New to Them: Cool Retro Toys for Grandchildren
by Phoebe Assenza
Don't call it a comeback. These toys have been here for years.
When it seems every toy on the market has a USB port, and even stuffed animals feature an online component, it’s refreshing to know the toys of your youth are still around and as popular as ever. Here are a few classics that revive old memories for you and build new ones for your grandchildren.
Etch A Sketch
Before PCs and graphic-design programs for toddlers, there was the Etch A Sketch. The low-tech doodle machine is the same as ever, and this anniversary edition, with the original 1960 packaging, is like a toy time capsule.
Price: $7
For ages: 4 and older
Available at: Amazon.com
Easy Bake Oven and Snack Center
The Easy Bake Oven looks a little sleeker than when it was first introduced in 1963, but it still uses the same light bulb technology for grandchildren to bake their own treats. The newest model of the kid-size, kid-safe oven also has a special “warming chamber” for making fondue-style chocolate dip.
Price: $35
For ages: 8 and older
Available at: Amazon.com
Lincoln Logs
They do make them like they used to. The classic Lincoln Log design has held up for generations of little cabin builders. This collector’s edition contains 151 all-wood stained pieces with flat tops and notches for sturdy structures. Roofs and chimneys are also housed in the vintage-inspired wood carrying case.
Price: $80
For ages: 4-8
Available at: Amazon.com
Play-Doh Octopus
New tools and creative play sets make the multi-hued, malleable matter a lot more fun than it was when you last played with it. The Play-Doh Octopus is an appropriately eight-armed set with which you and your grandchildren can press and mold your favorite sea creatures, and invent some new ones too.
Price: $15
For ages: 3 to 6
Available at: Amazon.com
Rail Play — Networkers Combo Pack
The Brio Networkers Combo Pack is just like the wooden trains and tracks you (and maybe even your parents) played with as a kid, only with a computer-age theme. You and your grandchildren can build your own custom track and create a story to go along with specialty pieces based on the “imaginary creatures that live inside your computer.”
Price: $155
For ages: 3 and older
Available at: Brio.Knex.com
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