December 10, 2008

Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing



For being an aunt with no kids of her own...I've got a pretty good collection of toys for when the wee one comes to visit. I've got everything from a Cabbage Patch doll to Melissa & Doug puzzles to toy horses to necklaces to books. But it simply amazes me that with all the different toys to choose from...every single time my niece is here she first pulls out the Little People schoolhouse full of little people and the random things their cylinder bodies fit into. These things are 30+ years old! I remember playing with the Little People, fighting over who got to play with who, pretending they were at school, and pretending they were at recess on the merry-go-round. We even had a little car that we would drive all over the living room! They were really cool in their day.

But actually I think it's pretty cool that she loves the Little People. They leave a lot up to the imagination. They make no sounds. They have plastic hair. They have no clothes just a wooden cylinder body. As I watch her play it's really neat to listen to her have one of the people talking to the horse and 'getting on' for a ride. She pushes the people that she puts in the swing on the swingset. And she sets up the classroom with the little desks.

When I see today's toys, it leaves me wondering where the room is for imagination. They are really cool with all their sounds and accessories; but what about making motor noises with your lips? What about having your own little voice for the dolly instead of her talking and crying from some magical computer device inside of her? When I saw all the plastic food for a play kitchen, it just made me laugh thinking of all the times we made 'brownies' from the dried and cracked dirt in mud puddles. Oh those were the days. And I'm so glad that my childhood was filled with creativity beyond on our imagination.