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The fall that I turned 6, I pored over the toys in the Sears Wish Book in anticipation of Christmas. I longed for Santa Claus to bring me some Fisher Price Little People sets.

I added several sets to my Christmas wish list. Secretly I wanted all of them.

When I revealed to a friend at Sunday school the sets I had asked for, she told me I probably would only get a set or two. “That’s just how Santa works,” she said knowingly.

Apparently she had some inside information about Santa, or this is what her parents told her when she, too, asked for all of them. On Christmas, I found three play sets under the Christmas tree: the garage, house and school.

Recently Fisher Price Little People celebrated its 50th birthday. These little toys have brought so many fun moments when imaginations took over throughout the years.

Little People were originally made of wood. Later, plastic was used to mold the characters.

Concern in the 1980s that Little People could present a choking hazard prompted Fisher Price to introduce a “chunky” version in 1990.

In the mid-1990s Little People underwent another transformation that gave them a more molded, realistic look beyond the cylindrical bodies of the past.

The sets I got in 1972 had plastic people resembling the old style.

I loved that the garage had an elevator that would lift the cars up to the top of the tower, making the bell on the side ding when you reached the top. I enjoyed watching the cars race down the ramp when the elevator stop sign lifted.

It was fun to make the cars park in the various spaces and let the people go up and down in their own elevator on the side of the tower.

The schoolhouse was appropriate as I would be entering first grade later the next year. Pull-out trays held magnetic, colorful letters and chalk that could be used on the roof of the school.

I loved putting the Little People kids on the merry-go-round and the swings and allowing them to go down the sliding board. The decorative paper that lined the walls inside the school set the scene of a bright and lively classroom.

The house was my favorite Little People set. It came with a mom and dad, a brother and sister and a dog.

There were two bedrooms upstairs, one for the parents, the other for the kids. Downstairs, there was a kitchen and a living room as well as a small garage to hold the family’s car.

I always was a bit sad that the Little People family was just a family of four since my own real-life family was a family of five, with me being the baby. Sadly, I felt my spot in the family was not properly represented in the Little People household.

My mother would sometimes allow me to set up my toys in the living room for several days in a row. I would come and go from playing, with the toys ready for me at any given moment.

Time moved on and my interest in playing with Little People diminished. My play sets were packed into the attic, untouched for many years, important pieces of my childhood saved for another day.

Right before my daughter, Hannah, turned 2, I pulled out my Little People house to introduce her to my first doll house. She loved arranging the furniture and holding the people.

Eventually my son, Christopher, joined in the fun. They had various adventures born from their great imaginations. Often I would peek in at their play to see long lines of Little People standing in a row waiting their turn for something or sitting in their cars as if in a traffic jam.

They would carry on animated conversations between the Little People characters in voices that mocked children and adults they had overheard.

I added to our Little People collection as I saw various “old-style” play sets, people, accessories and vehicles at thrift stores, yard sales and consignment shops. Most of the pieces of Little People we discovered were no longer made by Fisher Price.

Each piece became yet another treasured part of their play, instantly giving them ideas for new situations to play out in their Little People town.

Eventually my kids grew older, and the play sets were packed away in cardboard boxes kept in our storage room.
Happy birthday, Fisher Price Little People! We remember you well with a nostalgic fondness.

Linda Vestal is a wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend living in Gibsonville. Contact her with comments or story ideas at lindavestal@triad.rr.com.