The Strange Change Machine

The family I grew up in wasn't very affluent by any standard. My mom was, and still is, a great budgeter. I can remember the ritual each payday of going grocery shopping with my parents and getting to run the "clicker" to help keep track of how much we were spending. In those days you paid cash or you didn't buy it. Some weeks we'd even have enough left to buy chips or some other luxury item. As a matter of fact, we were pretty poor I guess. Though I never really knew it or felt that way. Sure I knew lots of other kids who had more toys or neater stuff than I did. But I was content and happy so it really didn't matter.



Christmas was always such a highly anticipated day. It was always the one time of the year when something amazing happened. Somehow I'd waken and find things under the tree I'd been wanting so badly but was almost to scared to hope for because I didn't want to be disappointed. One of the items that to this day is on the list of my best childhood gifts ever was the Strange Change Machine by Mattel.

It was so cool! You'd take these plastic squares and place them in the heated chamber. Like magic these squares would morph (no a word they used back in the 60's) into creatures. Once cooled the creatures were hard forms that you could play with on the plastic mountain-like surface that came with the set. Then at any time your could place the creatures back in the heating chamber. This would soften them up so you could put them in the compressing chamber, turn the crank and remold them into the square they started as, complete with the Mattel logo imprinted on it.

I have no idea how much this cost my parents. I don't even know if they realize what a treasure that gift seems to me even now, evoking all the warm memories. It makes me wonder what things will my children remember from a childhood Christmas. What's on your list of best Christmas gifts received as a kid?