportation mode had to be a ten speed. Sears sold the model that was most popular in my neighborhood. They came in 24-inch and 26-inch tire sizes and had gears that were certain to slip sending your crotch crashing down on the metal bar of the frame. What's even funnier about these bikes is that we still played Evel Knievel on them even though they weren't built for that kind of roughhousing.
- 4
Lite Brite
This was one of the many toys of my youth that created havoc for me in spelling class. I was not aware of "creative license" and the way things were spelled on TV was okay with me. Not so much with Mrs. Bryson who felt spelling was really important in 4th grade. This toy was the "plug n play" of its day. You literally plugged in colored light bulbs into a grid to create pictures and then you looked at them. Anybody wanna see if I can jump my ten-speed over this light bright? Yeah, kind of a boring toy.
- 5
Mattel Electronic Football
The only way that you knew this was a football game is because it told you it was a football game on the label. This handheld "video" game consisted of moving a red dot sideways or up and down to avoid other red dots that were chasing it. That's how you played. We loved this game. It was a staple on the bus for field trips, band trips, family outings, and of course during English class which is why I now lean so heavily on spell check and grammar check.