Saturday, August 26, 2006

nostalgia

Fisher Price house, inside

Very rarely do I get as enthusiastic response about my thrifted finds as when I score a vintage Fisher Price playset.

It seems to be something that has the ability to instantly transport us back to childhood. We remember favorite toys, yes, but there is another level to childhood memory brought back by the smooth, smiling wooden faces of the Little People. We recall details, like the color of the collar on our dog figurine. The 'moo' of the barn door as it opened. The fat, ribbed bodies of the sheep as they milled about behind white plastic fencing. The detail of our Fisher Price memory is amazing.

It seems as though a great many of us spent a good part of our youth playing with the same beloved toys - which is probably why it is so difficult to find them today in anything other than 'well-loved' condition.
And it makes me smile to find them that way.