#licensed characters

They actually DID make some liscened beanies in the traditional beanie baby style. Specifically, the 2004 Garfield movie ones (Except for Garfield himself, who looked exactly like he did in the movie)

To be fair, the reason these were made like that is because all these characters were "live action" in the movie, so they didn't have a cartoon version to base the toys on. But look how good they look! Imagine if they did All the licensed characters like this. Like, I know they made a few Pokemon ones, imagine seeing beanie baby style pokemon toys. Imagine seeing a Stitch one like that. I know they have bluey ones now, they could do that. There's so much possibility.

Sooner or later (as in, this article, right now), everyone will have Wrinkles...the lovable kind. What are Wrinkles? Well

Way Back, In Allison’s Past…

When I was in elementary school, from Kindergarten until fourth grade (I don’t remember the exchange happening beyond that, or it was totally optional by then), there was the time-honored tradition of creating a mailbox and passing out Valentine’s Day cards to the other kids in class. Store brought or home made, we carefully printed our recipients’ and our own names on the back of the cards.

On February 14th (or thereabouts, if Valentine’s Day fell on the weekend, or the Friday of President’s Day), there would be a designated time to deliver the Valentines during a classroom party. Junk food and card exchanges, it’s like Christmas, but with hearts!

A few weeks before the holiday, the teachers would give us a list of the names of our classmates, and we would go about purchasing the Valentines for our class.  I don’t remember what I gave out prior to the final year I handed out Valentines, but in fourth grade, my mom ordered Valentines from the Current catalog.  They came with envelopes – how cool! I can’t remember specifically what they looked like (I’m sure pink and red with hearts, nothing totally obvious), but they had envelopes.  They were like real letters!

I used to love giving out Valentines to my classmates – even if the little brats in my class didn’t deserve a Valentine, they still got one, because it was the rule of elementary school Valentine’s Day. Fourth grade was the last time I did it, and I had no problem not having to fill out Valentine’s cards anymore.  It was fun while it lasted, and while kids were appreciative of them.  It’s a shame that kids stopped being appreciative of them, but hey, kids.

Can’t imagine what this tradition is like today.  Probably involves digital something of some kind.

So Many Ways To Say “Be Mine!”

The Valentines themselves were always cute – some came with candy (a card with a lollipop tucked into holes on the card), licensed characters, cute animals holding hearts – it was always fun to dump out the mailboxes and read the Valentines after they were delivered.  Having grown up and gone to school during the late 1980s through the 1990s (I graduated high school in 2001), the best licensed character Valentines were a few years before my time, but the beauty of the internet is that wanting to see what kids gave as Valentines in the 1980s (and even into the 1990s) is a Google (or Pinterest) search away.

Because you know I live for looking up these kinds of treats, here are a few of my favorites, culled from multiple Pinterest searches.

Robots In Disguise…Of Their True Feelings!

I was trying to find Transformers Valentines, preferably Generation 1, because that’s what I was raised on.  Optimus Prime holding a heart, Megatron and his bromance Starscream saying “be mine,” stuff like that.  And just when I thought I came up short on finding the perfect Transformers Valentine, I found this one…

My happy geeky heart squeed a little bit – ok, alot – over seeing Bumblebee on a Valentine.  I love Bumblebee the way I love Optimus Prime, if only because…he’s super adorable.  True story – my husband and I watched Bumblebee over the summer, and when Bumblebee lost his voice and his memory, I screamed out (probably a little louder than I should have, but it’s the nostalgic geek in me) “Oh my God!  That’s how he lost his voice!!!!!!”  My husband, who is not really a Transformers fan, stared at me over my reaction.  Like I said, it was louder than it should have been, but it answered what I didn’t already know about Bumblebee!

But this Valentine…he’s cute!!!

Gahhhh!  So cute!!!!!

Heroes in a Half Shell, with Big, Full Hearts!

In addition to a deep love for robots with personalities and mad fighting skills, I was also into turtles with personalities and mad fighting skills. Michelangelo was my Turtle of choice, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was on my TV, in my brother’s toys, and currently part of my Funko Pop Collection.

And the best part (for my brother) about Christmas 1989.

“TURTLES!” (Christmas 1989, age 7). Photo Credit: Venezio Family Collection

I remember the Turtles being on Valentines given out by little boys in school (I’m pretty sure I got at least one in elementary school), but I found this one on Google, and Dudes, it’s time for Hugs and Kisses!

The Seas Are Shining Bright with All the Colors of The Rainbow On Valentine’s Day…

Rolls off the tip of your tongue when you think “what belongs on a Valentine’s Day greeting,” right?

Rainbow Bright and her friends (well, Canary Yellow, Buddy Blue, and Red Butler, because apparently they double date) love to share in some Valentine love. If I were in school when Rainbow Brite was popular, you can guarantee I would have been giving out Rainbow Brite Valentines to my classmates. They’re not too girly, since there are boys on it; therefore, these are the ones you give to the boys!

But if Rainbow Brite is just too girly for you, perhaps some colorful bears with hearts do more for you?

Care Bears Care About Valentine’s Day!

These are ridiculously cute, and so simple in their approach.  I watched The Care Bears Family, and the movies they starred in (as well as those two early animated specials that still weird me out to this day).  They’re not fancy, not throwing some huge, long-winded message of Valentine’s Day at you, but rather, a simple sentence and a few hearts.  They’re not saccharin, not at all.

But, if you prefer something sweet…

Little girls, boys, and pets named after desserts deserve plenty of 1980s love.  Strawberry Shortcake not only was cute and cuddly in her own special way, but if you ever had a doll from that collection, it smelled freakin’ amazing.  My best friend gave me a Strawberry Shortcake (along with Custard) Funko Pop a few years ago, and she smelled so good.  So did Custard.  That smell lasted a long time, way longer than it had any right to last.

Again, these are the kind of Valentines I would have given out, without regard to the fact that boys were always included in giving out these cards.  And to them, I say…

Huckleberry Pie WAS A BOY!

Pop-Pop-Popples!

I loved Popples when I was four years old.  I had three Popples – one big plush, one smaller plush, and one of those pocket-sized plushie/vinyl hybrids, and I had pajamas.  I’ve watched the “movie,” the cartoon, and I still think they’re cute to this day, even if I don’t have any of my Popples to prove my love.

I have come to the realization that I would have been hard pressed to pick a freakin’ set of Valentines Day cards, had I been given the choice.  For me, 1985-1986 was all about Rainbow Brite, Jem, Popples, and She-Ra.  I would have been all about giving out these choice Valentines to my classmates.

Oh, and did I say She-Ra?

She-Ra: Princess of Powerful Stickers!

Image: Etsy

*Brain explodes*

I think I’ve chosen the Valentines I would have given out to my classmates.  She-Ra and stickers…you can never go wrong with bonuses on you Valentines!

Of course, knowing me, I would probably have given out Valentine with California Raisins on them. Apparently I was into that when I was five, because I had a California Raisins nightgown.

I’m serious.

It’s over 30 years later, and I don’t understand why this was so popular.  Were five-year-olds into Motown or something?

And Now, You!

What kind of Valentines did you give your “Valentines” at school?  Did you have the tradition of making mailboxes and delivering your mail to the other kids in class?  Did you give out any of these Valentines?

I’d love to hear your stories of Valentine’s Day past!

We’re a few days away from Valentine’s Day, as the Month of Love keeps on going.  I’ve got commercials and a Valentine’s Day treat coming up for you this week.  As for the rest of the month, I have more music and nostalgia-heavy articles coming.  When I celebrate a holiday, it overtakes the entire month!

Have a great day!

Previously, on Allison’s Written Words…

We stocked up on the most important school supplies to prepare for our very nostalgic school life – a Trapper Keeper to store our school and homework in (bonus points if it was from the “designer series”), stocked up on Lisa Frank pens, pencils, stickers, erasers, and jewelry (gotta have it!), and we probably even picked up a locker answering machine or pocket folders with jeans-clad posteriors on them (or perhaps something else from the Class Act school supply line?).  We’re missing one all-important supply: something to store our much needed fuel to keep us going during our very nostalgic school life!

Enter the ultimate container, where what is on it is just as important as what is in it!

“What Character Do You Have?”

The idea of a character-adorned lunchbox is not a new or novel concept, invented with the time I was growing up, and it certainly didn’t get ushered in with the current generation (though they’d probably like to believe they “invented” it!).  In fact, it came in to the classroom on our parents’ generation.

The first licensed character lunchboxes, a common thing in today’s school supply aisle, was first ushered in during the early 1950s.  A strategic move by Aladdin Industries, who had been making the standard lunch container since 1908, was to put Hopalong Cassidy on a lunchbox, increasing sales of lunchboxes from 50,000 units…to 600,000 units.

Unbelievable, you say.

Well, Aladdin knew what they were doing, striking a chord with consumerism that apparently really liked licensed characters.  During much of the next 30 years, Aladdin continued to dominate, and well, the lunchbox went from being what kids carried their lunch in, to being “what character do you have?”.

The original licensed character lunchbox, circa 1954 (Image: eBay)

I should note though, it was only after American Thermos introduced full-lithography on all sides of their lunchbox, did Aladdin change their tune.

Adding On a Thermos, And The Change from Metal to Plastic

Aladdin’s acquisition of the Stanley Bottle operation cemented their company’s position in the food and beverage container in a big way, and it only increased from there.  Not only did we get a cool new lunchbox, but a MATCHING THERMOS!!!!!

What wasn’t to love?

The introduction of Superman, Mickey Mouse, and The Jetsons on future lunchboxes after the initial introduction of Hopalong Cassidy only kept the line endearing to image-conscious kids who needed a lunchbox for days school didn’t have lunch they wanted.  Saturday morning cartoons didn’t just have toys, books, bedroom sets, clothing, school supplies, and backpacks, they also had their faces printed on lunchboxes.

By the 1980s, metal lunchboxes turned to molded plastic, which were cheaper to manufacture.  My first lunchbox (for preschool in the mid-1980s) was metal, but the first one I carried to elementary school in 1989 was plastic, as would my second lunchbox (More on those beauties later).  I heard a story some years ago that the metal lunchboxes were banned, and I just assumed this was never true.  I mean, why would metal lunchboxes be banned in school?

It actually is true.  The state of Florida banned metal lunchboxes in 1972, amid “dangerous weapon” concerns.  While other states followed, the molded plastic design was actually cheaper to manufacture, which lead to the ultimate discontinuation of the metal lunchbox by 1985.

What was the last metal lunchbox,you ask?

For $20, you can own the last metal lunchbox produced. Image: eBay

Metal lunchboxes met their end in a literal (guns) blazing glory in 1985, with Rambo conquering Vietnam…and lunchtime!

Yes, they were banned by some schools as weapons, but in reality, it was the lower cost of molded plastic that ended the metal lunchbox’s reign at lunchtime.

From Plastic, To Insulated, To One Company’s Discontinuation of Lunchboxes

By the mid-late 1980s, plastic lunchbox/thermos kits dominated the lunchrooms once populated by metal lunchboxes.  Nothing changed about them, aside from the plastic lunchboxes only having the sticker of your licensed character adorning the front of the box.  The rest was just brightly colored plastic.  But you didn’t care about that minor detail, as long as it had the character you liked!

By 1998, Aladdin discontinued making the lunchbox altogether, but Thermos, Aladdin’s direct competitor in the “what character do you have?” game kept right on going, converting the cool images on those plastic lunchboxes to their insulated bags.  Thermos still makes them to this day, but for the nostalgic set, these do nothing for us.  For the kids some of us buy them for, perhaps, but not for us.

Although if you handed me an Avengers lunchbox tomorrow, insulated or otherwise, I’d run off happily with it.

Allison’s Lunchboxes

So, as I said earlier, I did own several lunchboxes in my very nostalgic childhood.  My first one was a metal lunchbox/Thermos combination, featuring The Muppet Babies.

Allison’s first lunchbox, circa 1985. (Image: Everything But the House)

My brother and I both had this.  The Thermos was super cute, featuring my favorite Muppet, Kermit.  I have had a particular affinity for Kermit since my mom bought a Christmas stocking holder when I was about a year old. It’s not like I knew who Kermit was or anything (or maybe my one-year-old brain connected it with Sesame Street, I have no idea), but I liked it and kept a death grip on it.  My mom said I liked it so much, I took it with us when we went out to dinner.

I’m assuming that lunchbox was bought for pre-school use, but after that, it became the holder of Crayola crayons (and a big red Crayola sharpener) for quite a few years.  I have no clue what happened to the thermos, but the lunchbox stuck around for a while.  I spotted it in a thrift store in Ocean City, NJ in the summer of 2002, along with the thermos.  No, it wasn’t mine, I’m pretty sure that lunchbox found a trashcan in the early 1990s.  I was tempted to buy it back then, but decided against it. Even now, I don’t really know what purpose it would serve, and lord knows I wouldn’t want to use a thirty-something-year old thermos that wasn’t originally mine!

The idea of that just…yeah.  Ew.

By the time I was in first grade (we had half-day Kindergarten in my school, so I don’t recall needing a lunchbox), the need for a lunchbox was upon us, so we (naturally), went right for the licensed characters.  It’s like I’ve seen in several lunchbox-related articles, they were like concert t-shirts for teenagers.  This was 1989, and as licensed character stuff went from Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, and Rainbow Brite, to whatever was big among girls in the late 1980s.  Of the popular characters to choose from of that time, I chose something rather timeless, brought up to a 1980s vibe.

Image: PicClick

I LOVED this lunchbox, especially that Thermos.  Apparently there were several different version of the Mickey and Minnie lunchbox that year, but this all-glammed-up version was the one I took to first grade in 1989.

My final licensed character lunchbox was in second grade (1990-1991).  This one surprises me.  Where the early 1990s a dearth of good licensed character lunchboxes for girls?  My brother had this really cool lunchbox that year…

Image: Pinterest

And I had this.

So it has been explained (through research) that the Yum Yums were Hallmark’s version of the Care Bears crossed with Fisher Price’s The Wild Puffalumps, several years after both franchises had quieted down (the former) and faded away (the latter).  The toys smelled like candy, and these colorful characters had their own one-off special from Hanna-Barbera, The Day Things Went Sour.

(It’s on YouTube.)

I guess I saw it, and liked the characters…or was it because this lunchbox was neon pink and pretty?  Either way, there was only one other kid with a Yum Yums lunchbox in second grade, and we weren’t in the same class.  I’m pretty sure this was a over and done with long before I was over and done with that lunchbox at the end of the school year.  I do love that thermos, it is super cute!

I don’t recall having any other Yum Yum toys.  Nosey Bears, yes, but not Yum Yums.

If I had known this would be the swan song of carrying a plastic character lunchbox to school, I would have chosen more wisely.  I mean, this one was cute, but there had to be something else I was interested in, right?

It probably wasn’t socially acceptable to take a lunchbox to school with a boy-type licensed character on it.  That’s pretty much what I liked at that time, my brother’s cartoons.

When third grade rolled around the following year, I went to the Intermediate School, which meant big kids…and a big kid lunchbox to go with it.  I remember a new insulated lunch bag that didn’t come with a Thermos, but my mom did use something new in the bag…an ice pack!  By that point, character lunchboxes kinda fell by the wayside, and the big kids carried insulated bags.  It was a nice time, while it lasted.

Further Reading and Watching

Image: Etsy

The History of the Lunch Box: Smithsonian Magazine has an awesome article from 2012 all about the history of the lunchbox, from its beginnings as kids fashioning their own from cookie or tobacco containers (they wanted to be like their working daddies) all the way to our very nostalgic school life, and beyond!  It’s a great read!

Quality Logo Products: A detailed timeline of the lunchbox, from introduction to the ban on metal boxes, to Thermos introducing the soft-sided lunchbox.

CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Nancy Giles visits the Lunchbox Museum in Columbus, GA, where 1000 lunchboxes are preserved for the sake of our very nostalgic school life!  (From 2017)

Upload via CBS Sunday Morning

And Now, You!

Images: PicClick, Pinterest, eBay, Antiques, Top Masters in Education, and Buzzfeed

Did you have a Thermos or Aladdin character lunchbox as a kid?  What one(s) did you carry to school?  Sound off in the comments below, or be social on social media.  As always, I’d love to hear from you!

“Too Cool for School” month is coming to a close, as the school year rolls on.  Usually by October, we were settled into a routine, the new-ness of a new school year wearing off.  Which means we can settle into a new theme for October!

Come by Allison’s Written Words Facebook page on Monday night, September 30th at 10:00 pm, for the new month’s theme!

Oh, and on Wednesday…a rare Wednesday post!  What could it be?

(Well, I know already because I finished and scheduled it, but you won’t know until then!)

Such suspense, it must be killing you!

Have a great day!