Vintage Toys

When you go to someone else's house for the first time, what is the one thing that makes you feel most at home? For me it's that sighting of a vintage toy. I am a kid at heart. And I love, love to decorate with kids' art, kids' books and kids' toys (the vintage kind, that is...you won't find me lining my mantle with my daughter's Beanie Boo collection any day soon ;)).

The best toys in my opinion are the ones I grew up with in the 70s and 80s. They don't make 'em like this anymore:

At my old house in Toronto, I used to have a curio cabinet filled with part of my vintage toy collection. I would like to do the same thing at this house, but first I want to refinish the old cabinet. I'm thinking of painting it with Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint in Grain Sack or Flow Blue (www.missmustardseedsmilkpaint.com/colors/)...stay tuned for that blog post!

When it comes down to it, though, I believe that toys should be played with, not kept behind glass so they can one day be sold to finance that Winnebago. My almost-five and seven-year-old are allowed to play with all my treasures...but if I come home to find they've given all my Strawberry Shortcake dolls Mohawks, well, let's just say if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody gonna be happy ;)

Here are some of my favorite toys from when I was growing up. Recognize any of these?

Original 1980s Strawberry Shortcake Dolls

1970 Barbie Country Camper. Look who stopped by for a S'more...it's Jimmy Osmond in the sparkly silver pantsuit!

The Barbapapas

What were some of your favorite toys from your childhood? Leave a comment, or post a photo of your favs on The Hydeout's Facebook page...I would love to hear from you!