Okay, the title is a bit of an over statement. Many times, readers will comment on my posts talking about the toys and dolls that they missed out on and look back on with fond memories. To me, those fall under ‘grail items’ (think: search for the holy grail) Grail items are things that you want desperately. Items that you wish were in your collection. Many times, they are items that you saw and put off buying, only to find that finding them later is near impossible.
This post will cover a few of my personal grails that made their debut in my life time (aka the past 30 years). Some are childhood toys that I never received for birthdays or holidays, others are more recent releases that I stubbornly missed out on for one reason or another.
My Pet Monster:
My Pet Monster
In 1986, AmToy, an American Greetings company, launched what would become a very sought after plush doll, My Pet Monster. My Pet Monster, originally marketed as a plush for boys, was 26″ tall and brightly colored. There were a few version of My Pet Monster made, but my personal favorite was the original furry blue one. As a 4 year old, this was the perfect plush. How could anyone not love this huggable, colorful monster that came with chains? Needless to say, it was on my wishlists. Of course, it, also, happened to be more expensive than most other toys. (I tried to find the actual original retail price, but couldn’t find it online.)
Last week, I saw a My Pet Monster at my local Savers. (Savers is a second hand store that is popping up all over the United States, it seems!) It was priced at a whopping $99.99 in ‘played with’ condition with his chains. It may be a grail item of mine, but I’m not interested in paying anywhere close to $99 bucks for an out of the box plush that has wear.. That being said, I do hope one day to catch myself a minty fresh My Pet Monster. Because he’s just so cool!
Sarah Jane’s Sonic Lipstick:
In 2005, my mom borrowed the Series 1 re-launch of Doctor Who starring the amazing Christopher Eccleston as the ninth Doctor. Prior to that, I had watched some of the Tom Baker era, but not enough to consider myself a fan of the series. The tighter stories and higher production value of the 2005 series, though, won me over and by the end of episode 13, I was hooked. In Series 2, ‘new Who’ reunited the tenth Doctor, played by David Tennant, with a Jon Pertwee/Tom Baker era companion, Sarah Jane Smith, played by the fantastic Elisabeth Sladen.
Sarah Jane and K-9
Having proven that she was just as popular a companion in 2006 as she was during her original time in the TARDIS, her character was given a spin off show called ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures‘. This show ran for five series, unfortunately cut short due to Elisabeth losing her real life battle with cancer. (I was gutted when I heard the news– it was so shocking!)
Sarah Jane Adventures Sonic Lipstick with Wrist Scanner set
Throughout the 5 year run, a number of toys were made. One such toy was the Sonic Lipstick/Wrist Scanner set. This plastic toy set never made it to the United States, according to a few stores I have spoken with at conventions. While this set couldn’t have been more than $25 dollars when it was first released, it now is priced well above that, making it hard to find at an affordable and worthwhile price.
Honestly, I don’t care about the Wrist Scanner, what I want is the Sonic Lipstick. It would be the perfect, pocket friendly, toy to keep in my purse for those moments when I feel the need to sonic something (which would probably happen a lot).
My Little Pony Paradise Estate and Dream Castle:
What little girl growing up in the 80’s wouldn’t have wanted the large pony playsets from the original G1 line in their bedroom? I was pretty lucky as a kid to receive a good amount of My Little Ponies and even received a few of the smaller playsets. However, these elusive and expensive sets never made it my way.
To this day, I would love to add these to my collection. They’re just so much cooler than the playsets we saw with the G2-G4 lines. As My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Rainbow Dash would say, the G1 sets were and are 20% cooler than what’s on toy shelves today!
Barbie & Skipper Doll Let’s Drive! Student Driver Gift Set:
Some of the most irritating grails are the ones that you saw and that you had the chance to buy, but didn’t. Back in 2000, Toys R Us released this amazing Barbie and Teen Skipper set, which featured a car and a ton of driving related accessories. I put off buying this set, because it was a little pricey and I wanted to wait for it to get a bit lower in price. However, three short years later, Skipper would be put in the vault and this set would disappear from store shelves.
Let’s Drive Giftset
I kick myself when I see this for upwards of $100 on websites. This Teen Skipper is one of the cuter ones. What I like about this Skipper is that she looks younger than Barbie. Some Teen Skippers looked very similar to Barbie, especially the bathing suit ones, and that bugged me a bit. It’s a huge reason why I don’t have many of the later Teen Skipper releases. This set, however, features a Skipper that definitely looks different from her older sister, Barbie.
So, there you have it. These are just a few of the dolls and toys that I missed out on as a kid (and adult!) and occasionally obsess over finding! One day, I do hope to have them all in my collection, but until then, the hunt continues!
Is there a doll or toy that you missed out on and would desperately like to add to your collection? Did you or do you own any of the items mentioned in my post? Share your thoughts below!
