Old friends, new friends.

I haven't eaten at McDonald's in many years because it no longer fits into my lifestyle, but that wasn't always the case.  When I was a kid, the best thing about McDonald's was the Happy Meal and the best thing about the Happy Meal was the toy.

In the mid- to late-eighties, McDonald's was giving away Muppet Babies in their Happy Meals and I collected a bunch of them.  They came in a little plastic bag and you got a figurine (Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzy, Gonzo or Animal) and a vehicle of some type (big wheel, car, airplane, hobby horse, wagon, skateboard, etc) for them to ride, drive or fly.  They were great because the figurine was akin to a Smurf figurine: solidly made, brightly coloured, and fit well in your hand.

I know a lot of people who saved (or their parents saved) all their childhood toys and now their own kids are reaping the benefits.  Then there's folks like me, endlessly scouring eBay, rapt with nostalgia, wishing I could afford to buy my kids all the toys I remember.  ...and realizing they might appreciate them as much as I did, which wasn't always very much.  Suffice it to say I don't have many of my old toys and the Muppet Babies Happy Meals toys are long gone.

I'm going to make a long story short and just say that I came across some of these Muppet Babies toys recently and got a few for Sonja (for free, I might add), thinking she may find them fun.  Sonja doesn't have the longest attention span for toys; she loves them all, but she rarely fixates on any one toy for more than a day or two before moving onto a new toy, or back to an old toy.  So I've been pleasantly surprised that the Muppet Babies have become the be-all and end-all.  She plays with them constantly.  She has taken a particular shine to Gonzo (always a favourite of mine as well) and carries him with us when we are walking the dog, or going to the grocery store.  She runs with him in her hand in the park, then tells me that while she is running, Gonzo is running too.  They run everywhere together.  

It's funny that in a few days, Christmas will be here and Sonja will have who-knows-how-many gifts to unwrap, all new, all bought in stores with her in mind.  Funny, even paradoxical, that lots of people are spending all this money on her and yet a few old toys bought decades ago in a Happy Meal bring her so much joy.  Fantastic.

Gonzo, Man of the Hour, in his red wagon.

In our house, Miss Piggy (or "Miss Pig" as Sonja calls her) always rides the big wheel...

...while Fozzy drives the pink car.  

Kermit on his red skateboard.