My parents no longer live in my childhood home which I suppose is the norm for our generation. In fact, we moved from that home when I was only 10, so the ensuing years have brought no fewer than 4 moves while I was still in the nest followed by another handful after I left for college. Add to that my own vagabond existence and I've left belongings flung far and wide from my days in Kirksville, MO to Chicago to Ireland to St. Louis to Spain and Philadelphia before New York. So there's nothing quite so reminiscent of childhood as opening up the toy box at my parent's house and seeing the faces and furniture of my original Fisher Price Little People. These are the toys I cut my teeth on before Barbie lured me away. They are so simple and classic, a mixture of wood and (mostly) plastic. We have a fold-up town complete with barber shop, movie theatre, jail and post office. It's a world unto itself and I can't help but love that Elisa enjoys it as much as I did at her age.
I remember taking the mail pieces and jamming them through the slotted doors--cranking the firehouse siren to signal an emergency somewhere in Little People Land. Explaining the phone booth to a three year old these days is a bit tricky, but nevertheless, the concepts mostly remain timeless. So I'm grateful to my mother for guarding these pieces of my childhood so that I could relive the fun and dive back into the world of these original Little People. Choking hazards aside, it was a world I loved and I am so happy to share with my kids. Now that toys usually involve "screentime," it's kind of amazing to me that something so simple can keep Elisa's attention. She went to bed talking about them and in the morning she implored me to fold up the sofa bed so I could spread the Little People town out. It was a rare win-win since I enjoyed playing and watching her with them as much as she did. Maybe I need to invest in another set here at home since I'm kind of debating about making this summer TV-free. Feels like we need to return to a time when toys didn't light up and grab your attention. And if this week is any indication, there's still plenty of magic left in these ol' people yet.
2 comments:
LOVED People (that's what we called them), except ours have a lot of teeth marks--yours are so shiny and new-looking! Thanks for the flash back with pics! (btw, I would love to know what kind of camera and lenses you use for shooting!) Thanks! Chris
Hey Chris! Thanks for the comment. Yes, ours have been preserved rather well considering how much use we got out of them. I guess that's what happens with two fairly sedate girls! For these pics, I used my HTC Android camera phone (8 megapixels!) and the free FX Camera app on Toy Camera. It's so easy, it's stupid. But otherwise, I also like the Retro Camera app (square pics) and have a Nikon D90. Happy snapping!
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