If you’re not as old as me (I was born in 1974), you may not be familiar with Precious Moments. They’re not dolls nor are they action figures – as a young boy, one finds that out really quick. They are what your mom would call “pretties,” which translates to “Don’t you dare touch them because you’ll break them, you barbarian!” And, to every mom’s credit, they’re right.
As a kid, I didn’t understand why anyone would have figurines that might break if you made them fight each other in a Wrestlemania match. I mean, that’s what one does with action figures – WWF or otherwise. In fact, it was always best to pit an actual WWF guy against someone from another toy universe (e.g., Star Wars, G.I. Joe, He-Man, etc.).
Such mash-up bash-ups were legendary! And, if I’m honest, necessary since I usually only had one figure from each universe and it was the one that my dear Mom (God rest her soul) was able to afford – meaning we got it from the bargain bin at Thrifty. Needless to say, I never had the official wrestling rink, but who did? Toys like that were for Richie Rich or that “Silver Spoons” kid.
Remember how you could twist G.I. Joe action figures at the waist, tightening the rubber band inside, then upon release their upper body would spin in a deathly double roundhouse punch? That’s what one does with such toys. Precious Moments do none of that and, if attempted, it is frowned upon.
As far as I can tell, they still sell Precious Moments. That said, I haven’t seen one in anyone’s house… not that I go into peoples’ houses. That kinda stopped with COVID. Plus, the only reason I was ever in a house that had Precious Moments was because my dear Mom took me with her as a kid. Those precious moments are long gone.
Jason Salas 