How Many Of These Retro Stocking Stuffers Do You Remember From Your Childhood?
Remember the Christmas stocking you had as a child? It was the sacred passed-down-by-generations repository for all sorts of odds and ends that ended up hung by the chimney with care, because they’d get lost among the larger boxes under the tree. Or maybe you got one of those pre-filled giant red mesh stockings. Yep, you know the ones.
Feeling nostalgic? Here are some of our favorite retro stocking stuffers.
Life Savers Sweet Story Book
This was guaranteed to show up in my stocking every year. Can’t you just remember sucking on Life Savers until they turned into those tiny thin rings in your mouth? And they still make it! You can get them on Amazon.
Floating Ball Game
Just blow into the pipe until you see spots and that ball will float. You can still get this game at Walmart.
Matchbox or Hot Wheels
An obvious choice for the stocking. This is my all-time favorite Hot Wheels, the Jack Rabbit Special. There are plenty of them still out there, like this one on Etsy.
Push Puppets Or Finger Puppets
Remember push puppets? Push in the base, and they’d flop this way and that! Check them out at Etsy and elsewhere.
Balloon Race Cars
Blow it up, and off to the races. No need for batteries, which were always in short supply on Christmas morning, right? Retro Planet still has some.
Barrel Of Monkeys
Where do you think the saying “more fun that a barrel of monkeys” came from? You can still get them at Walmart.
Balsa Wood Airplane
Just fit the pieces together and sail ‘er up up up and… into a tree. Vermont Country Store has them.
Yo-Yo
Walk the dog. Or just get the string so twisted you quickly give up.
Jacks
Did you ever actually try to play this game? Or did you just see how high you could bounce the ball and leave the jacks out for your parents to step on?
Cap Bombs
Ahh, the smell of exploding sulfur on Christmas morning — and they’re still available on Amazon. And you wondered why the cat was quivering under the sofa…
Marbles
This is another one like jacks. Everyone had them, but did you ever actually play the game?
Parachute Jumper Army Men
Toss ’em up in the air and… into a tree along with your balsa wood plane. You can get them at Party City.
[h/t: MeTV]