Child of the 80's

In the last few weeks, Father Christmas and I have been busy sorting out presents for the girls. They have requested mainly technological and electrical items...some mention of a 'tablet' if I recall..and I don't think they mean a multi vitamin!

 

It got me thinking back to when my sister Donna and I were younger. I have to say, I don't think we ever asked for much. We wished for things but I don't really remember asking for them. We were pretty contented children and were very fortunate to have a very happy childhood.

The present that was always a firm favourite and must have was the Mandy or Bunty annual. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without them.

 

We'd start reading them almost as soon as the wrapping was in the bin and once they were read cover to cover, we'd swap. I used to love the picture stories and would get really engrossed in them. I especially like The Four Mary's, all about... would you guess?... four girls called Mary  who were at a boarding school for girls and they had the most exciting adventures.

Another year I remember we got a game called Frustration.

 

We were quite competitive and would spend hours trying to get all 4 of our counters 'home' to win the came. You had to press the dome in the middle to 'pop' the dice. Great fun!

 

I just want to add that I refer to 'we' a lot in this post because I'm recalling what both Donna and I got for Christmas, obviously we got the same or joint presents, although maybe some twins get very different presents...we were so alike in our ways and thinking though so I guess we wanted similar things, perhaps in different colours or styles but usually the same. There is a whole other blog post to write about growing up as a twin....

 

We got a game of Scrabble one year and I remember playing that for hours on end too. This has now led to an on going interest of mine, playing 'Words with Friends' on Facebook. Anyone for a game?

 

It goes without saying that we got selection boxes but one thing we got every year with out fail was a writing set and we were encouraged to use it to write thank you letters to family members for the lovely present they'd sent us. I remember one year getting a Worsel Gummidge writing set. I used to like that programme and enjoyed watching it with my sister on a Saturday afternoon.

 

We would get toiletries too and one year we got Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog soaps.

 

 

We just thought these were amazing and didn't really want to use them! We didn't want to spoil them. When I was looking for a picture of them on the Internet I discovered they were first produced in 1977 when I was only 3 years old but I remember these soaps so clearly. Donna got the Miss Piggy soap and I got Kermit the Frog.

 We got the soap of the character we liked best and associated with in the show.I think the rest of the family got allocated characters too! Our older sister Lisa was Gonzo, Mum was Rowlf, the dog and Dad was Fozzie Bear. We used to love that show!

 

Paper dolls were something we always enjoyed too.Cutting out the outfits (be careful not to cut the tabs off!) and dressing up the dolls. That kind of present would keep us amused for hours.

 

 

One year I got a nurses set and Donna got a hairdressers set. Both came in little carry cases with all the accessories needed for the role. Poor Dad usually ended up being the patient with me wrapping his leg in a bandage whilst Donna worked on his hair...which he didn't have a lot of! But she still managed to put a roller in here or there!

 

Talking of rollers, we loved our roller skates!

 

 

We used to pretend we were Torville and Dean and skate their famous dance, Bolero, on the driveway, tapping on the living room window to make Mum and Dad watch us. These were a really great present and lasted for years.

 

 

A well known character in the 1980's was Victoria Plum.

 

 

I remember getting a bag with her on the front. It was a shopping bag style with two handles. Very chic!

 

Other characters that were popular in the '80s were Strawberry Shortcake and The Flower Fairies and we got various presents, from stationary to books, featuring these characters.

 

 

 

 

 Brambly Hedge books were another favourite mine. I really loved the characters in the stories and the illustrations were so detailed.We collected the Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter books and must have read them time and time again. I have a thing about sniffing books...say no more... you know you do too, don't you? Anyway, the Brambly Hedge books always had a lovely smell!

 

 

We also had the whole collection of Beatrix Potter stories and would often receive one as a Christmas or birthday present. Little Grey Rabbit was another favourite of ours. My favourite was the story of The Wandering Hedgehog.

 

 

Mrs Tiggy Winkle was my favourite Beatrix Potter character...the little washerwoman! Oh, the irony as I seem to have turned into her myself these days with the amount of washing and ironing that I do!

 

 

 

 We had so much fun just making up games, drawing and writing stories. We went through a phase of writing Enid Blyton 'Famous 5' style mystery stories and in the late 80's got a typewriter, the old fashioned kind, to type them up on. I can't remember if it was a Christmas or birthday present one year.

 

 

We quite fancied ourselves as detectives and would often set about trying to find a mystery, not that we really ever found one but another present we did get one year was a pair of binoculars...very useful for a game of spies!

 

We learnt to play the recorder so obviously that was a perfect present one year and then we progressed onto treble and tenor and eventually the flute. I still have them all and my original recorder still gets played regularly at the recorder club I do at school.

And who remembers the walkman? We got one of those each in the late '80's. It certainly made doing  the nightly paper round more fun!

There were  popular toys like the Rubiks cube, that we never did get but we always knew a friend who had what we didn't and would have the opportunity to play with it at their house.

We were so fortunate over the years. receiving many presents from family and friends that created memories for years to come.

But my most treasured Christmas present ever is my beloved Dinky the dog.

 

I got him when I was five years old and Donna got a little bear called Boo Boo. We were more into cuddly toys than dolls and Dinky was my favourite. He didn't come with clothes but mum made him a little t-shirt saying 'Love Me' on...and how could I not when I looked at his sad little eyes!

He got a set of shorts and another t-shirt some time later which he wears to this day. He's been through a lot over the years aswell as numerous long car journeys and holidays and on one occasion he had the misfortune of falling down the toilet!

He may look a little thread bare in places and he's a bit skinny round the middle but it just goes to show how well he's been loved. I'm sure you all have a favourite toy like him too.

 

Hope you enjoyed my little walk down memory lane. Perhaps it brought back memories for you too.

For now, I'd better get on wrapping a few more presents for this Christmas!

 

PS. Hope you all enjoyed opening your advent calenders today! Happy 1st of December!