Vonnish: Blogmas: Days 5, 6, & 7: Wishlists!

It has occured to me that I'm really terrible at this Blogmas business xD

For this three day bundle we are going to look at toys!

I was talking with my sister about what all of the kids want for Christmas this year and it got us on the topic of things that we wanted as kids, and we noticed how similar the wants are, yet how different they are at the same time.

A lot of the things that her kids and my other niece wants are pretty similar as far as trends go, like wanting Disney princess stuff (that was all me - she mutilated Barbies) and My Little Pony. Then there are the differences like the Nerf toys for girls. Where was that when we were kids? Seriously!

Let's take a trip down memory lane....

Toys Then

Disney Princesses

It seems that no matter what decade you grew up in, there was some sort of Disney princess thing that you wanted.

I adored Disney as a kid since we lived in Orlando. Dad worked on MGM Studios when they were building it so we had passes and went to Magic Kingdom almost every other weekend when I was little.

My favorites were always Pocahontas and Jasmine since I never seemed to identify much with the others.

Of course I had to have the dolls.

Source: pinterest

This was one of the first princess dolls I ever got. The only thing that sucked was her top came off and got lost really quick so I had topless Ariel.

I also had a fit over this super big Pocahontas doll. She's 19 inches tall (around 49 cm), which is super tall compared to a regular Barbie style doll who is only around 12 inches tall.

Source: Ebay

I remember vividly being on the way back to Florida from Alabama and looking through the Sears catalog and falling head over heels for this doll. Super tall with super long hair, it was perfect! My grandmother made this crack about how I was too old for dolls and it absolutely broke my little 11 year old heart because that meant, to me, that I wasn't going to have a Slurpee's chance in hell of getting one for my birthday or Christmas.

Luckily, my mother didn't believe that dolls and toys had a cut off age and she bought me one when we got home as a fuck you to my Granny.

I actually still have her in my closet somewhere!

They also released these Perfume Princess dolls, which looking back now seems a bit silly to give those to kids with the perfume inside. It equals one big mess in my parent mind. In my kid mind it meant I got to reek like a princess.

Each one had a different smell. I, of course, wanted Jasmine, but she smelled like jasmine and I absolutely detested that smell. Instead, mom got me Cinderella because she smelled like gardenia (one of our favorite smells). If I'm going to reek, I may as well reek of goodness.

Source: Amazon

In my search I found out they even had a Perfume Princess Fairy Godmother! What?

Seriously - what little girl is going to want to have the Fairy Godmother as a toy? She was scary. As. Fuck.

Source: Amazon.com

Look at that face.

LOOK AT IT!

It's the thing of nightmares.

Popples

So if you didn't grow up in the late 80's/early 90's, you may not know what a Popple is.

Let me tell you what a Popple is.

A ball of cute. Mixed with some cotton stuffing and awesome. All pulled together to make a Popple.

These were all the rage when I was a kid. There was a cartoon and everything! I honestly don't remember much of the cartoon because we didn't have cable until I was probably five. I just remember seeing the commercials during the Saturday Morning Cartoons (which came on the basic channels you could get on rabbit ears).

I remember having a few mini Popples (Popples Babies?), and one larger one that I got as a hand-me-down from one of my older cousins.

And that is a Popple. I suppose you could compare it to a Pillow Pet, but instead of just folding in half and making a half ass creature from a pillow these guys had this flappy flap pouch on their backs that you tucked them into.

Sadly I don't have these anymore. I have no idea what may have happened to them. I think they got donated.

Apparently they brought these back, but they are not the same.

They are not Popples. I do not believe their lies.

They are not true Popples, and they never will be, haha.

Lil Miss Dolls

I used to go absolutely ape shit over the Lil Miss dolls. There were four or five if I remember right. The image above has most of the collection in there. I know there are more. Even Google is coming up bust for the rest of them.

The first one my mom got me was Lil Miss Makeup.

She came with a sponge that looked like a makeup brush and then you could put on her makeup with icy water and then take it back off with warm water. That color change stuff was like the it of the it of technology when I was a kid.

There was also a Lil Miss Mermaid that mom got me like a year or two later.

She was SOOOO cool when I was little. Like Lil Miss Makeup, she did the whole color change thing but with her tail. She was waterproof so you could take her into the bathtub if you wanted, and if you pressed body and tail in different places she would sing and such.

I can't for the life of me remember anything about the other dolls, except for the jewel princess. One of my best friends had her if memory served right. She always had the coolest toys. Yes, Amanda, if you're reading this, I'm talking about you!

If you brought one of those out on the elementary school playground you were automatically the cool girl and everyone wanted to be your friend.

My Little Pony

We had My Little Pony, too, and they were so much different than the MLP now. There were also no Bronies. Just sayin. It was totally a girl thing.

Source: Pinterest

I only had a few of these, maybe two or three, but I can remember all of the girls seemed to have or wanted to have the MLP figures.

I may have only had a few, but they were fucking cool in childhood terms.

I think the Sweet Talkin' Pony was my favorite thing ever when I was under the age of 10.

Source: Ebay

This is actually the exact one I had. There were several colors that I remember and I had to have purple.

I remember sitting there and just pressing the button over and over again. I'm sure my parents got tired of my pony saying that crap in a nightmare inducing loop. Hearing that made my sister cringe.

Then there was glitter ponies and even huge ponies. My talking pony is the only one I remember so vividly because it annoyed the shit out of my parents and I think they may have regretted giving it to me.

I think there was a television show then, too. Again, no cable until I was older.

Of course there were always the little things like Christmas candies, play makeup sets, and the ever present every year bottle of Baby Soft.

Toys Now

The toys that the kids are asking for now are pretty darn similar to what I would have wanted when I was a child, but now that I look at them the price is super high for lower quality shit.

Disney Princess things are STILL a super popular thing but I think the quality has gone way down hill.

Either way, all of my nieces are still in love with Frozen and want Frozen EVERYTHING.

This is the Elsa doll that my niece has.

She got this doll when it first came out and immediately the clothes came off and she was tossed aside within a week. Typical 3 year old.

One day I was at my sister's house and Elsa was laying on the counter so I decided to play with her because I am an overgrown child.

Her legs are hollow. Fucking hollow!

I moved her legs and when they clanked together it sounded almost like banging two sticks together, or something else that goes "thunk" with a hollow sound.

She's super light and it feels like if I squeezed hard enough I could break it.

A $20 doll should not be hollow like a dollar store doll, Disney.

For reference, the Disney dolls used to be built like Barbie dolls out of solid yet bendable plastics with a hard plastic torso and harder plastic arms. A few of them had bendable joints.

My other niece wants the Lego set.

I think it's bleepin cool that Lego is finally catering to the girls out there that like to build shit. I always loved Lego and Mega Blox when I was a kid, but they were always in regular primary colors. Never anything girly and pink, and the building sets were sure as hell not targeted toward girls.

The only problem I have with this set?

It's $60.

Yes, that much.

For a Lego castle with characters.

I looked around and ALL of the Disney Princess Legos are hella expensive. Hella expensive for a bunch of teeny tiny blocks that will probably never be fully put together into a castle. Hella expensive for something that you're just going to step on barefooted in the middle of the night as you're trying to blindly navigate through your house because you have to pee.

Monster High dolls are something that we've been asked for time and time again.

Source: monsterhighdollslist

I won't lie: I love the Monster High dolls.

I love the Monster High movies.

What I love most of all is their message, because it's all about being who you are.

Why weren't there toys like this when I was a kid? Utter bollocks!

These guys and ghouls are moderately affordable at generally under $20 a pop.

The only downside is that they are very easily broken by little hands that do not have any control over their strength yet.

They break extremely easily because they are designed to pop apart. They even have mix and match kits to make your own monsters. Super nifty.

It's the accessories that makes things expensive.

source: toysrus.com

This is the Deluxe High School playset. It's really blippin cool, it's just $150.

I even kinda want one for my doll collection! (Yes, I have a MH doll collection - one day I'll introduce you to my girls.)

To me, that's too expensive to be spending on a toy that will end up being discarded in less than six months.

Some of the playsets are not as expensive, but they aren't as cool, either. Most of the sets do come with at least one doll so it's not a total bust.

Another one of the coolest things that the kids ask for is the Nerf Rebelle line.

Even my kiddo, who is thirteen, wants one of these things.

source: target.com

These are the bows, from Nerf, another toy brand that never had things for girls when I was a kid, as this really cool line of bows with soft Nerf arrows.

These are also priced under $20 a piece, plus Target has a BOGO 50% off deal right now.

I can just see my niece shooting her cat. Especially when the cat is running around like a moron.

Girl child would end up shooting her brothers with it. The last thing I want to do is introduce that child to projectile weapons.

My Little Pony is hot again, just like when I was a kid, but they look so much different.

They are definitely more cartoon style and streamlined anymore.

Prices are alright, not exactly cheap but asking for cheap toys these days that the kids actually want is almost impossible. If it's popular, you have to pay for it. Not too good for the lower income set.

In addition to the ponies, they also sell Equestria Girls that are more anthropomorphic.

Source: entertainmentearth.com

My nieces absolutely love these dolls. I think they are nifty, a new way to expand MLP into the doll market. I've never really built a true opinion either way. As long as the kiddos like them, that's all that matters.

The other things they are asking for?

Electronics. Electronics that the under ten set really don't need, but other parents are getting those things for their kids so they must have them too to keep up.

Girl child wants an iPhone.

Sure. I'm using this piece of crap $30 phone from Boost, and I'm going to spend $600 to get her an iPhone so she can just use it for Facebook and games. Shiiittt, if anyone is getting an iPhone it's going to be me because I can go for more than six months without breaking my phone. If she does get it from another side of the family I give it a month before the front screen is shattered and she's screaming for a new phone.

Hashtag first world problems.

Adult Wish List

As we grow older, our wish lists change. Sometimes it's as simple as a paid bill, but I always have a little treat yo self list.

This year I don't have much on it, mainly because there are very few things I really want.

My boyfriend promised me he would get Ari by Ariana Grande, a perfume I've been lusting after.

Source: Pinterest.com

It has a lot of sweet notes like grapefruit and marshmallow. The bottle is also really pretty and will have the perfect space on my dresser with all of my other pink cosmetics.

Since I'm a total Etude House whore, I have quite a few things from them I want, too.

I usually do darker or neutral eyes, so I have been wanting this palette.

source: kollectionk.com

I like using pinks on my eyes, so I like that there is a pink color in this in addition to the coffee shades. I love to use browns to cut my eye crease to make my eyes look more deep set.

One thing is almost certain: if it's Lovely Etti, it's on my list. I have this weird ass obsession with Etti and cats in general that probably isn't healthy for my age.

Here are a few more Etti items from KollectionK that caught my eye.

Source: KollectionK

Yes, I know that bath poofs are extremely unsanitary - they trap bacteria like magnets, and it would have to be replaced after three months. It would be awesome if the Etti ornament was something that you could pull off and put on a new poof instead of having to get one every time. C'est la vie!

Source: KollectionK

This is a foot warmer. Because I really need one here in Florida. Because reasons.

Source: KollectionK

If you have damaged hair, this hair treatment is a total godsend. I used a small package of it after I colored last and it left my hair looking so healthy and natural, like I hadn't done anything but wake up looking totally beautiful.