80s Saturday Morning

So this absolutely dorky brilliant idea struck me a couple weeks ago: why not "time travel" and have an "80s Saturday Morning," complete with authentic TV shows offered on Saturday mornings with toys and breakfast items available in the 80s?

Genius.

Via Youtube, I set up an 80s Saturday Morning playlist after consulting some TV schedules from the 80s. I jumbled the cartoon selection because I wanted to get the we're-flipping-through-the-channels feel. I also put 80s commercials between and throughout the shows.

Here's what our line-up looked like:

Flinstones (in syndication)
Heathcliff
Muppet Babies
Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo
Pee-Wee's Playhouse
Garfield and Friends
Small Wonder

as well as commercials like these.

the previous weekend we scoured flea markets and thrift shops for 80s toys and found a 1983 Rainbow Brite doll (that I used to actually have as a child!), Hot Wheels, a California Raisin toy and some other little toys. (We already owned the 80s Star Wars toys and Hungry, Hungry Hippo game, thankyouverymuch.)

We woke up suuuuper early, around 4:15am. I have no idea why.

    We munched on Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

We alternated between watching shows, playing with the toys in our pajamas, and eating Nerds and York Peppermint Patties (even though they debuted in the 70s, I fondly remember this commercial.)

I had forgotten JUST HOW LOUD Hungry Hungry Hippos can be, but we had a blast playing it. We also:

raced Hot Wheels,
sent the Hamburgular on many a zany spins, often crashing into our Star Wars audience attendees,
sent Hot Wheels flying over the ramp  the lip of the table,
per Aidyn's weird, I-think-he-might've-actually-time-travelled idea, cut out the cardboard game on the back of the cereal box (who does  that anymore?),
talked philosophically about the condition of Vickie the robot from Small Wonder,
and wondered whether Skeletor and He-Man were secretly brothers.

After our cartoons ended, I played Little Shop of Horrors and was pleased at how much Aidyn enjoyed it.

I loved rewatching one of my favorite scenes.
Afterward, we cuddled up and watched He-Man and She-Ra, Secret of the Sword.

As you might probably remember, after the cartoons ended, television sucked. I helped in that department by putting on

,

only as an adult, I love the heck out of this movie. However, I'm sure I loved it as a child, too. Aidyn, on the other hand, had absolutely zero interest in it.

During the movie (and NOT AT MY SUGGESTION), he put on his Snake Eyes costume. I swear, it's like he knew.

It was the best Saturday morning I've had in quite a while. I'm surprised, and very pleased, that Aidyn played with just those toys and watched cartoons and enjoyed the moment for the entire morning. No "Mama, this is old and boring" comments, no sneaking in his more gadgety toys, and no complaining about the cartoon selection.

Will this behavior continue when we do 70s Saturday morning and the toy pile shrinks a bit? Will it last as long as when we do 60s Saturday morning or ::shudder:: 50s Saturday morning when all he has to play with are some jacks, a hula hoop, and a stone tablet (kidding. Sorry, Mom).

We'll see.