One of the things I like to do when I’m procrastinating writing, cleaning, or paying bills, is to search for things I don’t need on eBay. I have huge lists of things I “watch” but will never bid on, just because I’m curious how high the bidders will go on items like Ursula Leyk lighthouses from Germany (very popular with military wives back in the 90’s), or Villeroy & Boch Christmas ornaments. While browsing the lists, I was surprised by how many vintage toys are available for purchase, and began to search for toys that I had as a child.

My absolute favorite was the Sunshine Family dolls, a sweet hippy family made by Mattel, consisting of Mom, Dad, and Baby Sweets. My older sister had Barbies, but I only wanted to play with the Sunshine Family, and I brought them with me everywhere. I think they cost about $10 back in 1974, and I saw them on sale for about $70 on eBay.

The least favorite toy I had was a ventriloquist Bozo the Clown doll that scared the bejeezus out of me. I would grab it by a foot and, holding it at arms’ length, would fling the thing deep into my closet. My mom would pull it out and put it back on my chair, and I never had the courage to tell her how much I hated that doll. My uncle came to visit one day with his golden retriever, Molly, who had an obsession with burying things. My sisters and I gave the Bozo doll to her and watched in glee as she buried it behind our garage. After that, we were too afraid to go back there for fear that it would crawl out of the ground and come after us.

These days, my favorite toys include things like my iPod, my laptop, and my Wii. What about you? What were some of your favorite toys as a child, and what about now? Leave a post here, and I’ll select somebody at random to receive a $25 Amazon gift card toward the purchase of a new toy!;-)