Nostalgia calling

What will we pass on to the next generation?

As 2012 comes to a close, we’ve been thinking a lot about what we’ll bring into the New Year, and what we can bear to part with. That can sometimes be a tough choice.

Back in 2000, Fisher-Price decided to update its iconic Chatter Telephone. After all, most kids then had never even seen a rotary phone. So Fisher-Price changed out the dial for colorful push-buttons that would light up and make sounds. Who could possibly have a problem with that?

A lot of people, as it turned out. Parents demanded the return of the old version, and the rotary model was back on the shelves the following year.

Removing lights and electronic sounds helps keep the toys as simple as possible, especially for parents who worry that electronic toys stifle creativity or imaginative play. However, since the original Chatter Telephone from 1962 was designed to teach children how to dial a rotary phone – a skill that kids definitely don’t need anymore – it’s clear that parents were more concerned about giving their children the same toys they loved as kids. After all, just three years later the Toy Industry Association voted the Chatter Telephone one of the 100 most memorable toys of the twentieth century.

At Curio & Co., we’re pretty excited about some new things that will be happening for us in the coming year. But we’re obviously eager to share some of the things that we loved in the past with future generations. So as we get ready for 2013, we’ve been asking – what are your favorite memories that you’ll take into the New Year?