Wonderbook 2020, Part I

You know what I used to love? The annnual Christmas catalogs from Sears and Penneys. One fine day, the mailman would deliver these big books with thin pages, all color (well, mostly color) with just about everything those stores had to offer. And in the back was the toy section – the promised land of childhood. I’d lay down on the floor and go through page by page, putting circles around the stuff I wanted – the stuff I might find under the tree Christmas morning. So fun!

There’s a fantastic website – WishbookWeb – that has scans of many of these catalogs in their entirety. Well worth the time to check it out … but hey – this is 2020, and God knows we need some good times, so I’m bringing the wishbook concept back!

No, I’m not printing a catalog. But I am going to try something here where I collect cool products – some new, some old – from around the internet and present them to you as my Wonderbook 2020. Just so you know – I’m not making money off of this, and I’m not connected with the people and stores involved other than as a customer or fan.

Three provisos and a comment:

1) Each of these items will be available for sale when I post the wishbook – whether it still is for sale when you click on it – or whether the link still works – I cannot guarantee.

2) I’m not putting the prices down, but I am using the following code: $ = Less than 10 dollars; $$ = 11 to 30 dollars; $$$ = 30 to 50 dollars. These include shipping on Ebay items.

3) All of the pictures are the property of their respective owners – I’m just using them to illustrate the products to help sell them – if any of the image owners want them removed, I will be happy to do so.

4) Finally – I got the idea for this from the Plaid Stallions blog, which posts 5 Awesome Things on Ebay every Friday

So, without further ado … the inagural Wishbook 2020!

Head-to-Head Sports Action … Without the Fresh Air

[A] Tabletop Air Hockey: Battery-operated and loads of fun in a small package. Every year I try to grab something like this to entertain Christmas guests, and this one did not disappoint … $$

[B] Tabletop Foosball: No batteries needed for this miniature foosball table, but assembly is required. This was another Christmas surprise at my house, and proved quite challenging … $$

[C] Tabletop Billiards: I know, you don’t get fresh air playing pool, but I needed a snappy title line for each section. I don’t have this one, but maybe this year! Those miniature pool cues are awesome … $$

You’ll Never be Bored with these Board Games

[A] Star Wars – Hoth Ice Planet Adventure Game: So help me God, I don’t remember this game. This is a reproduction, and comes with a little action figure – what a deal! … $$$

[B] Star Wars – Escape from the Death Star: Another reproduction, I scored one of the originals at an antique shop recently for a song. It’s a simple game, but fun, and worth it for the box alone … $$$

[C] Silver Hawks: I always thought the Silver Hawks cartoon was cool, but was too old for any of the toys. Still, this box is gorgeous, the board is cool, and you get little standees of the characters … $$

[D] Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: This show was beautifully bizarre and tons of fun, and the design on the game is beautiful. This one is vintage … $$$

These Figurines Will Liven Up Your Game Table