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My 5 Favorite Boyhood Toys

As far as I’m concerned these five toys are essential to a boy’s upbringing. Many of my fondest childhood memories and more than a few formative experiences are linked directly to what you find below. They are more than just entertainment conduits and time wasters. I loved these toys and the experiences they led me into.

If you get them for your kids you are doing your duty as a parent and are awesome. If you get them for your nephew you are the “cool” uncle or aunt. If you get them for a sibling you have gained serious leverage in any future negotiations ( and/or shown your deep and sincere love). And plenty of girls would love these too.

1. The Bucket of Legos

Who really needs pirate ships and the Millennium Falcon? What a kid needs is the unlimited possibilities provided by a tub of legos.

2. The Rawlings Glove

I still have my Rawlings baseball glove I used in little league and it still works. In fact it works better now than it did then. That’s because baseball gloves age better than fine wine or Sean Connery.

 

Turn off the iPad and put down the xbox controller. With a #2 pencil and a sketch pad one can create the truest sort of “open universe” and can play an role one wants. And it’s better for the brain too.
It’s not the best fishing tackle in the world, but it’s the best fishing starter kit. At least it was for me. It reeled in everything from blue gill the size of my thumb to large mouth bass the size of my thigh. Some call this a fishing pole, but in reality it’s equal parts memory maker and photo op creator.
There are hundreds of stories worth reading, but why settle for anything less than the best? And no, reading them on a kindle isn’t the same. That boy needs the experience of reading by flashlight until 3 AM on school night because he needs to know whether the fellowship survives the Mines of Moria. And he definitely needs to know that Peter Jackson’s version of The Hobbit is less than stellar.