I'm a nostalgic 80s child. If I see a toy from my childhood when I'm a thrifting then I find it very difficult not to take it home. Since having my son I find that he is a great excuse for buying these toys of my youth (even if they are way over his age group or toys which I hubby would cringe at him playing with).
The extra bonus of being "a grown up" is that I can now buy the items my parents refused buy. One such toy I really wanted thanks to the advertisers was 'Rub-a-Dub Doggie'. My mum refused to buy it for me, however my wait for this toy was over this weekend when I saw his cheeky face in a box at the boot sale:
Now he doesn't look like much but check out this 80's TV advert for this bath time buddy:
I thought this was amazing when I was was a nipper. I must admit nostalgia has got in the way and in reality he is just a plastic dog with a lever on the back which you move to shake his head - a pretty rubbish toy but nearly 30 years on my son loves him in the bath. Well worth the £1 I paid for the trip down memory lane and the sight of a 15 month old squealing with laughter in the tub.
While we are talking 80s toys hows about every budding designers dream toy:
Fashion wheel! I used to adore this (yes mum and dad gave in to my demands on this one). So hands up who also had one of these?
There was nothing better than rubbing the black crayon over the selected outfit creations and then colouring it in while trying to keep between the lines.
I thought this was amazing when I was was a nipper. I must admit nostalgia has got in the way and in reality he is just a plastic dog with a lever on the back which you move to shake his head - a pretty rubbish toy but nearly 30 years on my son loves him in the bath. Well worth the £1 I paid for the trip down memory lane and the sight of a 15 month old squealing with laughter in the tub.
While we are talking 80s toys hows about every budding designers dream toy:
There was nothing better than rubbing the black crayon over the selected outfit creations and then colouring it in while trying to keep between the lines.
I would lose hours playing with this toy, just the cutting with the blunt safety sissors was time consuming enough. My original fashion wheel was donated to a school fete when my love affair with it ended. It was therefore only right to buy this boxes fashion wheel for £1 when I saw it at the booty...and yes its just as great as I remember.
Did you ever want a toy as a child that your parents would buy?
Big love to you all, and i'll be taking a trip round all your beautiful blogs
Did you ever want a toy as a child that your parents would buy?
Big love to you all, and i'll be taking a trip round all your beautiful blogs
i want a rub a dub! yes baths are better with two....... well depending on who the other member in with you is! i always wanted a dog on wheels, and yes my children got one that is still on show. xx
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! I didn't have the fashion wheel but it was something similar, pictures on rollers and then you traced over it. Loved it - one of the footwear options was roller-skates.
ReplyDeleteNot a toy but I always wanted a soda-stream but my mean parents didn't see the virtue of radioactive fizzy drinks!
Aah I had the fashion wheel thing, and another one, fashion plates or something, I was obsessed! Quick trip thru fashion college cured that tho... ;)
ReplyDeleteI wanted Tiny Tears and Sindy - I didn't get them but the next sister down did! But I remember having Tressy and Chatty Cathy.
ReplyDeleteK xx
Like Keshling, I wanted Tiny Tears but never got one. I did find a Sindy doll (in the sandpit at our local park) but later swapped it for a gonk (why oh why?). xx
ReplyDeleteWow.I had a fashion wheel.I have no idea what happened to it.I remember being in my room for hours doing different outfits.lol.Too cool.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, I <3 the Fashion Wheel. I never had that...but I did have Fashion Plates. And I rediscovered them at a flea market a few years ago. So much fun! <3 Jackie @ Let's Go Thrifting!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, the fashion wheel - not me, my daughter. She always wanted My Little Pony.We resisted as long as we could, but gave in eventually. She had hours of fun with them, and she still has them. The same with my son and Techniks Lego :)
ReplyDeleteI had something called fashion plates. It was the same idea though!
ReplyDeleteFashion Wheel!!! Oh how I loved my Fashion Wheel!!
ReplyDeleteI'm really hoping that my Mum has kept mine for the pure nostalgia :-)
Doggie was SO worth the £1, the memories are priceless!
Jem xXx
I tried to buy my kids toys I wanted but never got...now maybe they will do the same for theirs. I love that adorable doggie! So cute!
ReplyDeleteAwww. There was a poodle like that when my daughter was little, can't recall the name for the life of me. Now it will haunt me all night.
ReplyDeleteShampoodle!!!!! Whew. I can sleep now.
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha! I had a fashion plates one, LOVED it! I always wanted a blonde sindy doll, but every friggen year my sis got the blonde and I got the brunette (so we wouldn't confuse them and fight) x
ReplyDeleteI too wanted a rub-a-dub doggie and never got one. *BAH* parents! If I run into one I will surely be grabbing it in a moment of madness. *lol*
ReplyDeleteThe one you bought is quite cute no wonder your Son liked it.
aaahhh i don't remember those toys although i should. I would love a rub dub dog how cute and fun is he ;-)) What a sweet wholesome advert to. I always wanted the game kerplunk but never had it, my boys did though ;-)) dee xx
ReplyDeleteI wanted a Barbie - never got one. I did get cheaper versions, and did get a Sindy - but never Miss B. I had to satisfy myself playing with my friends Barbies.
ReplyDeleteI loved that advert - and loved the Mum's neat bob and headband.
I loved my fashion wheel so much,probably why I went on to study fashion at uni. I was never aloud My Little Ponies. My mum said they were a waste of money so when my cousin gave my daughter her collection of ponies a few weeks ago i was more than just a bit excited.
ReplyDeleteI was very much a tomboy when I was a kid and hankered after a penknife. Eventually Dad gave in and brought me one and it was my prized possession. Unfortunately its been lost a very long time, but I still carry a penknife around with me to use in my job! Some things never change!
ReplyDeleteGotta love the good ol' 80's toys! Brings back memories for me. That Rub-a-dub doggie is cute. He reminds me of the 'pound puppy' I use to have as a child.
ReplyDeleteI always wanted the fashion wheel but never got it from Santa!! just think I could have had a different career from teaching if I got that wheel ;) lol I always wanted the tree house but never got that either!
ReplyDeleteBee happy x
Have a delicious day!
I remember having Kerplunk and spiro graph as a girl growing up in the 80's. But do remember wanting a Mr Frosty maker! Oh yes every me and my sister would launch a campaign every before christmas but to no avail! lol.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got to relive your childhood wants.
MBB x
Like Mummy Boo Bear - I wanted a MrFrosty but my Mum always said no :( Never seen one at a bootsale either so perhaps they were as awful as my Mum thought!!
ReplyDeleteThe boys were lucky, we still had my Fisher Price school house they used when they were tiny and I found them a FP garage at a bootsale complete with cars & more people - they had hours of fun with those.
Love your doggy - am sure my younger sisters wanted those - and again, my 'mean' parents said no. However they bought 3 of them those dogs that did tricks if you shouted at them one christmas - what a din!
I've never seen one of those dogs before, I suppose I was out clubbing when they were popular.
ReplyDeleteI did have a fashion wheel but mine was the Seventies version and not as high tech, but I did love it. x
Those dogs seem to have by-passed me too. I wanted EVERYTHING, but getting 2nd, 3rd and sometimes 5th hand toys meant they were always our of date.
ReplyDeleteI wanted Poochie, Pound Puppies, Mr Frosty, Fashion Wheel, Ken's Dream House, Paul (Sindy's boyfriend), Skipper (Barbie's sister), Flower Fairies, Big Truck (after seeing the advert where it 'fetched' an apple from the kitchen), Jem (truly outrageous), Major Morgan, Strawberry Shortcake....the list is endless.
Let me know if you find any of these things. I still want them all.
I'm sad to say that Rub-A-Dub Doggy passed me by but at least he was probably cleaner than most toys at a boot sale!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm sooooo jealous, I wanted Fashion Wheel oh and Girls World and a Sindy House. x
I love that you do this also....
ReplyDeleteBrilliant, I don't remember the doggie but I do the fashion wheel. Hours of fun xx
ReplyDeleteI've never seen a Rub-a-Dub Doggy before, but then it's after my time. Cute though, glad your son appreciates it!
ReplyDeleteLike Lakota, I longed for a Soda Stream, and I always wanted all the Sindy/Barbie stuff like houses, cars, horses, all the extras basically, but only had the dolls. I even resorted to making rooms for them out of cardboard boxes a la Blue Peter. I know, sad child.
I bought my daughter an updated version of the fashion wheel, though it's pretty much the same as far as I can see. I think I wanted it more than she did...
Ahhh, nostalgia! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Good old 80's toy nostalgia. I remember the fashion wheel but never had one. I did have a Spirograph though and I absolutely loved Keypers (I had Fancy and Footloose), Snugglebums and my blue and yellow roller boots!
ReplyDeleteGreat toys amor!
ReplyDeleteI had the Barbie version of fashion wheel, used to love it. I was more of a Barbie doll biatch. I wanted all the Barbies.
whenever I come across collectable Barbie's I get all nostalgiac.
rub a dub bear is adorable, never heard of him.
I loved my fashion wheel! I daren't get one back in my life - I feel I would end up wasting too much time with it!! :P I don't know how you are finding time to blog with that around!!
ReplyDeleteA kindly cousin gave me mine, I will love her forever!
I had to pester my mum for a very long time and promise to be good forever to get my cabbage patch doll! She is safely packed away until I can pass her to a little one of my own.
Lovely to introduce your little one to your past loves!! :)
Oh goodness Scarlett, I really do share the same love for toys as you do. I am just so glad to be able to relate to this post so much! I always ALWAYS check out the toy section in charity shops/stalls at boot fairs, the thrill of finding something that sends me right back to childhood really is like no other.
ReplyDeleteI bought a Mr Frosty Ice making machine last year at a car boot, JUST BECAUSE he was the toy I always wanted by my parents refused to buy me, so getting the chance to finally own him sure did give me a sense of relief after all this time. And yes I very much treasure him! xxx
I've never seen a fashion wheel before. You probably have toys there that we don't get here especially back in the 80s.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh the child excuse... my daughter was my excuse for buying all my Hello Kitty stuff. She's 22 now so I have to own up to crayons and coloring books and toys being for me!
ReplyDeleteKarlene
I have never seen the fashion wheel, but I remember bathtime Buddy! Wish we would have saved some of our toys!
ReplyDeleteCarol
Bathtime buddy who wouldn't have wanted one? I love having nephews it's a good excuse to buy toys I had or would still want to play with. The fashion wheel looks pretty cool, I wish I had one.
ReplyDeleteI had a cheapo version of the fashion wheel (more of a rectangle than a wheel!) I don't think I'd be able to resist either if I spotted one!
ReplyDeleteawwww i love the classic advert! the little girl in the tub is just too cute! so glad that ur son is enjoying his bath time with the rub a dub doggie, everything is so new to me when i moved here to the UK and your blog is like an introduction what life in the uk then and now like, things i've never seen and i'm always excited to see what you're blogging! the fashion wheel looks sooo fun! dont think they have it in my country except paper dolls or coloring book :)
ReplyDeletehave a great weekend, Scarlett!
xx susan
Ahhh I love things that remind me of my past hence why I struggle to let things go! Still have my whole barbie collection!
ReplyDeleteI think I may have even had a fashion wheel, it looks very familiar!
Sophie
x
Goodness Scarlett, I haven't seen one of those fashion wheels in years! LOL
ReplyDeleteI don't remember the doggy though..too old my dear, not too young LOL :o)
Hope you and yours are fine and dandy my lovely.
Take care Scarlett, and have a great week,
love Donna xx
Well I'm a good lot older than you and I've never heard of either of those toys..It's a different country thang...I'm sticking with that *winks* When I was 12 I wanted a life size Raggedy Ann...And I was obsessed! Somehow I got it in my head that my having one would MAKE MY LIFE! Why I have no idea. (Yep kids are stupid)I dropped hints for months and months before Christmas that I wanted one, but my parents had other ideas and bought me a stereo instead. I threw a tantrum the likes of which has rarely been seen since lol! Looking back I have no idea what I was thinkin'....What a tool I was!.....But I'm still capable of a pretty good tantrum if I don't get what I want for Christmas! Still a tool Lol! Vanna
ReplyDeleteOh Fashion Wheel... I had one and loved it too!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI love buying/finding toys from my childhood!
Victoria xx
As a child I always wanted a fashion wheel but it never materialized. Perhaps the time is now, I could pretend its for my daughter!! Second time lucky x
ReplyDelete