General Chat

What on Earth are Clackers?!?!?!

I can remember the year I got roller skates. We had plenty of hills roundabout, so it was fun. Can anyone remember getting the apple, orange, nuts and new coins in their stocking, Christmas would not have been Christmas without them. What would kids today think of those. Granny

I had a pair of clackers - one pink and one green! Remember getting Sindy's horse one Christmas, and roller skates (the lethal ones that strapped to your shoes!)

Bec, you have never lived! so, what are clackers? 2 solid plastic balls with a piece of string between them, Holding the middle of the string, (which had a plastic tab thing knotted there usually) You sort of bounced them together., by sort of bouncing your hand (is this making any sense at all?lol). when you got them going you really gave it some bounce so the clacked together at the bottom and then at the top in turn kind of thing . usually as your slowed sown or if you werent that good at it all they did was bruise your forearm/wrists...and we called it fun!!

Jess - I think I know what you mean.... :-S

The bset Skates were JACCO skates,, with red leather toe bit and ankle strap. needed a spanner it make them bigger as your feet grew. How come skates of today are sized? not the same!

The extendable roller skates , Clackers, Tiny Tears, Shaker Makers, orange hoppers, Chopper bikes and RUBIKS CUBES lol My son aged 9 sooooooooooo wants a rubiks cube this crimbo and even asked if we could pull a cracker on xmas eve ( there is a piccie of contents on the back ) LOL!! Much happiness debi

jess, LOL i remember skating along and the screww nut underneath kept coming off, splitting the skate. bloody death traps they were. i clearly remember the spirograph, had many hours of fun with that. lynnxx

Yes Jess my skates were like that, and we certainly had fun with them. Granny

Hi Jess Those skates ruined your shoes though and were so heavy that they felt as if they were coming off. Still fun though:)) I had hand made wooden stilts, a pogo stick and loved my whip and top. We used to chalk the top of the top to make different patterns. My grandson and I still play with things like the cup things that you put a table tennis ball in, then press a button and the ball flies up and you have to catch it again. Chrissie xx

I loved 'Playstix', little coloured plastic rods with spikes on, that fitted together, played for hours, have never seen them on e-bay! :)) And that game 'Tell Me' answering a question with a letter. No Christmas was complete without the selection boxes and socks! :))

Spirograph was great fun. Loved my rollerskates, even though they weighed so heavy and the darned screw kept coming loose so the skates grew as you skated - or just fell off!! And yes, a christmas stocking always had walnuts, an orange, a satsuma and some boiled sweets (remember Spangles?). I used to get a small toy in my stocking aswell, either a farm animal or some item of furniture to go in my dolls house...which was in fact a bungalow. My Dad made it. The whole roof came off so you could have access from above. Mum had wallpapered it with scraps from home, likewise with carpets and curtains too!! It never dawned on me til years later how like our own house it was with same wallpaper, carpets etc. One of my favourite things was that dolls house, plus the farmyard my Dad made for my brother, but which we used to share later. Couldn't wait to go to the local toy shop with Christmas or birthday money to buy some new animals! One year I got a dolls cot (2nd hand) which Dad painted up and Mum made some nice bedding for.

The old fashioned spinning top that hummed loved those. i can remember a tin train I had once it was only small round . Was clock work you wound it up the train went round and under a tunnel. Those building bricks (hard to explain) were wood covered in paper.Different shapes some round some half rounds etc. Oh and just remembered a Dolly Bobbin. In fact found one the other day and am using it to make ties for the baby's bonnet's Now I am geting nostalgic. Have such happy memories of Christmas. Germaine x

I'd forgotten about Spirograph- I loved that - i seemed to spend as long putting all the pieces back in their holes as I did playing with it- anyone else loose the red headed pins? I had another drawing thing too- where you pinned down a wheel and rotated it, taking your pencil through part of a stencil before rotating the wheel,and doing the next one.At the end, you had a picture of something- what was that called? Memories..? i can smell mothballs!

We had Tell Me and Boggle when we were kids. I bought them both last Christmas for the grandchildren to play with at my house, but they haven't been used much as 'word games are boring!'. We played Tell Me a couple of weeks ago when all the family were here and now the two eldest (12 & 8) have asked for both games for Christmas! I suppose there are only so many times you can play the same computer games! LOL I loved my roller skates - my Dad got them with his Kensitas cigarette coupons. I was the first one in my group of friends to have rubber wheels with ball bearings - all the others had metal wheels on theirs! I used to skate to junior school every day, not so many potholes in the pavements then! Sue xx

worth a hefty nudge as we go down memory lane... Elaine x

Yes....everyone is very nostagic lately hey! Loved the Pogo stick and my Tiny Tears!!!!!!

I had some stilts once that my dad made from a pair of stretcher handles he brought home from the hospital, I think alot of the toys from years ago are still around now, I remember my brother playing with action man and my sister had sindy dolls. jenny

Remember the old skates with the leather straps with buckles on the top that your feet kept coming out of??? They were lethal!!!!

My friend had a space hopper and a pogo stick. I was so jealous! I, however had Clackers, the cadbury's vending machine (2p pieces) and the Jackson roller skates. I never learnt to skate, my sense of balance was rubbish and I gave up after finding myself flat on my bum!