Remember When?

This time of year I seem to pay more attention to the toys at stores and on TV than any other time because I have to hone in on what my boys may be interested in for Christmas. It never ceases to amaze me how they bring back toys that we grew up with. Did our generation get recycled toys from our parents' childhoods too??? Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, and we can't forget Transformers have all made a comeback. Too bad they all have to have a modern twist to them. Like, am I the only one that remembers when Bumblebee was a VW bug and not a hot classic Camaro??? And when did Transformers become so difficult to transform? I thought they were a toy meant for young children. If parents can't even transform them, then what good are they?

So what about the toys we grew up with that haven't re-entered the retail world? Remember the good ol' Smurfs? They were quite popular (as well as Strawberry Shortcake) when I was in kindergarten. And what about Rainbow Bright and M.A.S.K and GI Joe and He-Man and the Hugabunches? And then there was Real Baby and Cabbage Patch Kids (which never really did go out). Oh yeah, and do you remember the commercials for Teddy Ruxpin?

Once I got to thinking about the toys we used to play with, my memories then turned to TV. Of course many of those fun toys we had as kids had TV shows or cartoons to go along with them. That's what made them so popular. The VCR had just become popular, so VHS movies were on the rise too. Let's start with when I was itty bitty...

It all started with Sesame Street - and it was long before Elmo ever came along. Remember the Letter People? And I learned to count to 10 in Spanish from Maria. But after Sesame Street was over it was Mr Rogers. What a great man! Who knew he was a sniper at one point in his life??? The land of make believe still creeps me out a bit though. After Mr Rogers aired, it was either 3-2-1 Contact or Electric Company - HEY YOU GUYS!!!

Remember Punky Brewster, Different Strokes, Inspector Gadget, The Dukes of Hazzard, the Incredible Hulk, and You Can't Do that on Television? Oh yeah, and what about Who's the Boss with Alyssa Milano??? Good times!

And then there were the shows that were more for our parents but we may have watched or at least remember the era. Dallas, Miami Vice, Magnum PI (my aunt Nancy had a HUGE crush on Tom Selek), Chips and the A-Team. Of these, my faves are the last 2. Chad and I used to watch old Chips reruns during the summers. And who didn't like the A-Team with Hannabul, Face, Murdock and B.A. (played by Mr T)? They were always getting into something.

Oh it all brings back good memories of childhood. I hope my little trip down memory lane was a good one for you too. If you want to hear any of the good ol' theme songs from some of our favorite shows, look 'em up on YouTube. It's amazing what's on the internet!!!