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I had an Easy Bake Oven when I 6 or 7. I can't remember the color but I sure had fun with it, LOL. I would use the Jiffy cake mixes and make a bunch of cakes, to give to the neighbors, guess I thought I hot shit back then, LOL.
 
I seem to recall having heard that a redesign was necessary, since the Easy Bake has used an incandescent light bulb as a heating element.

There is a cookbook that honors the Easy Bake:

 
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Saw a blue-grey one at a yard sale last weekend-passed it over-was among the baby toys and clothes.Was a multifamily yard sale.The thing was all plastic-don't know if it used the light bulb.Didn't look.no recipe book or other parts with it.It did have some sort of digital clock or timer in it.The clock wasn't working.
 
My sister never had one, never wanted one. The neighbors' daughter had one. Turquoise. She baked using the including mix packets. When those were gone, it more or less fell into disuse. I don't know if the mixes were hard to find (at toy stores). The family was well to do, so money was not an issue. Perhaps they included recipes for when the included mixes ran out, and maybe at age five or so she was just not old enough to be able to follow them. They had a live-in housekeeper (ok, "help") who was a wonderful cook and who I think would have helped her mix stuff from scratch, had the oven included a recipe book.

So based on what happened, i think maybe there wasn't a cookbook included and the mixes were hard to find once she used up what was included in the box. She was age five max when she got the oven for Christmas.

Anyone else have experience (or know of someone who did) after the included mixes ran out?? Were replacement mixes sold in toy stores. One other thing to remember, this was early to mid 60s. Toys R Us existed, but it wasn't nationwide (began in metro DC) and it wasn't in San Diego where we lived. Toys tended to come from drug stores (e.g. Sav-On, later acquired from CVS) or five and dimes. We did not yet have K-Mart or other big box discounters, but we did have a homegrown discounter called FedMart (founded by the same family who later founded Price Club in San Diego, which merged with similar rival Costco of Washington to become the Costco we all know now---however Price Club was founded earlier than Costco, so it can claim to be the "first" Costco). I remember buying toys at FedMart and later at White Front (Western USA discounter), but we didn't have Toys R Us in San Diego during my childhood.
 
yes

yes the mixes were sold in packs. My cousin had EBO..turquise/light bulb, I wanted one but since I was a boy and it was the early 60's; well you know the rest of the story. So my cousine and I would "bake" in hers. My mom would take us to the local version of Wal-Wart of that time; I want to say it was Ben Franklin. I saw the mixes recently in the toy deparment at wal-mart. I was shopping for some silly toy itmes for a workshop. I remember I saw brownie mix.
 
Easy Bake Oven Mixes

One of my cousins had an Easy Bake Oven, around 1967. The mixes were simple to use, along with the oven itself, but this was something that could get expensive if the toy was used a lot. My aunt addressed this by letting my cousin and her sister experiment with batters made from the cheaper cake mixes sold in the supermarket. It was usually hit or miss, though.

Depending on the care and attention of the baker, the potential for burning the finished product was quite high. This was very easy to do when cooking under a light bulb. It was also understood that cooking anything from scratch was not something that would be considered when using this toy. My cousin said that the EBO was used only when permission was given, once or twice every few months.

In all honesty, I saw more cookies (biscuits) and crackers instead of the cakes pictured in the EBO advertisements, nothing that frosting could not help. The EBO mixes usually gave the better results for baked goods.

In the Los Angeles area, at that time, major department stores with large toy departments, such as Sears and the May Company, were usually the easiest places to get replacement toy supplies at prices that most parents would reasonably be willing to pay. There were other places like the five and dimes, as well as the discount stores and drug store chains, as PassatDoc noted, where the EBO mixes were also available. However, there were not that many shopping centers or malls that were conveniently close by to where many people lived in the mid 1960s, to the extent that we are familiar with today.
 
@spiralator: I remember May Co having a toy department, I guess it carried Milton Bradley and Marx products, etc, but it's been so long I don't remember (years of shopping at May after they ditched the toys has erased my memory of what they had in the early 1960s). If say I was invited to someone's birthday party and we needed to buy a gift to bring, it was often a board game or other toy purchased from Sav-On drugs (now CVS), which used to have a huge toy section. In the early 60s, $4-5 would buy a nice gift, as that was what most board games sold for back then. I remember being able to find "goop" refills for Mattel Creepy Crawlers there, as well as Testor paint for model cars and planes, etc.

 

(Note: what I particularly remember May Co having in the early 1960s were Boy Scout and Girl Scout stores within the main store. They sold uniforms, books, badge project supplies, etc.  Mom would drop me off so I could browse the BSA store and she could shop in peace. As I was an active Cub Scout at the time, I thought it was "bitchen").

EBO refill mixes were probably somewhat more exotic and not so easy to find. Maybe there was a mail order option that most parents didn't explore. Or maybe if parents knew that recipes from scratch didn't work in EBO and that they'd be on the hook for buying refill mixes, they wouldn't have purchased the EBO in the first place. With Creepy Crawlers, parents knew you had to buy Goop refills and that you couldn't possibly concoct refills at home, so at least they knew what they were getting into. With EBO, however, I wonder if people thought maybe they could do recipes from scratch after the mixes ran out.

I remember my friend's sister got her EBO age five or so. She couldn't yet read, so I remember her roping her brother or me to <span style="text-decoration: underline;">read </span>the instructions to her. I'd tell her how much water to add, when to stir, when to put it in the oven, etc. I couldn't cook or bake worth beans, but at least I could read her the directions. In retrospect, it might have been a more appropriate gift for a seven year old who could read.
 
more about birthday parties in the Baby Boom era

Speaking of birthday party gifts....maybe it was just my parents, but I don't remember giving or receiving many gifts that were tailored to my interests, in spite of the fact that I knew the people involved (either the birthday boy, or the guests at my party) and their interests pretty well. In other words, when we'd go to Sav-On Drugs to buy a gift, I don't remember my mother or father ever asking, "what does so-and-so like to do, what are his hobbies?". It was more like, we'd choose a gift that WE thought looked interesting and that was it.

 

About the only exception to this was, if the birthday boy liked building models (planes, cars, etc.), we'd buy a plane or ship or truck model. Otherwise, nothing about the person's interests was ever taken into account, even though I knew a lot about my birthday party hosts. I'm not saying that a six year old boy would normally think, "ok, I know so and so likes to do ______, so let's get him a toy along those lines" but I'm wondering why my parents---who were and are very nice people---didn't ask me such questions when selecting a gift. I might not have been able to give input for everyone to whose birthdays I was invited, but I probably could have given useful input for maybe half of them.

 

Birthday parties for Baby Boomers were a big deal, as they are now (but they weren't a big deal pre-Boom). Moms would select a theme, the garage would be cleaned out and picnic tables set up, the decor would reflect the theme, as would the cake. Some of the higher end parties included an activity: miniature golf, ice skating, a hockey game, etc. I remember one rather complex party when I turned seven: the day camp I attended in summer, which was at the time out in the boonies (horses, open fields) was available for birthday parties for families of campers (not to the general public though). My father drove ahead with the food and cake to the ranch, while the kids met at our house, then mom and one of the other mothers drove everyone to the train station and we rode the Santa Fe one stop north to Del Mar, CA. A 25 minute train ride, but for most their very first train ride, and we were all enthralled. Dad met us at the station, having off loaded the station wagon at the ranch, and after a day of softball, hamburgers, and horses, we drove home in the station wagon (food and cake having been devoured, decorations and utensils having been tossed, there was now room in the station wagon for kids.....this was a small party, maybe eight kids at most). I remember my sister's party and we went to see "Mary Poppins" two days after its San Diego release.

 

Looking back as an adult, I now realize that some of my friends never had birthday parties, at least not ones where friends were invited (maybe they did something just as a family). My school was a mix of upper middle class and middle class families, so disposable income must have varied. Some families clearly could not afford to take 10 kids ice skating with a birthday lunch at the rink. Others maybe refused to keep up with the Joneses, Others maybe "couldn't keep up" due to mental issues. My best friend never had a birthday party that I recall, his family was middle class (not wealthy, but a simple party at home would have been within their means), but I now know the mom was bipolar and she committed suicide when we were in high school (covered up for twenty years, I only learned it was a suicide when I was 40). She had four kids and probably it was a struggle just to keep the family going, so birthday parties were not even in the picture. My parents on the other hand had good organizational skills and enough income to conform to the suburban model of Baby Boom parenting.

 

The most unusual birthday I remember: my friend was allowed to invite only two guests, then we drove with the parents and sibs to Tijuana, had dinner at the then-elegant Hotel Cesar (home of the Cesar salad), and then went to the Jai Alai matches. Because Cesar was pretty ritzy, we had to wear ties and jackets. In those days, you could cross the Mexican border without formalities. Today, parents would need a notarized letter from the parents saying it was ok to cross the border, and the guest children would need passports or passport cards!!
 
Birthday parties & birthday party gifts

I had birthday parties when I was in early-mid elementary school. My best recollection of the gifts I got were that they were probably relatively cheap, and probably ones bought with the idea of being of general interest to a kid my age, and not me specifically.

I don't really remember what happened with other kids's parties. I'm sure any gift buying was something that my mother got stuck with. She probably also chose something of general interest and reasonable price.

One problem is simply that a kid may not have a good idea of what the birthday boy/girl likes. And, of course, even if the kid knows an area of interest, it may not be easy buying something to match that interest. My primary friend 2 & 3 grades had specific interests--but they were so specialized that an outsider would find shopping hard, if not impossible.

I can't remember attending very many birthday parties. I have a feeling that many families didn't do birthday parties--at least very big parties. I don't recall my 2/3 grade friend ever having any party, for example.

The one problem with those parties--or so my mother swore--wasn't the gifts. It was how fast it seemed like relationships changed. One day X might be a friend, the next an enemy. I don't know if this is normal for the age group, or something unique to group of kids who attended my elementary school. In any case, my mother said that if one had birthday parties, one should invite well in advance, so that friends could become enemies and back to friends again.
 
"The most unusual birthday I remember: my friend was allowed to invite only two guests, then we drove with the parents and sibs to Tijuana, had dinner at the then-elegant Hotel Cesar (home of the Cesar salad), and then went to the Jai Alai matches."

That beats watery punch in a dank basement rec. room and a round of Pin the Tail on the Donkey!

The parties that I recall were nothing very special--held in the birthday kid's house. Only exception (and a party I didn't attend) was one kid who had his at a swimming pool. I cannot say for sure, but I have to think that a group of 10-20 nine year olds might well have caused the poor lifeguards to go crazy that day.
 
Another memory of birthday parties hits me. This may or may not be unique to my circumstances (time, place, etc), or more universal. But, so far as I can recall, birthday parties were single sex. Boys did not invite girls, and--I assume--vice versa. The only sign of female life at my birthday parties was my mother--who quite likely would have liked being elsewhere; other mothers (who made a bolt for liberty ASAP); and the cat, assuming she was stupid enough to make an appearance.

Only possible exception to this rule would have been in the case of a sister or something like that.

I suppose mixed parties become common later on--certainly by junior or senior high. But by that point, birthday parties seemed to be rare. I don't recall ever attending one.
 
Some of the parties were quite simple: in California, with no basements, often the garage was the venue. Cake, ice cream, open the presents, game like blind man's bluff or pin the tail on the donkey, and in 90-120 minutes it was over. I remember appreciating these parties as much as the elaborate or fancy ones, I think because it still seemed like the mom had gone through a lot of trouble to organize and run it, even if on a limited budget.

I know I had a party in fifth grade: bbq at home, then a hockey game (San Diego Gulls minor league). Not sure about sixth, but I do seem to remember my mom driving us somewhere to a venue (bowling?) and one kid---who was not particularly popular but my mom insisted he be invited---got his hand caught in the power window of my mom's wagon's tailgate. Some of the kids laughed and I sort of silently gestured to them to shut the f-ck up, it wasn't funny. It was definitely sixth grade where he was having issues making friends, so I think that may have been my last birthday party until the last two years of high school. I remember a surprise party at a restaurant where maybe a dozen high school friends surprised me....my parents relied on a friend a year older (I was a junior, she was a senior) to come up with the guest list.

Re: making friends and enemies in grade school, well a lot hinged on who was in your classroom, since you did PE with them plus other activities. It was very easy to forget about formerly close friends with whom you no longer spent six hours per day. I was best buds with one kid in first and second. We were separated in third grade and tried to keep up the friendship. After that, we were always in the same class grades 4-6 because we were tracked into a special gifted program funded by the state of California.

Birthday party lists often meant invited a select group of kids from your class, plus a few other neighborhood playmates who weren't in your class. As mentioned above, my school ran a special "cluster class" in grades 4-6, including kids who tested "gifted" at the state definition level, plus high achieving kids who could keep up as well. Because the school district received extra "gifted education" money from the state, the core group of gifted students was kept together for three years. As a result, friendships tended to be cemented because you were sort of like a family, very little new blood from year to year. By sixth, I think nearly everyone I hung with came from my classroom, save for one kid with whom I'd preserved a friendship since Y Indian Guides in first grade.
 
Yes, long term the class one was in made a huge difference with who was and wasn't a friend. That was what essentially ended things with my 2 & 3 grade friend. We were in the same class 2 & 3 grades. In 4th, we ended up having different classes. We didn't even have the same recess period. Thus we drifted apart--although I think there were other issues causing strain by that point.

I saw the "different" class problem hit after 4th grade and after 6th grade. I suppose I see it in adult life too--a lot of relationships get changed by changing life circumstances.

However, the thing that drove my mother crazy was the day to day stuff. I suppose that was mostly caused by clashes over small issues--disagreement at recess or something that somehow became (for a 9 year old) A Huge Issue.

In my memory, the bulk of guests at birthday parties were from school, with a sprinkling of outsiders.

And yes, I think even simple parties can be quite good. Maybe kids don't appreciate this, but as I get older, I value thoughtfulness/care for others over throwing money at the problem. I also value creativity and doing something unique--which is what impressed me about the trip to Tijuana. Maybe that was common in southern CA once, but from my WA reference, it's something Different. (Indeed, the possibly comparable Seattle area trip to BC is something I've never heard anyone do for a birthday part.)
 
Growing up in San Diego, going to Tijuana (20 minutes south by freeway) was no big deal. However, this was fourth or fifth grade, I was asked to wear a tie, and the Cesar was an elegant hotel/restaurant. It still stands out, I suppose in part because it was one of the first times I remember being treated like an adult. Prior to this, I'd never been inside the Jai Alai fronton, nor had I ever set foot inside Hotel Cesar---I'd only seen it from the street.

Re: the "simple" party in the garage....these were common when one was a toddler, but by elementary school few people still did them, I think because it was hard to impress or hold the attention of kids in a garage. It was one of the few I attended that did not involve an activity or field trip, but I don't remember thinking "oh, this is boring" or "what a drag", because I could see how much thought the mom had put into it.

I think my sixth grade birthday (age 12) we went bowling, and that was my last birthday party until junior year of high school. I think girls were more likely to have parties, usually single gender (just the girls), while coed parties in high school did not become common until about age 16 or eleventh grade.
 
I guess that the closeness of San Diego and Tijuana makes going to Tijuana not that big a deal--particularly in an era of easier border crossings.

As I said before, the only comparable thing for me would be Canada, and I don't recall anyone ever doing just a day up there, birthday party or not. But then the drive was more than 20 miles--from Seattle (which is closer than I've ever lived to the border), it's about 2 hours one way drive.

Although I did know a guy when I was about 19 who was with a group of friends one night. (Probably partying.) They decided, "What the heck? Let's go to Canada!" They drove up, and, having no real reason/desire to do anything up there, almost immediately turned around. This was, of course, an era when gas was cheaper, and it was easier crossing the border.

I'm not sure when coed parties occurred in my world. Last birthday party I attended would have been before junior high. But, thinking back, I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't something that happened high school age. As I recall, there was a pretty big chasm between girls and boys in elementary school. Almost as if there were two different species of creatures sharing the classroom. This chasm slowly narrowed as time went by, but I have a sense of it being there until high school.
 
What is the purpose of this toy if you already have a kitchen? Are parents so unwilling to spend time with their own children that they can't invite their children into the kitchen to assist with meal preparation? You don't need a toy kitchen - use the real one! Give your kids the attention they deserve and teach them how to use REAL products, not fake plastic ones.
 

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