Christmas Presents From The Past

[Tiny Dancer]

Nice link from last year where they look at Christmas toys from the '70s in Britain:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1070000/1070594.stm

Includes Action Man (The British answer to GI Joe), an Evel Knievel stunt bike,
and Atari 2600. The other links in the series:

Presents of Christmas present
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1076000/1076850.stm

Presents of Christmas future
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1079000/1079976.stm

I do love that robot dog on the future page :-) Which leads me to the
annual query: what was your favorite Christmas present from the past?

Mine is still my Barbie Camper from around 1972-3. That was the year we
had a break-in about a week before Christmas where we lost *all* of the
presents my parents bought for their staff (at the Waltzing Matilda where
David Soul filmed that movie). All kinds of jewelry for the female staff, nice
pen and pencil sets (does anyone give those anymore? Remember when
they were a way cool gift?) or leather wallets for the guys, it was devastating.
But, one big box was left behind under the naked tree. Guess they didn't
bother with what wouldn't fit in their pockets. I have those faceless burglers to
thank for my super-fantabulous Barbie Camper with all the accessories, ahhh.

Let's see if you remember. First I found this small pic but with a heartwarming
Christmas tale and an added bonus Toronto connection, now *that's* a link find ;-)

http://www.hugkiss.com/christmas/barbie.html

Another small pic of an earlier version (1970 w/ Barbie, Tutti (?), Big Jim, and Big Jeff):

http://www.museen.nuernberg.de/english/spielzeug_e/pages/neue_welt_e.html

In the wild and wooly category, check out this truly amazing hand-made model:

http://www.sherryscreations.com/camper.html

Is that not one of the most fascinating, weird, beautiful creations you've seen?!

And then I finally found this odd link with massive but lovely pics of my very
own beloved Barbie Camper (a 1971 model):

http://www.nothingtodo.org/projects/jetrv.htm

Individual links:

http://www.nothingtodo.org/projects/brvopnd.jpg
http://www.nothingtodo.org/projects/brvopen.jpg
http://www.nothingtodo.org/projects/brvcv.jpg

Problem is, they're crash testing the poor thing with a rocket attached and
Barbie herself behind the wheel! The page hasn't been updated with those
horrific pics but I must admit I am kind of curious to see how it goes :-)

And here's some fabulous pics of various cars (remember the Sun & Fun Buggy?):

http://www.barbiebazaar.com/featured_april.htm

Umm ... sorry, I got a bit carried away with my answer, you don't need to! :-)
That question again: what's your favorite Christmas present from the past?

Cheers,

TD

A very Merry Xmas
And a Happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
from John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"

For a good time call
http://the70s.cjb.net

The Sesame Street Lyrics and Sounds Archive
http://members.tripod.com/Tiny_Dancer/index.html

[Jamie M.]

>Umm ... sorry, I got a bit carried away with my answer, you don't need to! :-)
>That question again: what's your favorite Christmas present from the past?

I think I can speak for all of us when I say we love it when you get
carried away with your answers Rhonda... always enjoyable :)

As for mine, my favorite were my barbies, especially Malibu Barbie....
which I'm sure she is now Patient Barbie with a tan like that. One of
my early Barbies, had a short curly blonde hair bubble cut style. I
wish I still had her *sigh*

I was telling my daughter about this barbie, and she said, "Well, what
did she do?" I said she didn't do anything... followed by, "What did
she come with"... I said nothing, and she went on to push... she must
have done SOMETHING!!! No, I'm afraid my first barbie, circa 1962 or
3, did absolutely nothing, except for look stunning in her long gowns
which were lovingly tailored by my grandmother, and I would get one or
two dresses every Christmas, in a satin, or lace, very stylish, at
least in my 5 year old eyes.

Jamie :)

[Jamie M.]

>And then I finally found this odd link with massive but lovely pics of my very
>own beloved Barbie Camper (a 1971 model):
>
>http://www.nothingtodo.org/projects/jetrv.htm

Ooohhh, I always had wanted a Barbie camper... or a house, or
something really cool. I never seemed to get the cool gifts...
although one year I got an easy bake oven. A lovely harvest green
model... maybe it was supposed to be like my mom's harvest green
appliances?

Jamie

[rach]

One of my favourite pictures of my dad and I was taken Christmas
morning 1981 when *I* got the Barbie Camper. It was a little different
than the one you pictured, TD... it was hard plastic and a lot longer.
Man, that bastard took some time to put together but I did NOT care.
My father was a perfectionist and all the stickers had to be *just so*
and all the utensils and shit that you got with the kit had to have
the little nubs of plastic (that attached them to a frame of other
pieces) had to be filed with a nail file for a professional look. When
it was done, Ken was at the helm with Ballerina Barbie and Superstar
Barbie riding shot gun. Skipper was in the back sulking. Man, I would
give *anything* to have that morning back.

rach

news:<3c06499c...@news.look.ca>...

[Tiny Dancer]

And so the word went out from myst...@hotmail.com (Jamie M.):

>I think I can speak for all of us when I say we love it when you get
>carried away with your answers Rhonda... always enjoyable :)

Thanks, Jamie, glad someone enjoyed it!

>As for mine, my favorite were my barbies, especially Malibu Barbie....
>which I'm sure she is now Patient Barbie with a tan like that. One of
>my early Barbies, had a short curly blonde hair bubble cut style. I
>wish I still had her *sigh*

Patient Barbie, LOL! I wish I had *any* of my Barbies, they're all long
gone now what with all the moving around. What about that massive
head you could put makeup on and style her hair, was that Barbie?
I got one of those for Christmas once, way cool.

>I was telling my daughter about this barbie, and she said, "Well, what
>did she do?" I said she didn't do anything... followed by, "What did
>she come with"... I said nothing, and she went on to push... she must
>have done SOMETHING!!! No, I'm afraid my first barbie, circa 1962 or
>3, did absolutely nothing, except for look stunning in her long gowns
>which were lovingly tailored by my grandmother, and I would get one or
>two dresses every Christmas, in a satin, or lace, very stylish, at
>least in my 5 year old eyes.

Getting new clothes (no one ever made them for me, you lucky duck! All
of mine were store bought) was SO exciting! I used to really love the lush
ballgown getups with the long white gloves and teeny tiny spiked heels.

I found a huge collection of Barbies to drool over (the scans could be better)
including some stunning Bob Mackies here:

http://www.vicky-web.com/barbie/bframe.html

I think they're all pretty new but I'm not sure how old the actual dolls are.
Scary '70s outfit here:

http://www.vicky-web.com/barbie/70sdisco.html

Equally scary pink ballgown here:

http://www.vicky-web.com/barbie/psplendor.html

And even a black Barbie in a Mackie gown here:

http://www.vicky-web.com/barbie/starlight_splendor.html

Cheers,

TD

I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world
Life in plastic, it's fantastic
You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere
Imagination, that is your creation
Come on, Barbie, let's go party!
from Aqua's "Barbie Girl"

[Tiny Dancer]

And so the word went out from myst...@hotmail.com (Jamie M.):

>>And then I finally found this odd link with massive but lovely pics of my very

Exactly. Does this look familiar? :-)

http://www.yesterdayland.com/popopedia/shows/toys/ty1018.php

I just love that site, they put a lot of great work into the memory section. And,
according to the Easy-Bake Oven page, it was probably avocado green:

http://www.hasbro.com/default.asp?x=easybake_history

"...the EASY-BAKE Oven has always featured colors that keep in style with
the times - aqua, yellow, avocado green, orange, lime green and white."

There's another model here:

http://www.kconline.com/kurtkelsey/toys/easybake.html

Cheers,

TD

MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again, oh, no!
from Richard Harris' "MacArthur Park"

[Jamie M.]

>Exactly. Does this look familiar? :-)
>
>http://www.yesterdayland.com/popopedia/shows/toys/ty1018.php

That's the one... although I don't remember those snazzy stickers on
mine.

>I just love that site, they put a lot of great work into the memory section. And,
>according to the Easy-Bake Oven page, it was probably avocado green:
>
>http://www.hasbro.com/default.asp?x=easybake_history

Mine was avocado green. This year my niece is dying to get an easy
bake oven for Christmas... I suppose my old one wouldn't cut it eh? I
suppose the microwave version is the one she's after.

>Cheers,
>
>TD

>Someone left the cake out in the rain
>I don't think that I can take it

And I'm sure that the easy bake recipes will withstand any rain or
even hail.

Jamie

[LizzieZ]

I saw something recently that blew me away -- apparently, not only are Shrinky
Dinks coming back, but they now come with their own Easy-Bake-style oven! You
slide them in one side, and they come out shrunk on the other side. I wonder
if it's as much fun as opening the oven door and pulling out the cookie
sheet...?

Liz

[DL]

On Tue, 04 Dec 2001 01:30:18 GMT, someone wrote:

>I don't think that I can take it

How about this blast from the past. This thread reminded me of this
posting from last year:

***** begin quoted material ********

From: Dick Long (dickl...@hotmail.combo)
Subject: Re: What was this toy??
Newsgroups: alt.culture.us.1970s
View this article only
Date: 2000/10/03

On Tue, 03 Oct 2000 21:04:19 GMT, in alt.culture.us.1970s another
self-styled hero wrote:

>I need the 70's group help!
>
>I remember having a toy that was like a water balloon. It was made of
>a real thick rubber or plastic. It had a special attachment that
>hooked to your hose spicket....and when you filled these things up...it
>would shoot out the water at an amazingly high volocity.
>
>Anybody remember what the heck I am trying to describe???
>I believe it was a wham-o product.

Sounds like a douche bag.

DL

Message 3 in thread
From: The Wanderer (rosieon...@worldnet.att.net)
Subject: Re: What was this toy??
Newsgroups: alt.culture.us.1970s
View this article only
Date: 2000/10/04

Alright Dick! ROFLMAO

--
Buddy
from Brooklyn

"Dick Long" <dickl...@hotmail.combo> wrote in message
news:r4lktscf0s5bpoka4...@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 03 Oct 2000 21:04:19 GMT, in alt.culture.us.1970s another
> self-styled hero wrote:
>
> >I need the 70's group help!
> >
> >I remember having a toy that was like a water balloon. It was made of
> >a real thick rubber or plastic. It had a special attachment that
> >hooked to your hose spicket....and when you filled these things up...it
> >would shoot out the water at an amazingly high volocity.
> >
> >Anybody remember what the heck I am trying to describe???
> >I believe it was a wham-o product.
>
>
> Sounds like a douche bag.
>
> DL
>

Message 4 in thread
From: Dick Long (dickl...@hotmail.combo)
Subject: Re: What was this toy??
Newsgroups: alt.culture.us.1970s
View this article only
Date: 2000/10/04

I feel kinda bad. I just realized what must have happened. This poor
guy was from a really poor family and one Christmas they had no money
for presents so his dad went into the master bathroom and grabbed his
wife's douchebag and wrapped it up and gave it to the kid as a
present. Poor kid.

DL

***** end quoted material ********

- -

DL

http://www.geocities.com/dicklong14_ca/fanclub.htm

[The Wanderer]

"Daddy, why does this balloon smell funny?"

--
Buddy
from Brooklyn

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Thebes/5591/
http://the70s.cjb.net

"It'd take a guy a lifetime to know Brooklyn troo an' troo. An' even den yuh
wouldn't know it all."
Thomas Wolfe from Death To Morning

".....the response: caring, dedication, restoration, and charity, all
reminders of why this town is a kick-ass capitol you can screw, but you
can't fuck with!"
Michael Musto, The Village Voice, 12/4/01

"DL" <number1tigerfa...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:gkmo0usgfcg9u9u64...@4ax.com...

[Crazy Fingers]

This past Sunday, we did a story on Christmas toys from the 60's and 70's.
Just click the link. The guy I ride to work with wrote this. Unfortunately,
there is no photo on the online edition of this story.

http://www.albertleatribune.com/NF/omf/aldaily/news_story.html?[rkey=0004940
+ssiuname=WebOSTTN+ssipwd=TTNA8F63AFB

Dustin

"Tiny Dancer" <ti...@look.ca> wrote in message
news:3c06499c...@news.look.ca...

[Tiny Dancer]

And so the word went out from "Crazy Fingers" <pete...@smig.net>:

>This past Sunday, we did a story on Christmas toys from the 60's and 70's.
>Just click the link. The guy I ride to work with wrote this. Unfortunately,
>there is no photo on the online edition of this story.
>
>http://www.albertleatribune.com/NF/omf/aldaily/news_story.html?[rkey=0004940
>+ssiuname=WebOSTTN+ssipwd=TTNA8F63AFB

Thanks, Dustin! Love the description of the DAWK doll (from the 1966
Montgomery Wards catalog):

"The DAWK is the original real cool loser. It neither walks or talks. It just
stands there in silent protest. With a moptop of bright colorful yarn and
inscrutable dark glasses the DAWK stands holding his sign of protest.
The DAWK comes with 21 interchangeable hilarious expressions of
protest that fit into his sign. If you want to protest something not included
on the signs, then write one yourself on the blank signs provided. No
self-respecting protester can be without a DAWK."

Real shame there isn't a pic of this historic goodie! Hang on .... thought so,
I just love the net:

http://www.toyadz.com/toyadz/transogram/dawk.html

Cool site on its own, try the front page:

http://www.toyadz.com/toyadz/menu1.html