Monday, December 16, 2013

Thrift Haul: This Post Almost "Wasn't!" Vintage Christmas and an Obnoxious Robot

This post was not supposed to be. I was so frustrated trying to To Do it All this weekend that I was going to replace my haul with a rant about Thrift Hauls being over forever!  Instead I enlisted help to get caught-up, slept early and arose early (NOT my usual way but so much healthier!*) to finish my entire post in the morning.



Right when I was finishing up the post and getting ready to hit "publish" the internet died and I had to call  to get it back in order! This is The Little Post That Could! A small haul of finds but ones I love with nostalgic childhood vigor.

First we have a Cybotronix Turbo Fighter Robot! 15" tall, and very much a combination of Optimus Prime and...Robo Cop? I see a lot of his ilk at the flea markets and almost left without him but couldn't bear to part with him. He is the perfect loud obnoxious toy to gift to the child of a person you loathe as twisted revenge. (A boss, perhaps?) I mean, listen to my video of this thing:



It will just do that in a loop forever as long as the on button is switched. Not sure if it's supposed to do that but it's pretty awesome. He even sounds like a combination of Robocob and Optimus Prime with the random violence and booming bass. I think I'll put him on eBay soon but e-mail me if you'd like to buy it before that. Makes an awesome Christmas gift, my nephews have a blue one (also thrifted) and they love it. Anyway, enough robots...


How 'bout this McDonalds toy!? If there's one thing I sorely don't need it's a Playmobile broken plastic McDonald's toy but something about indoctrinating kids to love the golden arches while they're still in diapers was so hilariously insidious that it had to live with me for a while. I'm imagining some hilarious photographic/editorial possibilities with this set.


Besides it was only fifty cents! The price of, what, one of McDonald's cheapest rat-meat cheeseburgers? Awesome! I'll have to write more about it later but I have such an attraction to this type of bulky bold plastic toy, it has an almost mid century modern distillation of design into basic shapes and elements. So pleasing to the eye.

My favorite find of the week is this coin bank, too damn cute. I thought it was an odd tin pencil holder which I could always use more of for organizing art supplies.


Upon inspection it was revealed as a coin bank with slots for each type of coin! The little scenes on the front recalling what a kid could do with pocket change in the 1960s! Yeah, try to go to the fair, the zoo, or on Holiday with quarters. Our local zoo almost cost as much as a trip to Disney World last I checked. At least you can still get Christmas presents (second hand!) for change if you're lucky!


I have this in my entryway to house spare change until someone takes it off my hands. ------>>> On Etsy


How about some gorgeous Jacks pieces for Christmas!? I didn't play with these as a kid so they're kind of exotic to me, gorgeous shapes. I like them as photo props and displays. I'm sure many a mom curses these things to fiery depths of hell from stepping ones carelessly left on the floor after play. ------>>> On Etsy

And look, I found another absolutely adorable flocked Christmas critter ornament, this is the cutest one yet! A little fuzzy siamese kitty. My first kitty (April the beautiful "snowshoe") was a blue-eyed beauty like this one. ------>>> On Etsy


Kitty and dinosaur will chill around my tiny tree until kitty finds a new home. Dinosaur is not for sale. So sorry, he likes it here.

And I found a Santa Blow Mold! I love these guys and still wish we had all the ones from my childhood. Halloween ones are naturally my favorite but this Santa is still quite nostalgic.


I lit him in my kitchen last night and my Grinch's Christmas-hating heart grew three sizes that moment! Quite charming inside and out! He'll be going into my Southern Crossing booth today. He's also ------>>> On Etsy

* My usual way with writing these haul posts is so unhealthy. I usually work all day Sunday from sunrise 'til sometimes 3AM on it! Doing this is smaller dosages and letting myself sleep is going to save my life. Really. So much better!

If you're still Christmas shopping (I know I am!) I've marked down lots of gorgeous vintage items in my Etsy shop. I'm always do same-day delivery so items can arrive before Christmas. Today and tomorrow are the best days to order to ensure items will be under your tree in time so check 'em out. I may host another sale tomorrow! (Let me know if you'd like that in the comments!)

My favorite gift ideas include :: sexy ash tray, sexy nude lady glass, bowling toy, bowling bag, atomic toy, dino tray, automobile card game! But I love everything in the shop of course!

Find anything amazing at the thrifts this weekend?! Do share your finds and posts in the comments.

Daily thrifting updates, information, & Inspiration: Follow Thrift Core on Twitter and Facebook.

39 comments:

  1. Glad your post made it to the "air waves." I'm pretty sure your light up Santa is called a Blow Mold. Will get more lookers with that tag. Love the kitten. I don't think ratburgers have been fifty cents for decades!! Great deal on your McPlayhouse!

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  2. I couldn't figure out if it was "Glow" or "Blow" mold, thank you! I updated the tag. :D

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    1. That blow mold sold already? Wow-- good for you!

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    2. Thanks for the tip Diane, the "Blow Mold" tag likely helped!

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  3. Glad you hung in there and got your blog post up. You always find interesting items. Can't remember the last time I even thought about a ratburger. Keep on keepin' on.

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    1. Haha ;) I was about to quit but now I know I must continue, to make a living AND for the inspiration.

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  4. Loverly Haul! REALLY! So sad that I put my shop on vacay but hard to ship stuff in FL while in CA! But my MIL has been picking for me...not that I knew...so I have some finds for the shop when I get back from Vacay! Thank goodness I could tell her no on some items...but she so loves to shop...and she is so damn cute it is hard...but I have learned to just say, "No!" at times! ;o) But if you have seen the photos I posted of my MIL's house...I could shop without leaving the house. THEY have SOOOO MUCH STUFF...OLD AT THAT! And even toys. You would die to get into their boy's old closets! ;o)

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    1. Want the toy closet! :D Glad you enjoyed the nostalgic toy post. Kind of awesome that it turned out this way ;D

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  5. That McDonald's toy!! How fun is that?!

    Glad you were able to post, in spite of all the technical difficulties.

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    1. So many want to buy my mom's gift! ;) I wanna make some ceramics just like him, will let you know when those finish or if I find another like it.

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  7. OK, that coin bank is the coolest thing ever! I had to have it as we keep all of our loose change in a cheapo plastic lunchmeat tub we lost the top too.

    Now aren't you glad you finished your post? :)

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    1. Why yes I am ;D Sold the Santa quickly, too! I thought I wouldn't hold to the coin bank long, it's a thing of beauty!

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    2. And yes much prettier than a lunchmeat tub!

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  8. I wouldn't have been able to pass up the McDonald's play set either. My friend had one of these when we were growing up (she always had the best toys), and we had a great time playing with it. And at fifty cents, if you decide to sell it, you're going to make a huge profit.

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    1. I wonder if I can make a big profit when it's missing so many pieces? I'll try it on eBay and see what happens. And will have fun playing with it until it sells!

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  9. Love the McDonalds Toy! and the dinosaur that decided to live at your house. :)

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  10. You could make a video and have the robot destroying McDonalds. That's what my brother would have done when we were kids :)

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    1. Brilliant Tilda! Brilliant. That will have to be up soon me thinks :D

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  11. Love Turbo Fighter - so fun! I only have one robot in my collection (1980s, with box) aquired from the.most frequented thrift store.in the city (on the subway line, biggest & closest to downtown). Amazed it was still there - all the hipsters shop there, its just a few blocks from.hipsterville.

    Cute cute tin box

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    1. I'd love to visit this Toronto Hipsterville, haha. I live in the Jacksonville, Florida equivalent.

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  12. Such a cute haul. I always loves vintage toys and Christmas things. I have had a bit of dry spell with thrifting, but I have taken loads to the charity shops, so I'm sure my luck must change soon.

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    1. I'm about to take loads more to the thrift shop too, I'm sure Thrift Karma will come your way soon!

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  13. Holy thrift find, Batman!! That coin bank and McDonald's play set are amazing!!

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  14. The little post that could...bahaha. Well, it finally did. Now I want to go thrifting with you. I've kind of lost my thrifting mojo but after seeing all your fun and unique finds, I kind of want to go out now.

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    1. Thanks Amy! Yep, nothing like peeking at Thrift Haul posts to inspire us to hunt creatively.

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  15. when i was a kid, one year my brother, cousins and i all got mcdonalds make believe sets! so we had aprons and headsets and little plastic chicken nuggets and mc muffins. so weird that parents would get that for their kids! even weirder because my family didn't eat out that much, and i don't remember them picking mcdonalds very often.

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    1. I remember playdough McDonalds play sets, I thought they looked awesome on commercials, but our parents never got us anything like that. Same here, we rarely ate out.

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  16. I'd never seen that one in particular but have always been attracted to them even if my family ate 95% or more meals at home. I liked the colors :D

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  17. Oh my goodness - that McDonald's play set is a trip. At that age I loved McDonald's anyway (this is before I was vegetarian or knew there was beef tallow in fries...or even knew that there could be that kind of stuff in french fries)! I would have loved that toy. So. Much.

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    1. I believe I'd have loved it too even eating out very little in childhood ;)

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  18. I love the little McDonalds and coin bank!!

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    1. I loved that coin bank, it's already off to its new home. Boo. ;) But good, too.

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  19. I can totally relate to your blogging habits! I've found myself blogging until 4 am in the morning on my longer posts. But I try to break it up by following that up with a shorter post. I've also decided to eliminate a lot of step-by-step photos in my baking/cooking posts. I have to remind myself that I started blogging because I enjoyed it, and I can't become slavish to it - easier said than done!

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    1. I did the same with step-by-step on some posts. You realize the strength of your copy can be enough and sometimes on photo will do. I'm trying hard to get as much done as possible for next year, I love starting the new year with strong content!

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