Favourite childhood games

joanlawson

Hi

What were your favourite games when you were a child?

I loved those cardboard cut-out dolls, and I spent hours designing paper clothes for them. I had whole families of them, and used to stage big events like weddings, which required new outfits for everyone. I think I missed my vocation. If I'd stuck at it, I could have been a famous dress designer by now :!:

Joan

dreamdaisy

French Skipping. It needed three, two acting as posts, standing apart with a length of elastic stretched out between them, initially round their ankles, and then the third would perform complicated maneouvres involving stepping on, crossing and releasing or other stuff I can't remember until a certain number had been done. Then the elastic would be shifted to knee level and the whole routine repeated, then thigh level, at which point it became impossible and the jumper would then become a post. Loved it, especially the bit where I had to catch one side of the elastic by hooking it under the buckle of my Start-Rite school shoes. Dreamdaisy

only49

hopscotch i remember that one and a skipping rope, and hula hoops, just shows you when you start thinking it does make you realise whats happened to all these things.

tkachev

joanlawson wrote:

Hi

What were your favourite games when you were a child?

I loved those cardboard cut-out dolls, and I spent hours designing paper clothes for them. I had whole families of them, and used to stage big events like weddings, which required new outfits for everyone. I think I missed my vocation. If I'd stuck at it, I could have been a famous dress designer by now :!:

Joan

Oh Joan i had hundreds of these. I designed clothes for mine too. Never had a wedding but had a clothes shop. One day my mum bought a whole bag of 1930s paper dolls for a penny from a jumble sale. They were beautiful. i have recently bought some more reproductions. Funny enough I studied fashion design at art college, following in my sis footsteps. She was amazing and much better than me and made paper dolls and clothes for me. I had Bunty ones and Shirley Temple ones.
a very excited
Elizabeth

skezier

H Joan,

We used to play Rescue a lot as kids..... we had a big old rambling yard with cow sheds and out houses as well as 3 yards to hide in.... I was quite good at it if I was a rescuer but hated being either the 'victim' or the holder..... Twas some boring then

Purrs to Tommy and a ((( ))) to you Cris xx

carola

I had a sildy quilty dressing gown and used to love sitting on it sticking my legs through the arms and sliding down the stairs on it!

dreamdaisy

Fabulous! DD

annie_mial

At various times, fivestones, threeball/twoball (up against the house wall - we could only play if Mum was outside otherwise it drove her mad), stilts, hula-hoops, marbles, hopscotch, bouts of handstands and cartwheels across the garden and ordinary skipping and French skipping (as per DD).

But my favourite was to find a book I hadn't read, beg a cheese sandwich from my Mum (an apple and a packet of crisps too, if I was lucky) and disappear for the afternoon into the bluebell woods at the back of our house. Find my favourite tree which had a really comfortable seat on a branch and I would be there till it got dark or I finished my book or someone came shouting for me.

The smell of May blossom still takes me straight back there.
Annie

dreamdaisy

Awww, memories. I had a ball game too, tensies. Ten different ways to chuck a ball against a wall and then catch it. Ten was easy, throw it, rebound, catch ten times. Nine, bounce the ball in front of you, so it would ricochet off the wall and catch it. Can't remember the others - there was one where you threw the ball under your bent leg, then catch on the rebound. One was throw it, spin round, then catch. Being an only child I spent a fair bit of time on my own, I loved this one. DD

joanlawson

carola wrote:

I had a sildy quilty dressing gown and used to love sitting on it sticking my legs through the arms and sliding down the stairs on it!

This reminds me of a game I used to play at my friend's house when her Mum went to the shops and left us for half an hour or so. We used to get all the pillows and eiderdowns ( it was pre-duvets ) from the beds and lay them all down the steep staircase. Then we used to slide and roll on them from the top, amid screams of laughter, and land with a big thud at the bottom. There was the mad scramble to put them all back on the beds before her Mum came home, and then we would be sitting there like a picture of innocence. The slight element of danger, and hoping that we wouldn't be found out, made the game more fun.

tkachev

Hi DD

i used to play that for hours. One was throw and clap hands before catching it and one was touch your knees before catching it.
Elizabeth

annie_mial

Yay! I remember this, too.........one was bouncing it to the wall between your legs and another turning round and bouncing it against the wall - you had to turn back again sharpish to catch it......oh, and behind your back as well!

Annie

gickygawky

I used to love building dens out of just about anything I could find inside the house and out.
On occasion when I had a friend sleeping over we were allowed to sleep in them and it was the best thing since sliced bread! 8)

When I was left to my own devices (only child) I was always partial to setting up an elaborate teddy bears picnic. I would pack my school bag full of my toys and head of with my tea set and blanket into the garden for the afternoon.
We now have such funny photos of me all prim and proper holding cups to my teddies lips etc!

A x

dreamdaisy

You know what, annie and tchakev? We should meet up and see if we can still do it! DD

tkachev

Ha i wonder if I could?
I used to play it for hours. Dont remember ever being bored a a child.

Elizabeth

dreamdaisy

I humira'd lasty night and I is feelin' ok today - I'll have a bash later and will report back. (suspect the stabilisers will get in the way but I'm a game old girl.) DD

tillytop

Hi, this thread really takes me back! I don't ever remember being bored as a child either and we were always quite happy (and capable of) amusing ourselves making camps, playing ball games. In the summer we'd be out all day, just popping back in for food when we were hungry. Otherwise we would be inside driving our parents mad to let us have the, not quite empty, washing up liquid bottle, soap powder box etc etc so we could make the latest Blue Peter inspired creations.

Does anyone remember Doodleart colouring posters? My friends and I would spend hours colouring. Apparently someone in Germany has re-introduced the original ones - might try to buy one for not so mobile days - surre I'd still enjoy doing it.
Tilly x

dreamdaisy

My mum used to buy paper doilies, and I would spend hours colouring in the holes onto a piece of paper and ending up with something pretty.

It's raining here so I'm not trying tensies yet. DD

tkachev

dreamdaisy wrote:

I humira'd lasty night and I is feelin' ok today - I'll have a bash later and will report back. (suspect the stabilisers will get in the way but I'm a game old girl.) DD

Had my humira this morning and went back to bed. Cant play today as its raining.

Elizabeth

lindalegs

I loved French skipping too and two-ball and hop-scotch.

I also enjoyed it in the playground all joining hands and forming a circle playing Farmer's in the Dell.

Oranges and Lemons say the Bells of St Clements etc. was also a favourite.

Did anyone put a tennis ball in an empty stocking leg, put your back against a wall and bounce the ball either side of you as fast as you could?

Today's kids don't realise what they're missing

Luv Legs

annie_mial

I chickened out on the tensies, too, as it's a mucky drizzle day here. Apart from bluebells, we lived in the middle of rhododendron land and a short way away was an ancient park with enormous bushes of them.................they made wonderful camps. The park had a pond with two small islands in it, one teeny which was easy to cross to, the other was more of a problem, but we generally managed it even if it meant getting soaked.

Looking back, I really was lucky compared to today's kids - we had freedom, which means a lot more than it says.

Annie

gickygawky

lindalegs wrote:

Did anyone put a tennis ball in an empty stocking leg, put your back against a wall and bounce the ball either side of you as fast as you could?

Today's kids don't realise what they're missing

Luv Legs

Hahaha!That sounds funny! No I haven't done this one. However I loved hanging the ball/stocking combo from a branch and playing a game of cricket. I used to whack the ball and run like billio to the end of the yard and back. As I was the only player I made the rules and there wasn't much competition 8)

A x

valval

dreamdaisy wrote:

French Skipping. It needed three, two acting as posts, standing apart with a length of elastic stretched out between them, initially round their ankles, and then the third would perform complicated maneouvres involving stepping on, crossing and releasing or other stuff I can't remember until a certain number had been done. Then the elastic would be shifted to knee level and the whole routine repeated, then thigh level, at which point it became impossible and the jumper would then become a post. Loved it, especially the bit where I had to catch one side of the elastic by hooking it under the buckle of my Start-Rite school shoes. Dreamdaisy

i had forgotten this used to love playing it and cats cradle

valval

british bull dogs the whole play ground used to join in great fun

joanlawson

valval wrote:

british bull dogs the whole play ground used to join in great fun

That wouldn't be allowed now, Val. The Elf and Safety Police would be there in a flash, and the teachers would be at risk of being sued.

lindalegs

valval wrote:

british bull dogs the whole play ground used to join in great fun

We played this with all the kids in our terrace If you didn't want to get caught first you stuck to the outside of the line.

Luv Legs