Saturday, April 4, 2009

Toys from the 80's- Girl's Toybox




Care Bears have been revived with a fervor, just like Strawberry Shortcake
and My Little Pony, so we haven't exactly missed them. HOWEVER....They did look differentback then. I always wanted the brown one with the simple heart on his chest (this picture is not my collection- I only had one: Loves a lot Bear. She was pink with two hearts on her chest.)
I only had one My Little Pony in the 80's: Snuggles. She was gray with pink hair. I was a little disappointed because there was nothing you could do with her! I brushed her hair a thousand times then I was like...OK..is there a Ken or a PJ Pony for her to play with? Is there a stable she can sleep in? Now they got wise and made beauty shops and circuses and roller rinks and ice cream shops. Here is the commercial that I remember very well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9J2vF3Q3o8&feature=PlayList&p=60B732B738DA1651&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=46
Oh wait- Here is Snuggles:



Cabbage Patch Kids were a big deal in 1984. They were cloth and had a little butt and smelled like baby powder! They came with a little birth certificate and already had names, most of which were really horrific, like Levina, my dolls name. I am sure the first 40 dolls had regular 80s names like Jenny, Becky, Holly and Carrie and then they ran out of shit and started coming up with names like Bertha and Ethel.

The dolls were at their height in 1983 and people were straight up rioting over them! My mom went down to fight the crowds at Gemco. My friend Liz had one named Bonnie Christine that looked like the one above, and I wanted to kidnap her and rush the border. Check out the Cabbage Patch commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYh3KGhhjic&feature=related



Above are the one and only Dolly Pops by Knickerbocker. My sis and and I actually had the play set featured below- It was a little town. Remember that one outfit that had a whole bike on it? You could just click the whole thing on the doll. I also liked that little sailor suit.





 Do you guys remember clicking on these little outfits? I loved the wedding dress that had a veil- but it covered the doll's hair.  My favorite dress was the little pink frock with the two bows on the front, and my favorite doll was the dark haired one, because she had straight bangs. I normally liked blond dolls, but not in the Dolly Pop world!

Below is a vintage Strawberry Shortcake doll. She smelled so good. I played with her in our garden when I was a kid. Ahhh, good memories.


I also had the good fortune to have the bake shoppe. It was a big strawberry that opened up and had a little kitchen inside, where you could make little pies and cakes.

Did you guys have one of these? I could never wait for the little cake to cool, I was too impatient. I always burnt the roof of my mouth. And if I actually decided to frost one of these little cakes, the frosting would rip the top off the cake, because it was too hot! It was torture waiting for any baked good to cool. It is like having a huge, white piece of paper and a brand new box of crayons and saying "Don't draw a picture!"
Below are Sea Wees. Yay! My sister and I played with them in the bathtub. They had long hair, which is all that matters when you are a little girl. You just want to sit around brushing hair all day.We used to pretend they were razors and we would shave our legs with their tails. We called them "shaver-leggers."

They came with lily pads that were sponges and little combs (below)


These are Charmkins. They were really tiny and detailed and smelled good. My sister had Brown Eyed Susan (nice name- sounds like a butthole charm). I remember there being a Ferris wheel that you could hang your charms on.

Does anyone remember Poochie? I barely do myself, but I had to include it. It was some failed attempt at a girls' brand that never took off. Someone got fired for that one! I just remember they called it "Poochie for Girls!" I think that was a given, people! I am sure many boys liked Poochie. But I am sure they were doing kick-ball-changes and jazz hands in the school play. Just sayin.

These dolls were creepy. You could get them at the county fair or the swapmeet and they would fall apart easily. They were made of thin wire and some pantyhose and styrafoam. I peeled the face off mine and it was white styrafoam behind it!


Holly Hobbie dolls are really from the 70's, but we still had them in our houses in the 80's, correct? Here are Heather, Holly and Amy.