Fave Easter Basket Goodies!

Back in the 80's & 90's my family spent the majority of our Easter/Spring breaks visiting our Grandpa in Tennessee. I have fond memories of visiting him, playing with our G.I. Joe action figures on his front porch with my brother and having him question any and all music videos that popped up on MTV. The one he questioned the most was "U Can't Touch This" by M.C. Hammer. I'm sure he was still wondering what couldn't be touched right up until the day he passed away. He would also have us do his yard work while we were there and I vividly remember him having me mow his lawn. It was horrible! He lived on what seemed like the tip of a mountain and the majority of my time was spent pushing his mower up this giant hill and then trying not to lose grip of it as I went back down. Ah, memories! Anyway, those few Easter vacations that we did spend at home in NJ were fantastic and the Easter Bunny really spoiled us kids with some great items in our basket. Now I could talk at length about my favorite candies that were stuffed inside, but Mr. Bunny also brought us some cool little items that were not edible. I'd like to share a few of my faves with you right now.

G.I. Joe Sunglasses

I know I have talked about these before, so I will just do a quick recap of why these are so memorable. One year me and my brother found a pair of G.I. Joe Sunglasses in our Easter Baskets. We thought we were as cool as Sergeant Slaughter in those babies! Unfortunately for me that feeling of unbridled awesomeness and badassery would end all too soon! I foolishly took my G.I. Joe Sunglasses to school and they got lost somewhere? A few days later a kid by the name of Mikey came to school wearing the very same glasses I had. Naturally I thought he stole mine and we got into a fight. Parents were brought in and it turned out Mikey's parents had bought them for him! The mystery of the missing G.I. Joe Sunglasses was never solved, but I think my brother had something to do with it? 

Stationary Robot

I tried and tried, but could not find a photo or any info on this item anywhere on the internets, which led to my crude drawing based solely on an almost 40 year old memory. But let me tell you, this thing was cool! It came out in the late 80's/early 90's and this little robot had a built in pencil sharpener in his feet, had a pencil keeper, hidden compartment in his back for a small note pad and other hidden stationary goodies that may or may not have included an area filled with crayons. This guy sat on my desk for years and helped me complete countless pages of homework. If anyone can dig up any info on this guy, I would greatly appreciate it!

Ninja Turtles Coloring Book

Besides my "Secret Wars" sticker/coloring book, this TMNT coloring book is my most favorite coloring book of all-time. Coloring is a timeless piece of joy for almost every child growing up in America. Heck, my kids still enjoy coloring and so do I. It was great to finally be able to add my own creative flair to my favorite foursome of green teens and let me tell you, some weird colored Ninja Turtles did end up in my book. I wonder if I can find that at my Mom's house? She probably threw it out!

MLB Coins

This is sort of a newer addition to my collection. My wife actually bought me one of those discount baseball card cubes that you find at Target. The cool thing about the cube she picked up for me was that not only did it contain a bunch of baseball cards from the 80's & 90's, but it also contained a bunch of these Topps coins! I had some of these when I was younger, but the Bo Jackson coin eluded me until my wife got me that cube on Easter a few years ago.

Roll of Sketch Paper

This item is one of the least eye catching, but it is probably the one I had the most fun with! It was a huge roll of paper for drawing! You better believe I drew incredible, action packed scenes filled with Ghostbusters battling ghouls and Ninja Turtles taking on Foot Soldiers. After I was done drawing & coloring, I would tear my newly fresh artwork off the roll and tape it to my wall for all visitors to my room to admire.

There it is! A few of my favorite Easter basket stuffers from the Easter Bunny. Do you have a favorite item that you received as a kid on Easter or maybe a favorite candy that you always wanted in your basket? Let us know in the comments below & HAPPY EASTER!