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12.01.2014

TOYS "R" US + TIMES SQUARE + AN AMEX GIVEAWAY!

Well, this part requires a story for you about Toys "R" Us and Times Square and my ginger boys. Ready?


When Huck was little and we lived on the Upper West Side, when it was cold out and we needed a walk, or when it was nice out and we wanted one last adventure outside before we went to bed, we'd sometimes make the 20 block walk south to meet Brandon after work in Times Square. 

Brandon works in Times Square and sometimes I really think I hate Times Square. Even though it's hard to really hate Times Square. If you're prepared for it + don't mind being accosted by people wearing acrylic Elmo costumes, Times Square can be rather grand. You get to do all the things you secretly love to do when you're in Times Square that you don't want to admit that you love to do, liiiiike get McFlurries at the McDonalds and eat them on the steps at TKTS at midnight, or spend $100 on specialty M&Ms at the M&M store (ahem, mother), or wander reverentially through the four-story Forever 21, or get breadsticks at the Olive Garden, because let's be real, those breadsticks.

Most weekends when we lived on the UWS and I needed a morning to sleep in, Brandon would bundle Huck up in the stroller and head down on a father/son adventure to Times Square. The first thing they did was ride the dang ferris wheel at the Toys "R" Us. Brandon and Huck have a thing about that Toys R Us. I don't totally get it, but it's what they love to do together. And I love that they love it. Two-thirds have declared it thus, Holbrook Approved! When birthdays and Christmas come around, Brandon always gets this mischievous gleam in his eye. Field trip! He's a little kid about stuff like that. It's cute. (Brandon also likes to bring home a big pack of Hubba Bubba for Huck, and somehow they chew through the entire thing in about an hour.) 

Well, so that's my story. Did it live up to the hype or what!

233 comments:

  1. definitely my easy bake OVEN!!!! started my love of baking early!

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  2. I loved my furby, though now I am not sure why :)

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  3. I loved my Polly Pockets, when they were actually pocket-sized. =)

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  4. Definitely the year my sister and I got WebTV! It was so amazing we jumped and squealed and then quietly asked what it was! LOL. Not only a great gift but one of my most favorite memories! :) yemevoy@sbcglobal.net

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  5. When I got my first guitar at 12 years old.

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  6. I got a pink Puffalump when I was six. Almost 3 decades later, it resides in a tote in my garage, all lumpy and safety pinned together. It was that one toy that stood out amongst all the others from my childhood.

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  7. Press on sticker earrings! Loved those things.

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  8. The year I got a purple bike, at the end of a scavenger hunt around the house Christmas morning. The anticipation was hardly bearable!!

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  9. Favorite gift....probably the year my brother surprised me with a hamster. He knew I wanted one so badly but my parents were not keen on the idea. Christmas morning came and it was filled with a couple cute shirts and some really sensible toys...but no hamster. Which, I was okay with, just a little bummed. And then my brother (probably 17 at the time...I was 7) goes, "Hey, I think Santa accidentally left one present behind the couch." My eyes grew wide when I spotted a bight and colorful hamster case with the sweetest baby hamster inside. I named him Honey. My parents weren't thrilled...but what were the going to do? Take a hamster away from a little girl on Christmas?!
    Best. Brother. Ever.
    Best. Present. Ever.
    The End.

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    1. What a sweet story! I wish my big brother loved me that much! Haha ;)

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  10. Definitely the Talk Boy! Best Christmas gift of my childhood. Katieplewe@gmail.com

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  11. My Bonanza cap guns! Now they hang on my wall next to my Bonanza poster.

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  12. My favorite toy was a lite-brite. It was just about the coolest thing ever. I'm in my 20's now but I totally want another one.

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  13. My favorite gift was probably my rocking horse from when I was a toddler. There are so many pictures of me constantly on it, and dragging it from room to room to rock on and watch my parents or to watch tv. It's probably where my love of horses started from early on!

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  14. The present I remember being the most excited to receive was a child-sized art easel. I was super into creating "art" at the time and having my very own easel was the greatest thing in the world! Email: Katherine.fowler.714(at)gmail(dot)com

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  15. My favorite gift was Lincoln Logs! Man I loved those things and would love some more!
    mormonchicksrock@gmail.com

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  16. My brother and I got a set of walkie talkies one year, and we thought they were the coolest thing ever! This was back in the '90s, right around the time our parents got their first ever cell phones, so we pretended we were adults making important business calls.

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  17. I think the best presents I ever got were the movies (VHS/DVDs) my mom used to get me. Sometimes they were classics, musicals, comedies, cult classics. They were a way for us to bond and ultimately I think it lead to my career in theatre! My favorites presents being Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Gone With the Wind, Meet Me in St. Louis & Rocky Horror Picture Show (which I received when I was 12. I have a cool mom)

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  18. My Amiercan Girl doll (Molly!) was definitely my favorite!!

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  19. I'm with you on the Times Square guilty pleasures. I love accessory shopping in that four floor Forever 21 and Red Lobster cheddar bay biscuits are no joke to me!

    I loved so many of the books that I received for Christmas (the likes of Matilda, Anne of Green Gables, etc.) The books you read as children are just so special, loved so hard, and stay with you forever. So my personal favorite Christmas gift may have been a copy of Maurice Sendak's The Nutcracker that my grandmother sent me. It was revisited again and again year round.

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  20. My first ever computer (complete with a scanner!) was my favorite christmas gift. Not super sentimental, but i realized how much of an investment it was for my grandma to buy that for me, and that meant a lot. I was kinda on track as the first person I knew who was on board with the whole world wide web thing. Pretty smart move on my part, I think.

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  21. My easy bake oven changed my life but I absolutely loved Operation. There was something about that dang buzzer that got you so nervous and excited all at once :) oh the thrills of that red nose lighting up!

    northgrave.jacky@gmail.com

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  22. I really loved my Bitty Baby and American girl doll growing up!

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  23. Hand's down, it was the Barbie Dream House circa 1978. I remember you had to pull the string to get her elevator to go up and down (none of this newfangled electronic business). I also got blow-up furniture for the dream house; the easy chair became her pool lounger when I went into the bath. But the bed! I filled the blow-up bed with water and gave Barbie a waterbed! Ahhhh...the 1970's.
    mrskashley@gmail.com

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  24. a Kaboodle! to put all my "make-up" in! (mostly lip gloss and nail polish, though I did have one turquoise mascara! def a 90s girl!)

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  25. I loved this little stuffed monkey that I got when I was 8. Now my 2 year old son sleeps with him and renamed him George.

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  26. Barbie Dream House :-)
    vlm0802@gmail.com

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  27. My favorite gift was my Lite Brite. I am the oldest of five and sometimes I would write mean things with the lite brite and then I would get in trouble... yea sometimes I was a bully ;-)

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  28. I LOVED the Green Hot Wheels dump truck my dad got me one year. I think I was about 8 and I had asked him to buy a REAL green dump truck I had seen, so this was the compromise. :)

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  29. My favorite presents were the American Girl BOOKS....(nerd alert). Yeah my parents couldn't afford the dolls plus they would have to buy 2 more because of my little sisters. But MAN did i LOVE those books. Nothing like an afternoons of adventure with Samantha, Molly, Felicity and my gurl Addy! Yeah those books were the best.

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  31. My favorite gift was definitely this outdoor playhouse! It was such a bummer that it took months for my dad to put up in the yard because of the weather :p I had no idea the toys r us there had a ferris wheel!

    ellefergus@gmail.com

    Thanks for hosting this giveaway, Natalie!

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  32. For sure the Barbie kitchen with plastic food and pink plastic dishes.

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  33. I got one of those Little Tikes cars that you roll with your feet, but instead of the popular red/yellow coupe model, my parents opted for a wood-paneled minivan. I was pretty bummed at the time, but looking back at the pictures cracks me up every time!

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  34. I know this is going to sound really dumb but I was so so excited about a boom box I got one year. It had two tape players and a microphone for singing. I think it weighted about 600 lbs. Hahaha. I really loved it.

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  35. I kinda hate to say it, but: tutu. Tutu all the way.

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  36. My first bike! Her name was Stardust and I wore a unicorn horn every time I rode it. Now that I'm typing this out it sounds ridiculous but I was so into that bike (and ponies). It will always be my favorite Christmas gift ever! hmsmith17@gmail.com

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  37. Ah my brothers surprised me one year with a big fish tank in my room with lots of little guppies... they all ended up dying! HA. but it was definitely a highlight!

    stephpollock22@gmailcom

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  38. My dad bought me an ipod the first year they came out- I wish I still had it!!

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  39. Scooter. It wasn't a slim and trim scooter of today. It was a big clunky thing with rubber tires. But oh how I loved that thing. I rode it into my parents' bedroom on Christmas morning to wake them up and show them what Santa brought me.

    vanessaselph@gmail.com

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  40. Love your Times Square story!

    My Cabbage Patch Kid, Nikki, when I was about 5 or 6 - but not just the doll. She was my favorite because along w/ her came a whole wardrobe sewn by my Grammy, INCLUDING a matching school uniform to mine. : ) I wish I still had her.
    boberrie76@gmail.com : )

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  41. American Girl Dolls. Especially Samantha!

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  42. Definitely American girl doll... Or my little pony

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  43. LOVED my furby doll. My poor parents!

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  44. For Christmas when I was 11 I got a pink 10 speed bike!! You know the bike with the swirly handles that had the breaks on them!!? Super cool and very 1992. I was wearing a sweet black hat that year too!

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  45. Hmmm... probably the year my parents gave me a puppy! A beagle named Leo.

    karadurkin@gmail.com

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  46. my favorite, best Christmas gift was one of those American Girls dolls-- Felicity, I'm pretty sure. This had to have been nearly 20 years ago. I begged and begged and hinted and hinted to my poor, broke parents, and somehow they came through! I still have it, and can't wait to pass her off to my nieces someday!

    tara.wilkins@ymail.com

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  47. When I was 11, my mom got me a big Casio keyboard. It was so much fun to tinker with! firstrosegrrl at yahoo.com

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  48. The year I got a puppy!

    shubera@gmail.com

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  49. American Girl doll, for sure.

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  50. One year I got one of those Magic Nursery dolls with the little heart on its cheek. I loved that thing.

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  51. I got a bike. On the side, in the same font used to write Miami Vice it said Miami Miss.

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  52. The best gift I got, which I did not fully realize at the moment of unwrapping (thinking about bigger things), was a pair of figure skates, because I skated almost every winter day for a couple of years in those things and had sooooooo much fun.

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  53. I got two bunnies for Christmas when I was four, Inkie and Binkie. My mom rescued them from a vacant house where they were left in their cage with no food or water in the middle of summer. I had those bunnies for 13 years :)

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  54. I was a weird horse girl growing up, and my best gift was a tack box, a huge wooden box to go in front of my horse's stall. We treated them like lockers, putting pictures from horse shows on the inside of the lids and cleaning them out regularly. I was so excited.

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  55. my dollhouse for sure. it was made out of plywood, was painted white with black shutters and a black roof and had a long porch. i thought it was the best and biggest doll house ever. on special days my mom would take me out to get furniture and wallpaper to decorate it which made it all the more special.

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  56. My favorite gift as a child was a pogo stick and a mountain bike my brother stole for me, but I thought it came from Santa for years. :) skoozi777@hotmail.com

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  57. An American girl doll - Molly

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  58. Hobley.Rachael@gmail.com : My fav gift growing up was GACK or was it spelled GAC? Remeber that slimy squishy stuff you could play with? I had been asking my parents to buy it for me forever and they always said "no, it would make a mess". So you can imagine my surprise when Santa up and delivered me some. My first thought was "ooooooo mom and dad are gonna be mad" 😏. It all turned out dandy, mom and dad let me keep the fluorescent orange ball of squish and I took that stuff with me everywhere until it was no longer orange, but a poopy brown.

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  59. My favorite gift as a kid was probably Barbie's Ferrari. It pretty much made my 8-yr-old life complete!

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  60. It is so hard to pick my favorite childhood gift, but I think I have to go with this retro-tastic singing mermaid doll. I was so stinking excited to get this thing! It was a bath time companion for many years. Or maybe just a few months. Anyway, I remember it fondly. Oh, and the song it sang. So beautiful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dgeY4sVug0

    lashumphreys (at) gmail (dot) com

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  61. By far my favorite gift was the walkman I got when I was 8 years old. I remember recording music on cassettes from the radio all day and then jamming to it on my walkman with those huge old school headphones. Valeria Wells: valwells77@gmail.com

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  62. My favorite gift as a kid, was my American Girl doll! I had Kirsten....she's discontinued now, which makes me sad.

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  63. A bike!
    My father informed us that we had some cat poop to clean up, only to discover bikes waiting for us instead! Second only to the Waldo sleeping bag.

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  64. Discovering Beanie Babies and wanting one without even knowing what they were called. I remember seeing a girl at the library who had a kitten one and immediately wanting one just like it. That Christmas I got a black cat from my grandparents and a brown cat from my grandmother. Zip and Nip I think were their names. They're still sweet little things to me.

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  65. I remember my first CD was a Mary-Kate & Ashley one; it was on repeat foreverrrrr. Also, a doll that could be fed water + a fake food as well as an American Girl doll. haha :) xo

    shawneerajala@gmail.com

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  66. The year we got our very first Nintendo. I am for sure my dad played it more that first day. I think duck hunt will always be my favorite video game.

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  67. Oh! I love the story of Toy R Us and your men. Too damn cute! ( and to your mom, who can resist specialized m&ms?!?)

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  68. When I was 6 my Dad stayed up all night on Christmas Eve putting together a Barbie Dreamhouse. I could hear it from down the hall, but knew full well that it was probably Santa and if you saw Santa you got no presents and Christmas would be ruined. Forever. After all presents were opened the next morning, my Mom told me that Dad had worked all night with Santa on something really special for me. We opened the guest room door and my jaw dropped. Barbie effing Dreamhouse! As I stood there with tears of joy stinging my eyes, the cat ran under my feet and peed all over my precious gift. The sticky fluorescent yellow spray kind of pee. Because we could never get it totally clean, I never once played with it. But I kept that house until I was a teenager. A kind of shrine to the vastness of my fathers love. It is still the absolute best.

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  69. I think one of my favorites was what I turned 12, my mother gave me a make up bag filled with basic starter make up. This was her way of saying I was old enough to indulge...Aaaaaad from my dad, when I was 15 he surprised with a used ten speed that he spray painted with EVERY color he had on hand...he sorta "flecked" it with all the colors. It was very funky but I loved it and rode it everywhere!

    Janel
    denversavage@hotmail.com

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  70. I think I was around 7 and I got this "real life" baby doll, she was the greatest and I felt like a million bucks. I hope to give it to my little girl one day.

    kimberlychristiansen.id@gmail.com

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  71. I think I was around 7 and I got this "real life" baby doll, she was the greatest and I felt like a million bucks. I hope to give it to my little girl one day.

    kimberlychristiansen.id@gmail.com

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  72. My favorite Christmas gift was the first LEGO set that my grandparents gave me when I was a kid. kraftmaking at gmail dot com

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  73. A cleaning kit with toy cleaning supplies that I got from my grandmother. Ironic since its now my least favorite chore!

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  74. My favorite Christmas present was my very first bike. It was bright pink with white tassels coming out of the handlebars and it was glorious!
    holleychristensen@gmail.com

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  75. My favorite has to be either my puppy or American girl doll!
    Cebaum@g.clemson.edu

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  76. My favourite gift was also a guitar! I didn't really know how to play but my friend had been teaching me and I was loving it! I didn't think it would actually happen though and then I saw a guitar case under the Christmas tree. My mom then continued teaching me and we sometimes play together!
    loiralosada@gmail.com

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  77. My best gift was always, always books. When I was 10 I got A Child Called It, and read it in my room the whole entire Christmas day.

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  78. I think my favorite gift as a kid was when I got a fancy red trunk for my American Girl Doll... I loved it! Or one year instead of our traditional Christmas Eve pajamas my mom made all of us kids quilts! I still have mine! (email marydal23@gmail.com)

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  79. my parents got me a hamster one year and i don't think i've ever loved a present more hahahaha

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  80. My little stuffed Curious George. He has been with me through thick and thin and I'm trying to get my one-year-old to love him the way I did. We'll see.

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  81. (Apologies if this posted twice) but: definitely my not-actually Easy Bake Oven during the younger years. It was off brand and made delicious brownies. Within the last decade: my mom got me a DSLR on her last Christmas to encourage my photography, which was incredibly precious to me.

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  82. I remember loving any arts and crafts Santa put under my tree. I cherished a sketch book I received. As it turns out, I'm a really terrible artist, but I sure did love pretending I was decent as a kid.

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  83. Mine was a white stuffed puppy that I named "Snowy". I remember specifically asking for a white puppy with a rainbow collar (a live one), and was disappointed when it was stuffed. But that you quickly became my absolute favourite anyway. (It had a green collar in case you were wondering.)

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  84. My favorite present from Christmas as a kid was my Popple, helloooo eighties! I'm a-callin' and wondering what every happened to those adorable, furry, creatures that kind of folded into themselves and, well, I don't really know what. Anyway, thanks Natalie for spreading the holiday cheer and possibly helping me buy gifts for my kiddles. Cheers!

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  85. I was seven. My grandfather bought an old, old handmade wooden dollhouse and spent forever fixing it for me. New paint, new wood on the interior, new roof etc. He and my grandma then outfitted it with a beginning set of the most beautiful dark wood furniture. I loved it and it's still in my parents' storage unit because I cannot bear the thought of parting with it.

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  86. Hungry hungry hippos for sure! Best game ever

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  87. It was called the Meow Chi Robot Kitten, and my sister got a Poo Chi Dog. 90's am I right?

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  88. My boom box. My brother and I nearly died with excitement.

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  89. I loved the cabbage patch doll I got one year because she had freckles like me!
    Amber
    amberlelanya@yahoo.con

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  90. great giveaway!! i always thought that i need more barbie dolls when i was younger.my parents just can't afford to buy more than one for me..that was a nice memory

    xo joselovincolors
    www.joselovincolors.com

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  91. It was definitely my first Barbie when I was about 10. Since I'm Ukraine they were so expensive I got my first one when my uncle went to America and sent one to me

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  92. I wish I could pack up and walk to Times Square! But alas, I live in Utah. Anyway I would say one of my favorite and most memorable gifts was a brand new bike! I grew up the youngest of 5 girls so I always got the hand me downs of hand me downs. But the bike (I was 7 maybe?) was amazing and perfect and I'll never forget my dad wheeling it out of the garage where it was hidden :)

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  93. A grand piano ( most epic hand-me-down)

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  94. Oh man I loooved my easy bake oven but I think my best present ever was my nail art station.... I would probably use it now if I still hAd the thing! Thanks for the chance!

    Jamiedawnrob@gmail.com

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  95. Roller skates!
    Debcoberly at hotmail.com

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  96. Cabbage patch doll all the way! Love your blog. Adamsfamilyjjp@hotmail.com

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  97. A big baby doll that I named Olivia that I loved until she fell apart :) erika.low10 {at} gmail. com

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  98. It's a toss up between getting the original nintendo and getting custom made figure skates (I was a competitive skater)!

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  99. Let's see... I got the American Girl doll Samantha back when the company was still new (1991), and that was probably my favorite childhood gift. I also loved any and all books. I average about 3 a week, even with a 4-month-old. :)
    themorganclan @ gmail . com

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  100. I would go with my "preemie" Cabbage Patch Kid. Still have that bald cutie.

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  101. Walkie Talkies! I wanted to pretend I was Penny from Inspector Gadget and solve crimes. I guess now kids thinks this is lame if you can have smart phones and tablets...

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  102. preemie Cabbage Patch doll!

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  103. Moon shoes. Looking back, they seem a little dangerous but I love, love, loved them.

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  104. I always wanted a damn easy bake oven and I never got one. :(

    I guess my favorite would have to be the year my mom got me my first real jewelry. It was a tiny gold ring with a cubic zirconia (because, real diamonds for a seven year old is an awful idea). But you know what? I still have that ring 25 years later and I plan to give it to my daughter this year.

    Stefanielritz@gmail.com
    Bookofstefanie.com

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  105. Definitely the baby guinea pig I got in fifth grade! (Theresemarie414 at gmail)

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  106. Baby Alive. We're the same age so maybe you remember that phase of dolls that were "real life" like....as in eating and "pooping". Ugh.
    melanierychok@gmail.com

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  107. My favorite holiday present was a snow globe from the Disney movie Anastasia . I was obsessed with Russia, Rasputin and Anastasia's story as a child. The first step in a life time of being obsessed with creepy historical things. YAY XMAS!

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  108. Hi Natalie! in all honesty I can only remember two, maybe three Christmases throughout my childhood/youth and what I remember vividly about my favorite christmas and gift I received was when I was about six years old. I saw a Rudolph Little golden book under the tree unwrapped! I have a picture to prove it too! Best Christmas ever!

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  109. This is hard because my parents always made Christmas really special at our house. I think the gift I was most excited about as a kid was my American Girl Doll (back when there were only like 5 to chose from). I went nuts over her. This was a huge present in my family because at the time my parents weren't exactly flush with cash. I had the Addy doll even though all of my friends had Samantha. I was like "Her story is WAY better! She escaped from slavery on the underground railroad people!" The look on my mom and dad's faces when I opened her up will always be one of the most precious moments of my life.

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  110. I have literally zero memories of presents from Christmases past. I do remember that my mom, whose memory is just as bad as mine, would wrap our presents as she bought them and write who it was intended for and what it was on the bottom seam and then hide them in the most obvious spot ever. I hate surprises, so this worked out really well for me.

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  111. The best gift I received was a Cabbage Patch Kid, though after the hoopla of opening it, I didn't really play with it much. But it was so great to get it, those things being all the rage back in the day :)

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  112. By far my favorite gift was the walkman I got when I was 8 years old. I remember recording music on cassettes from the radio all day and then jamming to it on my walkman with those huge old school headphones. Valeria Wells: valwells77@gmail.com

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  113. I think when I got my first bicycle that was NOT a hand-me-down from my brother, though I really did cherish my little repainted hand-me-down bikes. This new, yellow, beautiful beach cruiser was like heaven.

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  114. Tough choice! I'm going to have to go with the microphone I got when I was little and super obsessed with Jem from Jem and the Holograms.

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  115. Rock Tumbler!! Or Gymnastics Mat..I couldn't believe it fit on Santa's sleigh!

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  116. My favorite was totally the Teddy Ruxpin! So lifelike! So entertaining! So... creepy, actually ;)
    Loved the Times Square story! Huck will love those memories with his dad!

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  117. My favorite gift was the year my brother and I received the original Nintendo system. My Dad had it all wrapped up to look like a dollhouse and my brother was so mad before we opened it! HA!

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  118. American Girl Doll and subscription to the magazine. for sure.

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  119. I wanted a My Michelle doll when I was six soooo badly! I still have it!

    shannoncarman at yahoo dot com

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  120. I really loved when we got our first family computer in 1995. For some reason Windows 95 had the video for Weezer's "Buddy Holly" preloaded, and I swear I watched it at least 400 times.

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  121. Cabbage Patch Dolls were my favorite as a kid.

    mami2jcn at gmail dot com

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  122. barbie everything. specifically the jeep wrangler. which is hilarious because i became super goth but never lost my barbie love!

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  123. My favorite gift was a combined Christmas/birthday gift that impacted my life more than I ever would have known at the time. When I was 10 years old, I was given harp lessons after a year of begging to learn how to play the harp. Now I'm working on my masters degree in harp performance! :)

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  124. Hands down, my Cabbage Patch Dolls!

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  125. Hard to pick between my banana seat unicorn bike and my cabbage patch doll where you could curl it's hair.
    rkehaulani at gmail dot com

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  126. American girl doll Samantha!!!

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  127. Cabbage Patch dolls of course.
    jw2680@aol.com

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  128. the 100th babysitters club book when i was like 11 =)

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  129. American Girl Doll Addy + Accessories :)

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  130. We readers appear to be similarly aged! Cabbage patch preemie complete with red velvet dress and fur coat! Oh my goodness, so cute!

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  131. My puppy/best friend, Scout!

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  132. My favorite gift was a Pound Puppy my parents gave me when I was little. I was really into stuffed animals and I loved the cardboard dog house it came in.
    kellywcu8888ATgmailDOTcom

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  133. My little pony hair salon. Hours of entertainment! emilynanette@gmail.com

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  134. I was always a fan of getting the Little House on the Prairie books.

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  135. Treasure trolls!!! What's not to love and when are they going to make their comeback (again)?

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  136. I can still remember when my brother and I got the original Nintendo with the power pad. We didn't even mind that we had to share, we were so excited.

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  137. big wheel!

    jamieosmith @ gmail . com

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  138. Ha my dad got me a harmonica for Christmas one year. He just whispered to me at Thanksgiving that he got Levi (my 2 year old) a harmonica for Christmas as well. I can't wait for the laughs I know it will bring.

    Nicole B.

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  139. Boom box WITH the Titanic soundtrack. ;)

    brookeredfern@gmail.com

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  140. A tie between the Angelina Ballerina mouse dolls, and Barbies.

    samjweed@gmail.com

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  141. Peaches and Creme Barbie!!

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  142. My favorite gift I ever received for the holidays was a puppy!

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  143. Oh, I loved the matching barking/walking dogs my sister and I got when I was four or five. We already had a real dog, so of course we wanted fake ones.

    thingstheymade [at] gmail [dot] com

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  144. definitely my sparkly purple 10 speed bike!! crazydaisy at aol dot com

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  145. When I was about 7 or 8 I got a fake Cabbage The Patch doll named Greg...he had brown curly yarn hair with brown eyes and yellow overalls.

    delinda@austin.rr.com

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  146. A Power Wheels Army Jeep when I was 6. I am glad to this day I didn't receive a Barbie Power Wheels or anything pink--that Army Jeep was SO cool! And I'll admit it...when I unwrapped it I was more into the canteen that came with it than the car itself.

    Until I realized exactly what the car did and that I could run people and the Christmas tree over with it...

    mariansimmons88@gmail.com

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  147. Mine is a tie between a red remote control car and the American Girl Doll, Molly.

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  148. Okay, mine was the GIRL SCOUT purse I got. Made my life complete.

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  149. The Barbie & the Rockers touring bus was everything to me

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  150. A bath robe my parents got me. I LOVE bath robes ps, I was 11 or 12 and STILL have it, the comfort it brings me can't be replaced!!!

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  151. I remember not being able to sleep AT ALL on Christmas Eve one particular year because I was so excited about hopefully getting a bop it the next day. haha a freaking bop it. I don't know why, but I remember that so vividly!

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  152. Definitely my American Girl doll, Samantha! Still love her!

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  153. my cabbage patch doll

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  154. Nicole FredericksDecember 02, 2014

    Toss up between my Cabbage Patch Kid and my pretend play frying pan that made a sizzling sound when fake bacon was added to it!

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  155. I have some great memories of my first Christmas with the Operation board game!

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  156. Hands down, my red Tom Thumb typewriter. Hands.Down.

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  157. My sisters and I got an old-fashioned dollhouse one year. It was all wooden (furniture, lamps, the house itself,etc) and the beds had these little foam mattresses on them. It came with a family of four, and it was awesome. I also got this stegosaurus one year (like a foot long plastic dinosaur) that I was pretty obsessed with. I named him Spike because I am super creative.

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  158. Oh for sure my favorite was my Barbie bike. It was the coolest. Training wheels, metallics, handlebar tassels.

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  160. Big Sister doll. No question.

    soslindsey@yahoo.com

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  161. I was always stoked to get a new Cabbage Patch kid! (Even in my teens. Shhhhh.)

    givinghearts.heather@gmail.com

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  162. Rebecca HemannDecember 02, 2014

    My very first Cabbage Patch doll, Gabby! I still have her. :)
    rebecca.hemann@gmail.com

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  163. I would have to say the best christmas gift I received when I was young was the massive barbie house. Great giveaway, thanks!
    jessethueson@hotmail{dot}com

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  164. My lisa frank sticker and binder set!!!!
    marlana.yee@gmail.com

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  165. The massive pink Barbie house! It had a working elevator! My two seesters and I loved that christmas!

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  166. My parents gave me a bread maker a few years ago and I love it dearly! It makes me think of my mom every time I pull it out. :)

    ainscough.alexis@gmail.com

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  167. My first "boom box" with a duel cassette player ..... OH how cool I suddenly was - able to record songs off the radio and make my on mix-tapes.

    heather41 at yahoo dot com

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  168. Hmmm, I'll never forget my first nice doll, I named her Valerie and gave her way too many terrible haircuts.

    Daragleed at gmail dot com

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  169. Mine was my Barbie McDonalds....or maybe Hungry Hungry Hippo. Thank you for the wonderful giveaway.
    Erin
    fairyfractal at gmail dot com

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  170. My favorite Christmas gift as a child was a pair of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer slippers whose noses lit up when you squeezed their ear!

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  171. One of my favorite gifts from my childhood was a sewing kit from my grandmother. (I actually REALLY wanted one.) We always watched Little House on the Prairie together, and I wanted to sew my own dolls and clothes just like they did. So my grandmother would sit and teach me with my very own green sewing basket covered in flowers.
    chantelleelaceblog at gmail dot com

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  172. 2 words....ROCK TUMBLER!! However, once I realized how long I'd have to wait before I got my treasures...it lost it's appeal as it sat, lonely, in the laundry room just tumbling away. But then once that shit was done, I glued those stones on all kinds of stuff & made some rather lovely jewelry...and once again, I was a believer!

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  173. One of my favorite gifts was a Jem doll. I loved how they were twice the size of a Barbie, truly truly truly outrageous! lelegs33@gmail.com

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  174. Probably my first boom box. I have 3 younger brothers, and I loved that it drowned them out :)
    sarahallen13@hotmail.com

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  175. A Cinderella watch that was lovingly purchased by my dad, a watch lover.

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  176. Probably my barbie dream house. I thought I was the coolest thing! lol

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  177. iiii loved my first vivitar camera, came just in time for my first grade fieldtrip.

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  178. Definitely my barbie doll, a gift from my godmother who hadn't quite understood my parents' no-barbie policy :)
    mariemcdonough at gmail dot com

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  179. GoGo My Walking Pup! My poor mother drove herself crazy trying to find that thing in stores...

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  180. easy bake oven alll the way!!!!

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  181. What was that monkey doll that would have spinning ears whenever you hugged it? Loved that thing. Loved it so much I forgot the name.

    strawberry_sherbet at hotmail dot com

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  182. Lite Brite man. That thing was pure magic. All those pictures that showed you wear to poke the holes to make your design that I used so many times they got torn to shreds. What's it called when you're a child of the late '80s, early '90s? Because: hashtag-one-of-those.

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  183. The year I got the Cabbage Patch Kids RECORD PLAYER (like, legit record player)... well, let's just say my life was made.
    kkondek at gmail.com

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  184. Mine might have been the easy bake oven too! Or maybe one of the disney character bikes I received. -Hanna Lei

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  185. My favorite was a stuffed monkey my mom got me for Christmas when I was 8. I still sleep with it every night and I am 36, so yeah, got some good use out of that gift ;-)

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  186. My fav was the shopping mall board game.... what was that called?? You had credit cards and everything. So fun!

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  187. I always wanted an Easy Bake Oven! My favorite gift was actually a gift to my cousin...but we both played with it a lot...it was a shiny red fire engine pedal car.

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  188. Dare I say, the Hanson tour VHS when I was 12. My sister and I must have watched it a million times. Rollerblades when I was 10 were also a big hit since we had a completely empty, completely concrete basement...the dim lights and a loud boom box helped to drive it home. What would we spin? Hanson, of course. ;)

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  189. Comment number 198....hope this is the lucky one! My email address is jlaw1407 at hotmail dot com.

    As for my favorite Christmas gift...the William Sonoma Thanksgiving plates set my mom got me last year, and the matching Christmas ones she got me this year! :)

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  190. my coca cola bear was probably my favorite gift i ever got as a kid.

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  191. I remember one Christmas my brother and I got a TON of Pogs. Do you remember Pogs? I think you could play a game with them? Anyway, best Christmas!

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  192. absolutely dating myself but cabbage patch kids

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