Facebook is great for catching up with people but I still like reading blogs. There is a new one that I've been reading and it's a great trip down memory lane as it's written by someone in the town I grew up in. Today she wrote about board games, I love board games and it sparked a few good memories of board and other games I adored as a kid.
Mastermind I think my mother's other daughter received this for Christmas and I ended up playing it more. I loved it! It's a game I'd like to play today. I remember playing this with her, my cousins and my parents.
The Little Professor Handheld Calculator I loved this and played with it until I think I wore the numbers off of it! I adored math until I hit Algebra II in 10th grade. I probably would have hated Geometery if it weren't for the cute boy who sat next to me and we did our homework together on the phone every night. However, we never had a date until the following year and dated off and on for the next 5 years.
Merlin OMG! I adored this game. I played with it until it broke. I think I might have even received a replacement for it. It was magical. The lights, the sound, the fact you could make your own music!
Perfection I remember annoying the adults because the game pieces popped out and all over the place. Which caused a great ruckus because usually it was the 4 grandchildren crawling on the floor to find the pieces. And this was SO not the way to act at Granny's house.
Simon (and the small and larger one) I think I had the smaller one. Not sure which one of the 4 grandchildren had the larger one. It was a blast! Another game that drove the adults insane!
There's also Monopoly, Trouble, a similar game called Headache, Chutes and Ladders, CandyLand, Battleship, Operation and Sorry! This are the games I remember from my pre-teen years. Most of these I remember receiving for Christmas and taking them over to Granny's to play with the cousins. I especially remember a weekend long Monopoly game with my Cousin H. I think she won.
As I was looking for some of these links I came across the following, it made me laugh!
IF YOU WERE A LITTLE GIRL IN THE 70'S...
1. You had that Fisher Price Doctor's Kit with a stethoscope that actually worked. I did not have this but I did have Candy(?). So did Cousin H and we did their hair ENDLESSLY! It was only the bust. I couldn't find a link.
2 You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with flowers on it. CHECK
3. You learned to skate with actual skates (not roller blades) that had metal wheels. This included the kind you attached to your regular shoes.
4 You thought Gopher from Love Boat was cute (admit it!) I don't think I thought this.
5. You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island. HELLO! I thought Scooby Doo. Okay still think Scooby Doo is too scary. I didn't even watch Fantasy Island!
6. You had either a 'bowl cut' or 'pixie', not to mention the 'Dorothy Hamill'People sometimes thought you were a boy. Nope! With this head of curls that was not possible.
7. You had rubber boots for rainy days and Moon boots for snowy days. No. I only had Duck Shoes/Boots which were unfortunately sited on someone at lunch Tuesday. Are they making a comeback? I must say they are better than Crocs!
8. You owned a 'Slip-n-Slide' , on which you injured yourself on a sprinkler head more than once. The neighbors had one but we weren't allowed . . . to dangerous. Yet riding on those go-carts, mini-bikes, handle bars of my sister's bike, swimming in the Bay without parental supervision . . . none of that was considered a problem.
9. You owned 'Klick-Klacks' and smacked yourself in the face more than once! What the heck is a Klick-Klack?
10. Your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag was your most prized possession. Nope. Holly Hobbie was Cousin H's thing. I was Raggedy Ann, Mother's other daughter was Pink Panther. We tended not to duplicate the same characters.
11. You wore a poncho, gauchos, and knickers. Yes, yes and yes.
12. You begged Santa for the electronic game, Simon. I think I even have that list for Santa somewhere.
13. You had the Donnie and Marie dolls with those pink and purple satiny shredded outfits, or the Sunshine Family. I don't remember these.
14. You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze. Oh yeah! I had a Jungle Gym! Rings, trapeze and a climbing rope.
15. The swing set tipped over at least once. Just once. After that Dad dug holes, buried the poles and poured cement. Viola!
16. You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color. Oh yes we did! and we made them ourselves, in our school colors even!
17. You had a pair of Doctor Scholl's sandals (the ones with hard sole & the buckle). Yes and I even got the hand-me-downs from the older cousins.
18. You also had a pair of salt-water sandals. No clue.
19. You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad; you wore that Little House on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the high neck in at least one school picture;and you despised Nellie Oleson! Not me, the older girls but I was the tom-boy.
20. You wanted your first kiss to be at a roller rink! Well, DUH!
21. Your hairstyle was described as having 'wings' or 'feathers' and you kept it 'pretty'with the comb you kept in your back pocket.When you walked, the 'wings' flapped up and down, looked like you were gonna 'take off'. Of course!
21. You know who Strawberry Shortcake is, as well as her friends, Blueberry Muffin and Huckleberry Pie. Knew of them but never owned.
22. You carried a Muppets lunch box to school and it was metal, not plastic.It had a thermos inside. Some were glass and broke the first time you dropped them. No Muppets, I didn't like them. Too scary. I have Rageddy Ann and Andy. And I cried when I dropped the thermos.
23. You and your girlfriends would fight over which of the Dukes of Hazzard was your boyfriend. Nope, no reson to fight. They were mine.
24. YOU had Star Wars action figures, too! No. I just stole the kids next door's!
25. It was a big event in your household each year when the 'Wizard of Oz' would come on TV.Your mom would break out the popcorn and sleeping bags! Oh yeah! but I never watch the scary Monkey Scene. EVER! and since I have the DVD (thank you Carol) I skip that part.
26. You often asked your Magic-8 ball the question: 'Who will I marry.Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, or David Cassidy? Or Scott Baio and Erik Estrada for me!
27. You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Fame soundtrack record albums. How can you forget Pac-Man Fever?
28. You tried to do lots of arts and crafts, like yarn and Popsicle-stick God's eyes, decoupage,or those weird potholders made on a plastic loom. I was just told by a childhood friend she still hangs the popsicle sled I made her in 1983. And those potholders were not weird!
29. You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your t-shirts! Um, no. I did have those Crazy-Shirts with the iron ons that you could personalize. And I did those baked stained glass window things.
30. You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding your portable tape player up to the speaker. Of course!
31. You had subscriptions to Dynamite and Tiger Beat. No, I just bought them at the store as a treat.
32. You thought Olivia Newton John's song 'Physical' was about aerobics. It is too!
I think the Christmas season, reading the blog about board games and playing cards last night with my SIL made this little "you know you're a . . " all the more fun! Any favorites that you remember?
Happy Day! Happy 2009!
Holy cow, what a walk down memory lane. I loved Mastermind.
Posted by: Jennifer | January 06, 2009 at 05:47 PM
I had every one of those electronic games you mentioned, and per your other commenters note about Chrissy - I had her too. She used to make a weird noise when you'd change the length of her hair - funny that I still remember that.
Posted by: Robin | January 06, 2009 at 03:40 PM
Perhaps you had the beautiful "Chrissy" with hair that could change lengths and be styled! :)
Posted by: Kathleen | January 03, 2009 at 12:02 AM