Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family
history through old photographs.
This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt shows a family with
mother surrounded by her three children and their toys. Now there’s a familiar sight! While there is no tree in the photo, the
scene reminds me of Christmas morning.
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| Christmas 1964 You wash; I'll dry. (And that's how it is, even today!) |
I grew up when imaginative play for girls included a baby
doll and carriage, tea sets, a pink metal ironing board, and a kitchen
set. When Santa brought my sister a
kitchen set in 1964, I joined right in pretending to wash little plastic dishes and put
away boxes of play food, despite the difference in our age. After all, it was my duty to instruct my
little sister on the proper way to do those things.
So when my girls came along, I looked forward to the day
they could have a kitchen set. Of
course, like most great toys, “some assembly is required.” On Christmas Eve, two geniuses decided to
wait for the girls to go to bed before breaking open the box.
Barry and Cam, my sister’s husband, sat on
the floor drinking beer, reading directions, drinking beer, looking for parts,
drinking beer, assembling and unassembling and reassembling into the wee
hours. Who would have thought it would
take so long? When they were finished,
they still had a bag of nuts and bolts and screws left over.
Nevertheless, the kitchen set held up well for many years. The last time I saw it, this red gingham-check kitchen was a key component in imaginative play at a preschool.
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| Santa's Helpers 2:00 AM Barry and Cam 1984 |
Nevertheless, the kitchen set held up well for many years. The last time I saw it, this red gingham-check kitchen was a key component in imaginative play at a preschool.
©
2014, Wendy Mathias. All rights
reserved.
How wonderful that the men stayed up that late to assemble the piece! This is what memories are made of.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's right. Good guys! And a lesson well-learned.
DeleteEnjoyed this post!
ReplyDeleteThanks - I'm glad.
DeleteI do approve of this kind of rôle play but shouldn’t you ladies have been doing the assembling and the little boys be encouraged to play at cooking and washing the dishes?
ReplyDeleteMaybe so, but I can't complain too much. Barry is a very good cook and isn't opposed to jumping in with the clean-up patrol.
DeleteI had a tea set and a set of pots and pans, but no kitchen appliances.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have my own appliances either - maybe that's why I was glad my sister got a set. They were bulky - you needed plenty of room.
DeleteI have fond memories of Christmas assemblies -- the beer seemed to make things go just a little easier!
ReplyDeleteWhy does this not surprise me?
DeleteHow nice that the kitchen set is still in use despite the Christmas Eve assembly having a few bits left over.
ReplyDeleteReally! It makes me wonder if the company sent extras on purpose.
DeleteFun post! And oh, did I laugh at Barry & Cam trying to put that kitchen set together in the wee hours of Christmas morning. Memories, memories. We bought a Barbie Jeep & horse trailer set for our daughter one year - somehow not realizing we'd have to put it together. And there WE were at 2:00 in the AM Christmas morn, trying to put that darned thing together - pulling little pieces off a plastic sheet of pull-apart tabs & slots & etc. And we, too, ended up with parts & pieces having no idea where they were supposed to go. But the set looked okay & it held together all right, so I don't know nor care what those extra pieces were for???
ReplyDeleteI'm sure my parents were up into the wee hours putting things together -- especially that very first Barbie Fashion Shop. No wonder my mother wasn't eager to be up at 6 am like my sister and I were.
DeleteOh Wendy - you brought back memories of sore fingertips from trying to push out and assemble a wretched Barbie Campervan for my daughter one Christmas. The language would have made you blush!
ReplyDeleteOh, no videos, I guess? Christmas Eve toy assembly -- definitely a right of passage for every parent. You're not a real parent until . . . .
DeleteChristmas morning for boys usually requires no assembly only the shredding of packaging. I wonder how many young girls of the future will recognize a model kitchen from the 60s or even 80s?
ReplyDeleteOh you need to look at Pinterest for all the DIY kitchen sets made from old entertainment centers and night stands. Talk about a cute project!
DeleteIt certainly was a dear little kitchen!
ReplyDeleteIndeed it was. I was comparing it to my sister's though. Hers was metal, and after many years the metal bent and dented and warped making it hard to close the doors. Her set was more attractive, but the pasteboard held up longer, I guess.
DeleteWhy was it always the case when you bought the same present for two boys one of the darned wouldn't fir together or wouldn't work for one reason or another. Some tantrums ensued - not just mine!
ReplyDeleteLast Christmas my aunt gave all the men a snazzy lantern/flashlight and like you said, ONE didn't work.
DeleteIsn't that the way last-minute assemblage usually go, with a bag of leftovers? Your sister and daughters are adorable.
ReplyDeleteWatching them play with the kitchen certainly made the headache of assembling worth it. And I say that as one who didn't do the assembling.
DeleteOh, I am well familiar with that "drinking beer, trying to assemble, drinking beer, puzzling over a bag of nuts and bolts" routine.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you miss those days. Or part of it, anyway. ;-)
DeleteHow history repeats itself on Christmas Eve. I imagine this scene may not be too far off in your future as it was for mine with grandkids. However, times have changed and even Santa is depending on Amazon and the Big Browns to provide the extra nuts and bolts. Fun post and terrific pics. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteI hope your Thanksgiving is wonderful too.
Delete(And yes, we finished a little building project just a few days ago for the step-grands.)
I loved my little kitchen set! and aren't we cute? I think I have the same haircut, LOL.
ReplyDeleteJordan and Zoe look so sweet with their kitchen. That Christmas Eve, I think Barry left our house around 4:30. I think he and Cam were really worried about those extra nuts and bolts. I remember a long conversation about that!
Girl -- I said the same thing when I looked at your hair!
DeleteJust love those guys staying up and assembling. We've had similar ordeals with bikes, ride-ons and other toys. Great post!
ReplyDeleteBike! Now that's a serious project. Whatever the store charges to assemble it is worth it!
DeleteWow it lated through the years despite the beer needed to lubicate the workings to assemble...this is a unique take and one that reminded me of my own similar kitchen set
ReplyDeleteA play kitchen seems to make great memories.
DeleteOh yes, a little stove/oven and fridge. My ideal as a child. I knew a neighbor boy who had a stove that actually plugged in and heated. We made soup for a dead rat. Notice I said FOR the rat, not of the rat. Long story, but I can say the stove burned the rug it was on. I don't know what became of the rat. Why a toy like this was made for kids I'll never understand. And why I stuck around with a kid who brought a dead rat into his bedroom…. This was over 60 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I wrote this blog just so I could read YOUR story.
DeleteHow fun! My niece recently recalled having met her best friend when they were six years old and playing together with her kitchen set. My grand niece has one and plays "Denny's" with it. She takes your order with a pretend pad and pencil. She brings her customers tiny plates full of plastic parsley. We oooh and aaah.
ReplyDeletePlastic parsley -- my fav!
Delete