lost & found vintage toys

lost ~ the mod rod

leading up to xmas i wanted to devote a few posts to my favorite xmas toys (this is toxic with baby brother way back in 1970..) ~

for xmas 1969 santa came through with this awesome vintage plastic mod rod kiddie pedal car for toxic ~

i loved my modrod & rode in it everywhere, but unfortunately i've never been able to track one down.. status: Lost ~

by the time toxic started school our covetous little brother set about wrecking the modrod in her absence! ~

awwww! stupid smelly boys! they used the modrod to crash into with their own vehicles! ~

the boys also ruined my cool new crazy car on the very first day! ~

i can see myself riding this around portland.. ~

i would be happy just to find any old ads, photos or info on the modrod if anyone comes across it?..

bren

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gumby charms

grinchin'

while my xmas music earworms are still with me i thought i'd post one last xmas related post ;) ~

given to me in a xmas card from my gumbyfriend sally :) ~

cool foam grinch & whoville stickers ~

by dr seuss ~

so Who else thinks old doc whovie bears a striking resemblence to john bolton? (& my son & i are wondering, is the grinch tiny like the whos in horton hears a who?) ~

& check out this grinch bendy toy ~

not as flexible as gumby, mind you, more 'flatsy' style like the vintage dolls ~

welcome to my earworm ~

i was reminded while talking about carousels recently that mr dad once won me this plush grinch at the santa monica pier at xmastime :D ~

back in socal ~

thanks again sally! ~

bren

woolworth's xmas 1953

one last xmas post ~

before the year is over ~

i love this reproduction comic book ~

taken from the woolworth's 1953 xmas toy catalogue ~

a fun comic for kids awaiting xmas & choosing what toys to write to santa about ;) ~

toxic loved her local woolworth's store ~

especially at holiday time ~

it made walking home from school a treat to be able to go inside & see the new toys or holiday items ~

& woolworth's was inexpensive enough to be able to buy gifts for family members too! ~

the pets & paper aisles were always a favorite as well ~

& who didn't love having a grilled cheese sandwich & milkshake at the little lunch counter in back :D ~

i grew up with woolworth's & even was still buying fisher price toys for my own son there before our local store closed ~

classic xmas nostalgia <3 ~

dolls, cars, little golden books or guns (you'll shoot your eye out!) ~

they had what every kid wanted ~

well, goodbye 2022 ~

more like this at the link on the back ;) ~

bren

flashback friday favorite ~ misfit dolly

this is a flashback friday favorite post from xmas of 2017, now with update at the end ;) so one christmas past i posted my 50th anniversary misfit dolly for sue from the rankin/bass rudolph the red-nosed reindeer animated special ~

a rare version that's particularly hard to find, but if you'll read the comments there you'll see i found an even better home for her than my own toyroom.. the story went something like this, little girl with self-esteem issues gets the dolly she wanted most for xmas, that looks like her, takes it to kindergarden for show & tell & it gets stolen away, she longs to have it back & her mom searches for years to replace it.. anyway, a true lost & found story that melted my heart, as toxic was a misfit with self-esteem issues herself ~

& so to replace her i found this newer build-a-bear workshop version ~

& i do like that she actually looks a bit truer to the rankin/bass original character anyway ~

with yarn hair & red bows ~

so merry christmas julia!! & merry christmas everyone, especially to my fellow misfits ;) ~

some more rankin/bass figures ~

so it's been a long pondered mystery as to why the dolly for sue was a misfit? there's nothing apparent about her.. an old friend of mine speculated that she peed from her eyes, perhaps based on the preponderance of dolls that 'wet'? lol that's definitely misfit material. someone else thought she cried ink, or that it was because she had no nose? my gumbyfriend sally, that i've mentioned here at the lost & found before, also a fellow misfit <3 finally found an answer! in an interview with the archive of american television, arthur rankin jr revealed that the dolly for sue had been cast aside by her mistress & suffered depression & self esteem issues as a result, & ended up on the island for that reason! of course! all her sad crying.. i must say i'm glad i sold my original misfit doll to julia's mom.. & i do hope she's feeling better about herself these days <3

just a reminder from clarice the reindeer:

there's always tomorrow
for dreams to come true
believe in your dreams, come what may
there's always tomorrow
with so much to do
& so little time in a day
we all pretend the rainbow has an end
& you'll be there, my friend, some day
there's always tomorrow
for dreams to come true
tomorrow is not far away..

the misfit dolly & island of lost toys were a clear inspiration for my own 'lost toys' dollscape here ;)

click on rankin/bass in the category list in the sidebar for more..

bren