A Christmas Child of the 1960’s

A Christmas Child of the 1960’s

By Jack Coll

     With a grandchild on the way, expected to hit just before Christmas, I wondered, WHAT to buy a two week old kid for Christmas.  I’m concerned, I don’t want the child to fall behind, computers, big screen computers, nothing but the best, of course, it’s my first grandchild.  Maybe I should flex my muscles, hell it’s my grandchild, a pony, a real live pony, a picture of the grandchild and Santa on the horse, there, top that.  Should I instruct Brian and Anna to purchase an enrollment into a pre-school, if we wait for the child to turn two, or three months old, is it too late to get the kid into a good school.

     Wow, this whole thing just really blows my mind, not like blowing my mind in the sixties, but blowin’ my freakin’ mind.  X Box, Z Box, and all the rest of the boxes, I think I’ll buy a new car for the kid as soon as the child is born, after all the child will be driving in the year 2030, and I’ll have a 2013 car, with no miles, how cool would that be. (Notice I keep using the word child! we don’t know if it’s a boy or girl, so until we do, it’s “The Grandchild”.”

     Man, just take me back to a simpler time, back when I was a child that was when kids knew how to be kids.  I’m not saying we weren’t hip, we had all the latest technology.  I remember when we got PONG, how cool was that, we had SLOW, and FAST, it took me a couple of months but I worked my way up to fast, but I wasn’t very good at it, I just couldn’t get my paddle over there fast enough to stop it, you older folks know what I’m talking about.

     Oh what most of us wouldn’t give for the good ol’ days or maybe not?  I put together a few of the games and toys that I came up with, perhaps you would like to add a few of your favorite toys and games from when you were growing up, but here’s my list of really cool things from the 1960’s, enjoy.

A few of the Board Games

Yahtzee

Stratego

Across The Continent

Bullwinkle

Travel Adventure Game

Beachhead Invasion

Combat

Meet The Presidents

Mother’s Helper (and we’re not talking pills here)

The Match Game

Monkey’s Uncle

Cribbage Board Game

Buck-A-Roo Board Game

Aggravation Board Game

Chutes and Ladders

Concentration

Risk

Dr. Kildare

Say When

Fascination (electric maze game)

Jump (pin up board game)

King Leonardo

The Wheeler-Dealer Board Game

Tri Ominoes

Across The Continent

Junior Executive

Mouse Trap

Dark Shadows Board Game

Honey West

Uncle Wiggly Game

Booby Trap

Sorry

Clue

Monopoly

Totally Tut

Mastermind

Quoridor

Othello

Big Brain

Quarto

Twister Board Game

Battleship

Parcheesi

Checkers

Candyland

Formula Board Game

Merry Milkman

     Of course anything Beatles, Monkees, or Elvis in board games, must have been a thousand of them.

 

     If I missed one, or two, or three of your favorite board games please feel free to share, the same goes for the toys listed below, we can’t name all of them but enjoy the memory of the toys we do name.

 

In no special order if you were a kid of the 1060’s perhaps you played with the Electric All Star Football Game, remember how you would line all the players up on this vibrating board and they would all go in different direction, it was pretty lame.  Here we go,

 

Hands Down                                                                       Jody’s Country Kitchen

Creepy Crawlers                                                                 Gilbert Erector Set

Baby This ‘n That                                                                Gumby and Gumby’s Pal Pokey

Barrel Of Monkeys                                                             Lincoln Logs

Easy Bake Oven                                                                   Toy Doctor Kit

Magic Ball                                                                             Click Clacks

Susie Smart Doll                                                                  GE Walkie Talkies

Fisher Price Roller Skates (that strapped onto your shoes)  Fisher Price Mini Barn

Paper Dolls                                                                           Jump Rope

Pifco Zeta Ray Gun                                                              Tin Plate Kaleidoscope

Play-Doh Fun Factory                                                          Wooden Spinner Top

Etch A Sketch                                                                        Duncan Yo-Yo

Toy Milk Truck (A wooden truck with six wooden bottles in the back)

Chinese Checkers                                                                  Magnet Set

Fisher Price Toy Camera or Radio Lunar Launcher Toy Gun

Slinky—Slinky Dog                                                                Tin Tool Box

Cootie Game                                                                          Bozo The Clown Savings Bank

Mr. Potato Head                                                                    King Jet Race Car

Pogo Stick                                                                                Toy Accordion

Mattel-Monkees Guitar                                                        The Flintstones Cartoon Set

Tip It (The wackiest balancing game ever)                                             Croquet Set

Magic Bottle (Tip the bottle and all the milk disappears)                Rocket Set

Super Ball                                                                                 Flexible Flyer Sled

Pet Rock                                                                                   Troll Doll—Wishniks

Mystery Date Game                                                              Penny Brite Doll

Thumbelina Doll                                                                     Skill It

Gilbert-Lab Technician Set (For boys or girls)                              Liddle Kiddles Dress Up Kit

Motorized Mustang                                                               Francie and Casey Paper Dolls

Betty Crocker Junior Baking Kit                                           Slingshot

Jacob’s Ladder                                                                          Lawn Darts

Talking Clock                                                                             Jack In The Box 

Slip & Slide                                                                                 Jacks

Fisher Price Chatter—Telephone Pull Toy                         G I Joe

Dart Baseball Tin Sign with Darts                                        Lite Brite

Silly Putty                                                                                  Marbles

Magic Slate (write on the board & lift the plastic paper and the writing would disappear)

Loom and Loops (you could make your own pot holder)               Little Lady Sewing Machine

Basset Hound Wooden Dog (with wheels and lease)                 Toy Iron

Pez Dispenser                                                                           Baton

Rockem’ Sockem’ Robots (one red, one blue)                          Pop Beads (you could make a beautiful necklace)

Championship Pool Table (the pool table was about 18 by 24 inches, the pool sticks were about 10 inches long)

Bowling Pins (plastic, of course)                                                  Matchbox City

Fold Away Doll House (made of all paper, they lasted until the end of Christmas Day)

Miracle Bubble Soap and Wand (anyone who got this for Christmas was screwed, you couldn’t use it in the house)

Tickle Bee                                                                                    Ant Farm

 

     This really could go on and on, but let’s not forget about all the Barbie, Beatles, and Mickey Mouse stuff on the market.  Let’s be honest here, if you were a child of the 1960’s, we had way better toys then these kids today.  If you got a full-fledged cowboy suit under the tree or a princess costume, I’m talking about the good ones now, and it might have cost $4.99.  Kids today get a thig-a-ma-jig for $699.00, and that’s just one of their small gifts.  When my grandchild arrives I’m thinking a really sweet box of “Pick-up-Stix” we could have all their friends over and really show them what a good time is.

     You might be laughing at all the toys and games listed above, but a little bit of you would love to go back, just for a little while!

 

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If you’re looking for a toy, visit your local toy store, if you’re looking for a gift with meaning, visit

Coll’s Custom Framing, and get something meaningful framed.