I hope my children look back on today, And see a mom who had time to play, There will be years for cleaning and cooking, For children grow up while we’re not looking. ~ author unknown
Those toys that have been around since our teenagers were toddlers. Loved and passed down to be enjoyed again…
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The red flyer wagon was a birthday gift from Nana to Eldest Boy when he turned one (he turns 14 in a few weeks)! Many a turn around both neighborhoods we’ve lived in.
…A 4th of July parade. Backyard races. A slow stroll when a sick one just needed to get out of the house for a bit. A treasure with it’s just-right little seats. I couldn’t find one exactly like ours but the this is similar and has comfort seats. Oh my goodness they even have cupholders these days.
Scooters x five – the youngest children are now using the ones we bought for the oldest. (Pssst… Lil’ Buddy has moved on past the Dora scooter now).
well, big piles of leaves count as classic toys too, right?
– a gift for the eldest two from Grandma and Grandpa. Oh the little feet that have pedaled these like Fred Flintstone. One of the cars is with a cousin Lil’ Buddy’s age now. But one remains.
– with even some of the original little dollhouse people and furniture. It’s even traveled on family beach vacations with us. And lately it’s housed My Little Ponies – much to the dismay of the Fisher Price family.
Blocks – historical settings, Barbie castles, car ramps and roads. And, of course, the giant city of Katy and the Big Snow just about every winter we read it. I can’t recommend blocks enough. This set will remain for grandchildren for sure!
LEGO toys – from Bob the Builder to Bionicle pieces and parts, we’ve got buckets! From Lil’ Buddy’s homemade cranes to Eldest Boys Bobot Robotics.
– yes it’s part of the kindergarten math set but they are often part of an elaborate side story as well. The same set we started homeschooling with over a dozen years ago.
The playhouse – when we moved to our current home over a decade ago, my brother build this playhouse for us. Since then the bushes have grown up quite a bit. But the playhouse remains a constant. It’s been a nature hideout for bird watching, an artist’s retreat, a drive thru restaurant (with the little cars) and of course, a plain ol’ play house for imagination.
Trains and train table – great-grandmother got the display train table from Sam’s Club when Eldest Boy was just a little over a year old. All have enjoyed it and many a train has traveled the tracks.
Bitty Baby – the first baby doll Eldest Girl received that Christmas she was two years old. Bitty’s had a few marker decorations and one arm is a bit loose. But she’s still beloved many times over.
…Bless the toys whose shapes I know… ~ from Prayer for a Child by Rachel Field
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Ok. So now I’m off on a nostalgic road. This parenting time sure is fleeting, wouldn’t you say?
I love the list and lovely photos, Tricia. I feel the nostalgia! I’m always trying to de-clutter but some toys are hard to say goodbye to. My son’s Flinstone car (that looks like a fire truck) is still here even though he can’t get his legs in anymore. 🙂
There are just things that will stay on and be for grandchildren, I say. Or part of the decor…
Last time I was at my dad’s house – he still had the cozy coupe car that my sister and I got as kids. Crazy huh?
The timeless cozy coupe of childhood 🙂
I am serious when I say that this was hard to get through. We are in the process of getting ready for a big garage sale and I have had to pull so many things out of the attic and decide do I keep or do I declutter? The toys, the baby highchairs and porta cribs, and the blankets and clothes. It is like getting rid of long lost friends. Things to keep are all the classic toys like the Brio train sets, the dollhouse….so many of the other things just had to go.
My boys loved their Kozy Coupes and I can still see Amanda on her roller skates pushing one or the other around in their Little Tykes cars and tractor.
Great post…hang onto those memories and take lots of photos.
Love the playhouse!
I know! I know! We have a stack of those items in our garage that you’ve mentioned. And I think it is time for a playhouse sprucing very, very soon 🙂
Oh, my! I have BIG tears in my eyes just seeing these toys that are such good friends and beloved companions to all the children! Yes, they were all good investments made in lasting love!
Forever,
N.
Definitely Nana! Thank YOU!
That is the same dollhouse my girls(now 15) had. Now it’s in the attic.
We have many of these in common! And even of the ones I didn’t mention – I have some of these you mentioned, like the wagon. Oh, that wagon has gone everywhere!
LOL The train is on my list but I warned against the table! R12 got her bitty baby when she was two as well for Christmas and her name is Mary. Perhaps I should have added her American Girl dolls to my list! Surely they have gone beyond the test of time. Great list, thanks for sharing!
Testing for correct blog address!
I’m an old softie …. this post made me tear up!
We have a Cozy Coupe that’s 7 years old, and has been through 3 children thus far. When Maeve’s big enough, it will become hers.
I also have the VERY SAME FB dollhouse – it was my oldest daughters, which means it’s probably about 15 years old. It’s survived 4 children, soon to be 5.
My boys JUST got Razor scooters for their birthdays, and couldn’t be happier!
Dianna – I am an old softie too!! You just described us…five children… the 15 yo dollhouse, the handing down of the classic toys… sigh.