Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Little things that brought you absolute joy as a child

452 replies

DevilledEgg · 16/01/2025 19:51

For me it was silver balls on cupcakes. Such a simple thing but we didn't have them very often, so whenever I saw some on a cake I'd bubble with excitement. I bought a cake today with some on and I swear, I was five years old again!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
12
Clevs · 18/01/2025 21:06

Picking plums off the overhanging part of our next door neighbours plum tree. To this day Victoria plums are my favourite because of the memories they bring back of playing in the garden and helping myself.

scalt · 18/01/2025 22:25

@ilovepixie They took me to the middle of the garden, and pointed out the chair near the house. Then they blindfolded me, and double-checked that I couldn't see a thing. They turned me round lots of times; one of them secretly moved the chair to the bottom of the garden, and the other led me there, telling me it was near the house, when it wasn't. They got me to feel something flat, telling me it was the door of the house, when I was actually nowhere near the house. I did the "flying" all in that spot.

mumofoneAlonebutokay · 18/01/2025 22:28

Being off school and watching daytime tv and classic eastenders 😄

Nothings changed

HeadacheEarthquake · 19/01/2025 00:31

Muller corners in my lunchbox or after school! The fruit ones were good but the chocolate and vanilla balls were the best!!! Loved snapping that pot over and watching them tumble into the yoghurt. I'd eat around them and save the crunchy bits for last

HeadacheEarthquake · 19/01/2025 00:32

It kind of makes me sad that kids these days are attached to their tablets and don't know these joys

IdaGlossop · 19/01/2025 00:33

RabbitsRock · 17/01/2025 19:07

Anyone remember Breakfast slices? So happy when we had them!

I do remember them. From Sainsbury's. Rasher-shaped, dark pink, and fashioned from pig meat of an unspecified kind.

UnctuousUnicorns · 19/01/2025 01:08

Sick days when I was a kid involved, if I were really ill, staying in bed with a bottle of pop, crisps and chocolate (whatever I could stomach, of course! 😉) and a bunch of comics , or sitting on the sofa watching Crown Court and whatever else daytime television consisted of in the 70s - no children's TV then.

There was a Salvation Army citadel quite near our house so we often had the Sally Army band marching by. Used to wake me up on weekend mornings!

Needspaceforlego · 19/01/2025 01:14

AlbertCamusflage · 18/01/2025 20:39

The Puffin Club!

Can't remember if I was actually a member or whether we just ordered books from a catalogue that was distributed from time to time at school. But I can remember the massive excitement of looking through it and choosing a book to order. Seem to remember we got a badge too.

From one club to another, has Tufty Club been mentioned on the thread yet? My goodness I loved that. We had a little roll-out zebra crossing and two imitation Belisha beacons.

What is a "belisha beacon"?

I've only ever heard as in a red face "his face was like a belisha beacon"

UnctuousUnicorns · 19/01/2025 01:32

Needspaceforlego · 19/01/2025 01:14

What is a "belisha beacon"?

I've only ever heard as in a red face "his face was like a belisha beacon"

They're the orange/amber globes on the poles at either side of a zebra crossing.

Needspaceforlego · 19/01/2025 05:59

Thanks 😊 I love the random knowledge I get from MN.

Pat888 · 19/01/2025 06:10

The ice cream van came round once a week in the summer holidays. Italian icecream with monkey blood on it (raspberry sauce) or an oyster once i'd discovered them.

AlbertCamusflage · 19/01/2025 07:51

Needspaceforlego · 19/01/2025 01:14

What is a "belisha beacon"?

I've only ever heard as in a red face "his face was like a belisha beacon"

The little lampposts either side of a zebra crossing, with flashing amber lights.

As I recall (and I'm not going to google because reminiscence is more fun), they were introduced by a particular government in which a guy called Hoare-Belisha was the relevant minister.

The name Hoare beacon might have seemed problematic(!), but Belisha beacon stuck. It may have been the press that coined it.

Will go check my memory against google now.

AlbertCamusflage · 19/01/2025 08:00

That does seem about right for Belisha beacons. Except that in fact they were introduced in the 30s. I had assumed they were an innovation during my childhood (late 60s and 70s) because the road safety messaging from the govt at that time was so heavy on us, notably via dear little Tufty.

scalt · 19/01/2025 08:49

Belisha Beacons were indeed introduced in the 1930s, along with the driving test. My late grandad, who would now be 112, was one of those who never took a driving test in his life. I went to the Tufty club once or twice aged four, and I remember the portable zebra crossing, although I didn't understand the role play: I remember my turn to walk across it, and I was told "Look both ways. Is anything coming?" The "anything" was static cars on a canvas, how could they be "coming"?. My brother knocked the Belisha Beacon over. My dad told me that when they showed us a film about road safety, I was far more interested in the big reel-to-reel projector than what was on the screen. I used to get birthday cards from "Tufty", and at the time I didn't remember who he was.

Another childhood thing I loved was badges: I still have a massive collection from museums and so on. One of them says "I am 5" which I remember being attached to a birthday card; another says "I won't pay poll tax", which a street campaigner put into my hand. I also had one which said, in tiny print "stop reading my badge". They didn't say "warning - sharp point" in those days!

I loved the funny routine of primary school PE, even though I wasn't very good at it. In the classroom, we would strip to vest and pants, and put our shoes back on: always without socks (yay!), to save time. We would then walk to the assembly hall past the other classrooms, where the other children would giggle at us being half naked. In the hall, we'd take shoes off (lining them up neatly), and do exercises, often following instructions from a posh BBC voice on a cassette player. "Curl up small - you are a duckling." Sometimes we did circle games - of course, my favourite one was keeper of the keys, where someone had to sneak up as quietly as they could, and grab a bean bag from near the keeper, who was blindfolded, and pointed at any sound they heard. Afterwards, when we were learning about time, we used sand timers to time ourselves getting dressed, putting our names on a chart; only two boys managed to do it in less than one minute. It was a moment of pride for me when I did it in less than three minutes. I attended a lunchtime group where we did things like skipping, forward rolls, balancing, throwing and catching bean bags. I learned years later that this was a remedial group for gross coordination! 😯The blissful ignorance of childhood.

spiderlight · 19/01/2025 19:33

I found my Tufty Club book a couple of years ago!

Wouldbemagiciansgirl · 19/01/2025 19:37

Colouring books and wax crayons.

Wouldbemagiciansgirl · 19/01/2025 19:51

Can I add one for my daughter? Mr Men books !

Wavescrashingonthebeach · 19/01/2025 21:22

Wouldbemagiciansgirl · 19/01/2025 19:37

Colouring books and wax crayons.

Rainbow crayons!!!

Youngheartsalittletogetherness · 19/01/2025 21:28

The narrator's of children's programmes such as the Clanger's,flumps,Ivor the engine,the herb garden,camberwick green,Mary , mungo,midge and many more.i always found the tone of voice very comforting I grew up in a household that had many issues.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 19/01/2025 21:34

Pat888 · 19/01/2025 06:10

The ice cream van came round once a week in the summer holidays. Italian icecream with monkey blood on it (raspberry sauce) or an oyster once i'd discovered them.

Ooh we had the "Tally Van" ( Tally = shorthand for Italian )

There were Snowballs which were in a box with greaseproof paper lined between , the chocolate was a millimetre thick and the marshmallow was soft and fluffy . Snowballs in the shop were thicker chocolate and firmer middle

Nougat water was one chocolate/mallow wafer and one plain. Double Nougat wafer was a mega treat !

Oyster though these were smaller

Bats Blood sauce Grin

Needspaceforlego · 19/01/2025 21:38

@70isaLimitNotaTarget
Are you from Lanarkshire?

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 19/01/2025 21:39

Needspaceforlego · 19/01/2025 21:38

@70isaLimitNotaTarget
Are you from Lanarkshire?

No , DH is and he used to have the TallyVan too .
I lived in Central Scotland

therewasafishinthepercolator · 19/01/2025 21:40

Youngheartsalittletogetherness · 19/01/2025 21:28

The narrator's of children's programmes such as the Clanger's,flumps,Ivor the engine,the herb garden,camberwick green,Mary , mungo,midge and many more.i always found the tone of voice very comforting I grew up in a household that had many issues.

Yes! Even now I'm drawn to certain voices and listen to YouTube videos/ audiobooks to relax me based on the narrator.

I loved the voice on the Flumps (I bought myself the DVD a few years ago and made my much older kids watch it with me 😁) and Camberwick Green. And King Rolo / Mr Ben.

Same goes for some of narrators on The Storyteller cassette tapes.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 19/01/2025 21:47

Youngheartsalittletogetherness · 19/01/2025 21:28

The narrator's of children's programmes such as the Clanger's,flumps,Ivor the engine,the herb garden,camberwick green,Mary , mungo,midge and many more.i always found the tone of voice very comforting I grew up in a household that had many issues.

Ray Brooks voice is so unique and lovely he narrated Mr Benn
He was in Eastenders too ( married Pauline Fowler ) it was worth watching just to hear him.

Oliver Postgate was The Clangers voice narrator ( I bought DS a Clanger toy when he was a little boy which meant we could enjoy watching it together )

Brian Cant did a load of voices too .

But Ray Brooks had The Voice

jolies1 · 19/01/2025 22:18

Orangina in a glass bottle from the cricket club.

A trip to Woolworths on a Saturday morning.

Making “spiders webs” with my nanny’s knitting wool.

A new, clean exercise book at school (I was always determined to keep it neat)

Getting a lift to school in my dad’s work van.

Those orange ice lollies in the cardboard you had to cut the corner off.

Swipe left for the next trending thread