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“Back In My Day”: 13 Retro Toys For Young And Old
IntroIt’s true, as adults of a certain age we grew up with some pretty cool toys — even without smartphones, apps, digital games and streaming video. Here are 13 reasons to power down the digital devices and engage in some good old-fashioned (wink, wink) analog family time.
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“Back In My Day”: 13 Retro Toys For Young And Old.
Potato HeadMr & Mrs Potato Head — Who would have ever thought that one of the most enduring children’s toys from the last century would be a couple of potato figures with big personalities? But, then again, what’s not to love about having total creative control over styling your potato power couple — even if it means mixing up body parts and accessories in topsy-turvy ways? When it comes to the jovial Mr and Mrs Potato Head, there are no rules. They’re just ready to have some fun.
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“Back In My Day”: 13 Retro Toys For Young And Old.
Rubik'sRubik’s Cube — The humble invention of a Hungarian mathematics professor, Ernő Rubik, the enigmatic Rubik’s Cube was a sensation when it made its debut in the early ‘80s and has enthralled puzzle-lovers since. While the internet makes it easy to learn how to solve the Rubik’s Cube, there’s no reason to share that little secret with your kids …at least not at first. Once they’re pros, the next level is speedcubing, aka solving the Rubik’s Cube as fast as humanly possible. Hello, road trip challenge!
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“Back In My Day”: 13 Retro Toys For Young And Old.
LEGOLEGOs — When it comes to hands-on playtime, there are few more enjoyable experiences than building something — just ask Emit the Spaceman, or any of the other characters featured in the LEGO movies. Start with a conversation: What would you want to build, if you were a Master Builder? All LEGO blocks and pieces ever made can be used interchangeably, so whether you decide to follow the instructions or go for more of a free-form build, the possibilities are infinite.
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“Back In My Day”: 13 Retro Toys For Young And Old.
Play DohPlay-Doh — Technicoloured and oh so malleable, Play-Doh is just as much fun as you remember. But a few things have likely changed since the last time you popped open one of those yellow cans — remember trying to mix two different compounds to try to make a new colour? Today, Play-Doh comes in more than 50 hues and has some pretty deluxe playsets, too. Play-Doh spaghetti (and cupcakes and cakes) have never looked so good.
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“Back In My Day”: 13 Retro Toys For Young And Old.
Etch A SketchEtch A Sketch — While the Etch A Sketch may look like an early prototype for the hand-held electronics we know so well today, this blank slate can only be operated manually, requiring imagination and deft dual-hand coordination to bring a creative vision to life. Remind the kids that every true Etch A Sketch artist has to start with the basics, and that they’ll only get better with practice. The good news is you can always reset the screen with a shake, and try again.
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Living
“Back In My Day”: 13 Retro Toys For Young And Old.
View MasterView-Master — First introduced at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, the View-Master captivates the imagination with its layered, stereoscopic image reels that have featured tourist landmarks, animated characters and scenes from popular TV series over the decades. In recent years, View-Master has made the leap into the realm of virtual reality with the View-Master Virtual Reality Viewer, a collaboration with Google. Call it nostalgia, but we’re still partial to the slideshow model that allows the viewer to linger and encourages the imagination to roam. [Photo: Handige Harrie/Wikimedia Commons]
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“Back In My Day”: 13 Retro Toys For Young And Old.
Wooden TrainWooden Train Sets — “Choo-choo! Coming through!” Playing conductor with a wooden train set — your own miniature kingdom, in motion — has long been one of the great joys of childhood. And while today’s wooden train sets have the look and feel of what you might recall from your own youth, there are just a few more bells and whistles, so to speak, including suspension bridges, automated railway crossings, a working crane, even an option for a forested route with plenty of trees and critters. [Photo: Hape.com]
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Living
“Back In My Day”: 13 Retro Toys For Young And Old.
Lite BriteLite-Brite — There’s something so satisfying about placing the coloured pegs into Lite-Brite‘s black pegboard; what’s not to love about creating a picture that glows? Since its debut in the late 1960s, Lite-Brite has seen its fair share of upgrades and spin-off versions, but we’re partial to the model that most closely resembles the original. As a bonus: Lite-Brite still makes for an excellent nighttime illumination, after bedtime, when all of the rest of the lights have been turned off. [Photo: Thomas Ambridge/Wikimedia Commons]
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Living
“Back In My Day”: 13 Retro Toys For Young And Old.
TwisterTwister — A popular party game that made its debut in the 1960s, Twister’s genius lies in its simplicity: the players are the game. If you have memories of playing Twister with friends growing up, it’s even more fun to play with your children — there’s nothing quite like the giggle-fest that erupts as everyone tumbles into a heap, stretching to reach right hand red or left foot green. While other editions have come out over the years, stick with the original: a classic is a classic for a reason.
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Living
“Back In My Day”: 13 Retro Toys For Young And Old.
MikadoPick-Up Sticks (Mikado) — A testament to its universal appeal, this classic game can be found all around the world, with sticks made from different kinds of wood, bamboo, other natural fibres, plastic and even bone. The deceptively simple premise, however, remains the same: remove a stick from the pile without disturbing the rest. Pick-Up Sticks is an ideal “quiet time” game, requiring full concentration both from the player whose turn it is and from the rest of the players who watch intently for any little sign of movement.
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Living
“Back In My Day”: 13 Retro Toys For Young And Old.
Lincoln LogsLincoln Logs — Invented in 1916 by John Lloyd Wright, son of US architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Lincoln Logs have stood the test of time because they inspire such a specific sense of place: the wild frontier. Still crafted from real wood (responsibly sourced from forestry-managed timberlands), each log piece has notches on either end, mimicking how explorers and frontiersmen (and frontierswomen) built real log cabins, forts and other structures when they were settling into new territory — porch and bonfire set included.
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Living
“Back In My Day”: 13 Retro Toys For Young And Old.
CrayonsCrayons & Colouring Books — While plenty of digital apps out there focus on drawing and otherwise being creative, there’s something to be said for sitting with a box of crayons and a colouring book, everyone choosing their own image and colouring by hand. Inside the lines, outside the lines, trying different colour combinations, shading lightly or heavily — it’s your choice. Let the imagination run wild, because there is no wrong way to do it. To colour along with the kids, consider picking up a colouring book for older teens/adults, in which the patterns and designs are more intricate.
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Living
“Back In My Day”: 13 Retro Toys For Young And Old.
ScrabbleScrabble — Challenged on every turn with composing the best possible word that can be played from just seven miscellaneous letter tiles on an ever-changing board, Scrabble makes words fun, period. Is there anything more satisfying than the realisation that you can land on a triple-point square by laying down “Z-E-B-R-A”? Make sure to set the ground rules with your young competitors before the game begins: Are slang words okay or not? What about proper nouns, or acronyms? One thing’s for certain: There’s no Google searching allowed.
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