Posted on 08/31/2025 12:38:07 PM PDT by nickcarraway
If you grew up in the '70s and '80s, there's a good chance that you had at least one Fisher-Price toy sitting on the living room floor, waiting to trip your dad. But these weren't just toys. Fisher-Price had a knack for shrinking the world down to kid size.
A ringing doorbell on the Play Family House, an incredibly realistic "mooo" from the toy barn doors, or the oddly loud bell on the parking garage elevator, these sounds all played an important part in the soundtrack of our childhoods.
FISHER-PRICE FARM
Part of what made Fisher-Price toys so special (and one of the reasons they still come back as nostalgic top-sellers and reissues) is how they turned everyday life into big adventures, not too different from what your mom and dad and grandparents might have been having inside and outside the home.
Everyday Adventures Made Epic
The Play Family Camper made the backyard feel like a cross-country trip, while the A-Frame House was a lakeside adventure that folded up into a neat carry-all — and probably why you are such a fan of mid-century design. And it's worth noting that none of these toys seem to cater to boys or girls — they were for boys and girls.
FISHER-PRICE ADVENTURE PEOPLE
Particularly in the 1970s, toy companies pushed superheroes and flashy laser battles, but Fisher-Price went in a different direction and offered up Adventure People, who embraced the adventures of normal life, allowing kids to pretend they were everything from farmers to park rangers, or even on-the-scene TV news journalists.
Remember These? The Fisher-Price Toys That Bring Back Instant Memories?
Whether the farm life was your thing or you were more into castles and airports, these iconic Fisher-Price toys are guaranteed to bring back a flood of childhood memories.
The Fisher-Price Phonograph
This bad boy spun real records, which meant there was no reason you couldn’t drop on your dad’s Richard Pryor comedy albums.
The Fisher-Price Record Player
Not to be confused with the real phonograph, this “younger” setup only played those chunky plastic records it came with — think timeless bangers like Mary Had a Little Lamb and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Let’s be honest, it was basically just a music box in disguise.
Fisher-Price Chatter Telephone
Before kids had smartphones, we had a rotary phone with googly eyes. Almost every kid dragged this thing all over the house — kind of like you do with your phone now, isn’t it? Oh darn!
Fisher Price 'Play Family School'
This multi-tasking beast of a toy — chalkboard, magnetic letters, the works — actually made school fun, but only when you played it at home. That iconic bell on top? It meant class was in session, and it drove your parents absolutely nuts.
Fisher-Price Two Tune TV
Kids today laugh at the idea of not having a screen in their room, but this was our only option. Two stories — London Bridge and Row, Row, Row Your Boat — “scrolled” past the screen, and it felt like we were watching Carson in our very own apartment.
Watch it in action below:
Vintage 1966 Fisher Price Two Tune TV Music Box TV no. 114
Fisher-Price A-Frame House
For kids who didn’t always get the chance to take a vacation, this iconic Fisher-Price A-Frame made it feel like you were off at a ski lodge or tucked away at a lakeside getaway.
Fisher-Price Play Family Castle
This castle gave you a chance to go medieval during playtime. With a working drawbridge, a secret trap door, and a hidden dungeon with a real working door, this castle was the perfect backdrop for epic battles and daring rescues.
Fisher-Price Play Family Airport
The Fisher-Price Play Family Airport brought big-world travel to kid-sized playtime. With its working baggage carousel and that unforgettable red plane, takeoffs and landings felt epic — even if the trips were only between the kitchen and the living room.
Fisher-Price Play Family Camper
The Fisher-Price Play Family Camper made every kid feel like they were hitting the open road. With the genius canoe that acted as a camper roof, it turned the backyard into a family vacation, even during a gas crisis.
Fisher-Price Parking Garage
With its spiral ramp ("Watch out below!"), working elevator complete with a bell, and a tiny service station, your Matchbox cars always had the perfect place to park — and race right back out again.
Fisher-Price Farm
Was there any sound more iconic from childhood than the “Moo!” when you opened the doors to this toy barn? From a silo that looked like a Thermos to a hayloft with sliding doors and all the farm animals you could want, every day was a day on the farm — without the manure.
Fisher-Price Play Family House
This little starter home might be the reason you love browsing houses on Zillow today. With its ringing front doorbell, pint-sized furniture, and swing-open design, it was the coziest place on the block.
Fisher-Price Adventure People
The Fisher-Price Adventure People were action figures that celebrated everyday heroes instead of caped crusaders.
Fisher-Price Adventure People
From pilots to investigative journalists to park rangers, these figures turned backyard adventures into something cooler than ever.
Yep, spend a little time with an Evel Kneivel Stunt Cycle and you’ll get a pretty good feel for Newton’s laws of motion:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uHDNOlY9GEA
There was no Fisher-Price when I grew up, but my two sons had the Fisher-Price Farm.
The candy is not anything special, but kids these days are missing so much with those toys.
Give me back my Jarts, damnit.
I remember lining up army men an the fence rail and plinking them off with my bb gun. Got to be a pretty good shot
I had a see and say, the googly eyed telephone. And I remember the Johnny Eagle guns.
YES! My grandparents gave my brother and I and a cousin this great multi-ammo super gun for Christmas. We’d unload at each other in the basement and then argue over whose bullets were the ones we couldn’t find later, which led to another hilarious battle.
Back when it was a "new" color, a coworker of mine bought a Mustang in "Grabber Blue."
I referred to it as "Playskool Blue," and warned him to keep it out of the sun lest it melt.
They could go right into your foot or somebody's back. Now that was a game. Plus if you had the correct arc on it, the dart floated like “in coming”.
Mine was second hand from my neighbor around 1968 or so.
We had the Tonka construction equipment with sharp corners and edges tha could possibly cut you. Plus if you had to whack someone with one, it really hurt. We also loved our Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars.
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Yeah - That’s before the feds took the fun out of everything....
Lots of great YT videos showing restoration of old Tonka toys, makes you really appreciation the way they were originally built.
“Yeah - That’s before the feds took the fun out of everything”
I grew up in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Our toys were way cooler than FP. Remco, Kenner, Marx, Gilbert, Tonka; some of them bordered on “Bag O’ Glass” territory.
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