Wayback Machine: January 7, 2026

 

The most disappointing part of the holiday season was when you had to leave any of your new toys and go back to school.

My brother and I didn't grow up with legos.  We didn't even really hear of that toy until my much younger brother was born.  I wondered why that was and apparently legos weren't sold in the U.S. until after 1961.  This was our building toy:

You might think wow, parents were lucky because they never had to worry about stepping on legos.

But our parents had something else to worry about.  Stepping on Matchbox Cars.

My brother, uncle (6 weeks younger than me) and myself spent hours playing with matchbox cars.  Nana's persian rugs were a splendid highway system and kept us occupied for hours.

If you were around then--you remember the very cool boxes that packaged the cars.  We used the boxes for garages until after Christmas when grown-ups started disposing of the boxes.  

It didn't really matter about "boy toys" or "girl toys" back then.  I don't remember any of the boys playing with the dolls my aunt or I had but there were plenty of other things that we all engaged in.

Did you play with matchbox when you were young?

Have a safe and happy day!