This week we're looking at the best year ever for the Sears Christmas Wish Book...1968! This is the year that they came out with TWO Christmas catalogs. In addition to the regular one, they had a special "summer edition!" Let's dive in, shall we?
We'll start with the summer edition! I can only imagine the fun kids had when this bad boy came in the mail!
We'll dig right in! 1968 was a great year for toys that could hurt you if you were kind of stupid. But you would (hopefully) learn after one burn and then you could enjoy making all sorts of wonderful toys!
This page features some of the most iconic games ever in the history of iconic games! Rock Em Sock Em Robots! Time Bomb! Kaboom! Gold! All gold!
I'm featuring this page because of the Boaterific boats! These were the maritime versions of the Motorific cars by Ideal. They had small electric motors. I had the cabin cruiser, although it only cruised in my bathtub.
Another thing I had was Matchbox City! I was most impressed with the vacuformed dump. I was a weird kid.
Ah, slot cars! You can never go wrong with slot cars!
And here we have our hero, G.I. Joe! These accessories were BIG. Especially the jeep! I didn't have it, but I knew a kid that did.
I had the space capsule! A cooler toy was never made! And it floats!
Trains were still big in '68, and you could get a whole detailed layout!
Ok, it's after the August ordering deadline for the summer book. What now???? Well, here comes the regular book to the rescue! Here we go!!!
Yes, I had a pedal car. It was a fire truck, but I don't think it was exactly like any of these. Very close, but not exact.
Now this is something that I didn't have as a kid, but I picked up with some Hot Wheel stuff at an estate sale. The Matchbox Motorway! I've never tried to get mine to work...
Speaking of Hot Wheels, here ya go! I think all drag strips should have a loop in the middle!
Joe is back in case you missed ordering your space capsule! Also, Zeroids and the Johnny Astro Explorer (it's a balloon).
And here is a very nice Corgi layout. They really did make very high quality cars!
And there you have it! If you couldn't find something you liked in the 1968 Sears Wishbook, then you weren't wishing hard enough!
Until next time, keep searching for treasure!
Awwww! The Popeye Ball Toss game! My brother and I had that when I was very little. Unfortunately, it did not get saved, but it shows up in some Christmas morning photos. And we had one of those metal gas stations, but at some point, my brother stepped on it and got a big gash on the bottom of his foot, so I think it went bye-bye after that. (The gas station, not my brother!)
ReplyDelete- TokyoMagic!
With the prices those gas stations bring now, you might have wanted to consider getting rid of the brother! Not really. Just kidding. Sort of.
DeleteStu, this is a fun trip back 55 years ago! I recognize so many of these toys...I had a few of them: Fun Flowers; Creeple Peeple; Creepy Crawlers...all "you can burn yourself badly" kits that I LOVED. And I don't recall ever getting burned. We weren't that stupid, back then.
ReplyDeleteI also had the Time Bomb. It didn't do much, just made a small "bang" went it went off. Perfect for playing Hot Potato. It didn't take much to thrill us, back then.
I see a lot of other toys that my friends and cousins had - so I got to play with them, too.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Stu. Maybe Santa will bring us some of these...just circle what you want.
I had Incredible Edibles. They tasted a lot like burned rubber, lol! I didn't have Time Bomb, but I played it at a birthday party. I still remember the CLACK!
DeleteI'm pretty sure our childhoods were much better than the digital fun kids have now!
I had Incredible Edibles, too. I remember the distinct flavors - with the plastic/rubber aftertaste. It was a fun toy!
ReplyDeleteYes, that Time Bomb going-off definitely sounded like a CLACK! But that CLACK still made us jump.
Yes, our childhoods were wonderful!
Lol, yes, I'm remembering those flavors more now. Kinda like Yummm....uck!
Delete