Christmas shopping has been fun this year, since I have a fairly reasonable income again and there are some interesting items on the market that harken back to an earlier era, reminding me of (somewhat?) simpler times.
Caboodles. Ladies, remember these? They’re selling them again. For those who don’t know, Caboodles is a kit designed to store your makeup and accessories, geared toward teens and tweens. I never had one because I rarely wear makeup, but I always wanted one because it has such cool compartments to organize your stuff.
I got one for my daughter (although she’s too young to store makeup in it right now) on Amazon, but you can also find them at Macy’s, Walmart, and the lowest price I found was through Ulta Beauty (I apologize, I don’t know how to add hyperlinks in WordPress, yet, but it’s easy enough to Google) for $13.99.
Pogo Ball. Basically, it’s a rubber ball surrounded by a hard plastic disk. You put your feet on the disk, gripping the ball between your feet, and bounce.
There’s a definite learning curve to this toy, but once you get it down, it’s hard to stop hopping.
They’re not actually called Pogo Ball anymore, but if you Google it, all of its variations will appear. You can find them at Target, Walmart, Amazon, Dick’s, Kohl’s, and we occasionally sell them at TJ Maxx.
View Master. Remember those plastic red contraptions you would look inside and pull a lever to see slides? You can still get those. There’s even one by Retroviewer where you can design your own reel using your pictures (Uncommon Goods), but it costs more, you only get one reel with it for seven images, and you have to watch a video/ create an account to access the Retroviewer website.
An alternative to Retroviewer is Kaplan Early Learning’s View-Master 187254 Discovery Boxed Set. It comes with several reels, but none of them are customizable, as far as I can tell. Still, if your kiddo is interested in science, this is a great choice. It’s available through Walmart.
Magic 8 Ball. Who didn’t love good old Magic 8 Ball?
“Does Billy like me?”
Saith Magic 8 Ball: It is decidedly so.
“YES!”
Excellent stocking stuffer. Available at Walmart, Target, and The Paper Store.
These are just a few of the fun and exciting items you can find for your kids this holiday season. For more ideas (think Lite Brite, Speak & Spell, Gameboy, Easy Bake Oven), Google “retro gifts for kids.” Have fun Pogo-Balling down memory lane!
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