I’m a Vintage Fisher Price Girl
January 7, 2009 by Michelle Gartner
About five weeks before Christmas I purchased some vintage woman’s magazines to browse through. Almost done with my Christmas shopping for four of my children at the time I still hadn’t shopped for our baby Julian. I really don’t have any idea what to get babies. You see I believe that giving gifts to babies is more for the giver and not the recipient. I have had enough experience with babies to realize they will play with everything you don’ t want them to and virtually ignore every toy you want them to play with.
Back to Christmas- added to the gift giving rituals of each house is the ideas and visions silly mothers get in their heads of picturesque perfect Christmases. Now up until getting these magazines from the late 1960’s and early 1970s I still had no idea what to buy Julian and was okay with it for the most part. However- little did I know these magazine would be brimming full of advertisements for toys and not just any toys but vintage Fisher Price baby toys. Needless to say I got it in my head that I would find many of these beautiful vintage Fisher Price toys for Julian in excellent condition at various thrift stores in time for Christmas Eve. Then Christmas morning my little darling would joyfully open my gifts while I snapped plenty of pictures.
WRONG!
The few vintage Fisher Price toys that I found looked like they had been through World War III. I found a vintage Snoopy pull toy that looked like he had been half eaten alive. I saw several old chatter phones that had seen better days- with one poor old phone having had his eyes clean busted out! Undaunted by these mistreated toys I continued my quest for vintage gift giving perfection.What I really wanted was a really nice vintage piano and perhaps a roly poly bear. After several weeks ticking by with neither in sight and with Christmas nearing I resigned myself to checking out eBay.
However on eBay I found that the toys I wanted were either scarce and expensive or on the other hand plentiful and junky looking. Sure I could get something for a rather inexpensive .99 opening bid too- only to pay $13.00 in shipping. Where’s the sport in that! Too make a long story short Julian received some rather clean and cheap modern toys from Wal- Mart including a monkey toy he pretty much bit the living daylights out of! Thank goodness I didn’t go out of my way for the vintage goodies- I would have had a heart attack when he mangled them on his fresh teeth.
There’s always the Grand-kids to spoil with vintage!
Sure “they mean so much…”- to Mom and they only “cost so little” if you don’t buy them on eBay.
If only the hand me downs looked this good! It’s my experience that most old baby toys look like they were owned by children who were missing a meal or two….
UMMMM Roly Poly Bear looks tasty- says baby! Snoopy’s fake leather ear’s are just like bacon!
Yeah, they can look rough but they do seem to outlast a lot of other toys. I always wonder what happened to the other toys because all we ever find are remnants of Fisher Price ones. So I’m thinking they just outlasted them. LOL. And at yard sales, there are usually Fisher Price things and Little Tykes things it seems to me.
Gosh this post brought me wayyyyyyy back. My favs were the Doll house witht he people with no legs that fit in tot little holes in the furniture and car. And the doggy and oh
where is the ball poopy thing with the stick that you push around and the balls pop like popcorn inside. I like that one the best 
I wish we had held on to those, I bought some for my son when he was born but they weren’t of the same quality.
My brother had the Tonka trucks which were dye cast metal, now I think they are made of plastic.
Fisher-Price and Play Skool had the market cornered back in the day.
Look at all these great toys! My daughter had the castle you show in the first picture, my sister is using it now for her daycare children. To give you some idea of the durability, my daughter is now 35 years old!
The only problem with the older Fisher Price houses and vehicles are the openings for the little people. The originals were declared choking hazards (and indeed they were, but I don’t think anyone actually choked). The newer safer little people are too big to fit in any of the older toys.
Very cool site -
and thanks for stopping by the patternbook.
(The snow effect in the picture is done with the air brush feature in paint, I am definitely graphically challenged, but even I could handle that one. Glad you liked it!)
wow. I havent thought about toys like these IN FOREVER!
“Sure I could get something for a rather inexpensive .99 opening bid too- only to pay $13.00 in shipping. Where’s the sport in that!”
AGREED!!!
Hi Teeni- I think what you see at garage sales speaks of their quality and longevity. Typically the low quality stuff around here ends up in the trash pretty quickly so I would imagine to see Fisher Price and Little Tykes as you say as well as Tonka and Plaskool.
Deborah- your comment cracked me up you spelled poppy thing “poopy” so once I read something that way it sticks in my head all day…. It’s a kind of Beavis and Butthead. But yeah I know the poppy stick- popcorn ball push thing, because we wanted to buy one and I felt that $12 for one new was too much. Normally I think $12 is a steal for toys- but if it was say summer and not Winter in Wisconsin I think I could get a poppy stick for a buck at a yard sale…
Hi Grandmother Wren- I don’t think very many children choked on old Fisher Price- I think now the government is on a witch hunt for unsafe toys…. I mean back in the day kids used to kick tin cans all over the place. Now there’s probably some government guy testing tin cans for lead and trying to pass a law that says peas and corn cans must be labled as to say they are not toys!
I don’t use paint I use Photoshop- my son uses paint though for a Graphic novel project in school. IF i can’t figure out to do that in Photoshop I will ask him to show me how to do it in Paint. I think that effect would look fabulous on a greeting card.
Meleah- What do you mean “wow. I havent thought about toys like these IN FOREVER!” ??? You look like you were playing with Fisher Price ten years ago. You look like your 18 - the only reason I know you are a few years younger then me is because you have a son that’s about the same age as my two oldest.
Thanks all for dropping by and the great comments!
Oooh, I think I had that smiley telephone once! It certainly looks familiar. I think we had a garage as well, with those legless little people that others have mentioned, and a multi-story car park.
Hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Happy New Year!
18? I wish. I am 34. and OLD.
and I stopped PLAYING with toys when I was about 5 years old.
When we were kids, toys took a beating. They were in the dirt, the sandbox, and thrown all over the driveway. When my cousins came over it seemed like everything me and my brother had were torn to shreds. I am just amazed that any of these vintage toys exist at all … period!
The only memorabilia left at the folks place from days gone by are the books that my mother read to us. They were NOT in the toy box
BTW: you are a gifted arteestimo
Meleah is 34 and OLD ????
HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAA !!!!!!!!!!
I must be a vintage dude then
…. can I sell myself on Ebay?
Hi Jenny- I had a great holiday- how was yours? I was kind of wondering if you have Fisher Price across the pond?
Meleah- 34 is not old… I am 36 and I am so happy now. I have this fabulous life. Why did you stop playing with toys??? I play with more stuff now then when I was a kid. I have five kids and I play with oodles of toys.
Eric- thank you for the picture of me- but you made my chin too huge. You gave my stick figure what looks like a man’s chin. Are you sure that was me at the computer on second look it looks like Fabio? I am going to put it up in my office anyway. Although next time I prefer to look like a delicate flower - although I appreciate how skinny you made me. THANKS BUDDY!
According to Meleah 34 is old- therefore I am (36) vintage and that makes you an antique. I would sell you on eBay but I have personally never been over on the dirtay side. HEE hee.
OMG poopy? I am so embarrassed! I said poopy…..poopy, poopy, poopy….LOl:)
Oh, I still have my house and barn (in 2nd pic). Also, a merry-go-round that’s a little worse-for-wear, but not horrible. Oh, and a big castle, too. I’m 35, and they will be handed down to my son when he’s old enough. Right now, only the merry-go-round is okay for him. I think the ppl that fit in it are in the barn or house, though.
I found a replica of the little phone at Wal-Mart during Christmas for just $5. I had to grab it!
Oooooo the big castle that’s what I want and I had the Sesame Street set. I want those mint, but I won’t let my kids play with them- they will be all for me….mu hahahaha
Thanks for dropping by Becky!
I was wondering if anyone could help me find a vintage fisher price piano. I had one when i was younger…it was blue, had multicolored keys, and the back of it was cardboard. I would really love to get my hands on one of these again. if anyone knows where to look please email me. It would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Josh- Your best bet would be to check eBay and do a search for fisher price piano. In the comment section there is a woman on here that said she was selling Fisher Price on Craigslist. I don’t know if she has the piano you are looking for- but I think that trying Craigslist would be a good idea too. Happy Hunting- and I hope you find what you are looking for in excellent condition and a great price- Michelle
I still have the little dog with wheels… not bad condition, so I added him to my vintage toy collection.