As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m the mother of 3 boys. That fact has influenced my taste in music, movies and toys. I was never much of a doll player when I was young so it probably isn’t surprising that my favorite toys for kids are Hot Wheels and Legos. I’m only talking about Hot Wheels today though.
We started collecting Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars when Chris was 4 or 5. There are still cars in the collection with nail polish initials on the bottom. It was the only reason I bought nail polish.
The cars would go outside and play in the dirt. The cars would come inside and take baths, i.e., car washes. We would have parades, car shows, distance challenges, but the best thing we did was invent the double elimination Hot Wheel races.
The rules were simple. First, get every Hot Wheel in the house downstairs. Second, get every piece of track in the house downstairs. Third, set up the track side-by-side, totally mirroring each other. We always included a loop-de-loop. One end of the tracks was anchored to the coffee table in the living room and the other end went through the entry way ending in the family room. Cars ran in pairs. Winners went to one side, losers to the other. We continued until there was only one car left. The winner sits in a place of honor on the bookshelf until the next race.
We have never tired of this game. My favorite grandchild, you know the one, brought his fiancé to the cabin for the first time and wanted to introduce her to the races. Out came the cars and the track and the mayhem began. You laugh, you cry, you cheer on your favorites. I don’t know if she was quite as impressed as we were, but I know it will grow on her.
I know video games are cool and all, but I don’t know of any video games still being played as enthusiastically as our races. It’s all about the imagination, the competition and the idea of making your own fun.
Come on over and bring your best challenger. We’ll take you on. This is the reigning champion and she’s ready.
and remember: I bet when cheetahs race and one of them cheats, the other one goes, “Man, you’re such a cheetah!”, and then they laugh and eat a zebra or something. Big kiss, Lynn
From the Recipe Box 