Gifts that stand the test of time
Why should kids get all the toys this time of year? Give an adult a plaything like he or she grew up with and you give that grown-up the gift of tangible nostalgia.
"Many folks keep a Slinky on their desk just to pick up and work in their hands when they're thinking," says Patricia Hogan , curator at the National Museum of Play (home of the National Toy Hall of Fame). "I think adults just like having that touchstone with their childhood."
We're not encouraging grown men to flop on the floor with Hot Wheels cars or women to play dress-up with Barbie dolls, unless maybe there's a son or daughter involved. But we do like a sampling of ageless toys nestled in a bookshelf or cubicle, a whimsical reminder of the joy they first brought so many years ago.
Since the classics never go out of style, we scanned the Toy Hall of Fame inductees for some that can bring joy to adults as well as children.
Hot Wheels
Hot Wheels first rolled out in 1968 like a shrunken custom car show, rocking metallic Spectraflame gumdrop colors and high-speed wheels to blaze across the kitchen linoleum. More than 4 billion cars have been made, with more than 800 models and 11,000 variations.
The grown-up gift: Since the closest most of us will get to owning a Porsche 911 GT2 is at 1:64 scale, find your adult auto buff a Hot Wheels replica of his dream car. If he's a serious Hot Wheels collector, Hogan suggests one of the rare Redline cars, which were made between 1968 and 1977 and named for the red ring on the wheel. Look for these online and at garage sales.
Dollhouses
And you thought dollhouses were just for little girls. Hogan says the dollhouse dates to 1500s in Europe as a display wealthy adults used to showcase pricey miniatures of household furnishings. The Toy Hall of Fame says these so-called "baby houses" didn't become prevalent in kids' rooms until the 17th and 18th centuries. Dollhouses today skew to all ages and incomes.
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The ubiquitous Bicycle brand dates to 1885 and continues to amuse Go Fish, Poker and other card-game players to this day. The grown-up gift: "The decorative side of a playing card comes in infinite varieties," Hogan says. "You could almost find a deck
Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov at a news conference in Moscow on Monday announcing he will challenge Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in next March's presidential election. Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov at a news conference in Moscow on Monday
