The 2.99 Bag of Wonders

So here's one of the most exciting things about Goodwill: Once upon a time you had to rummage through a big bin of old Happy Meal toy refugees, and play-set cast-offs, and cereal premiums, and quarter machine detritus and pay up to .99 cents a piece for each item. No longer. Goodwill dispensed with the old rummage bins because there was a lot of crap that people just weren't buying. Like Country Bears toys, among other horrible items. So what was the solution? Grab bags! Clear plastic grab bags filled with random goodies that you might, or might not, want. The beauty of these bags is that they almost always have a couple of fun items in them, and they are usually priced anywhere from .99 cents to 2.99 for the whole bag. When I've picked out the other stuff I don't want, I just re-donate them... because who knows, maybe someone out there actually collects those Madame Alexander Happy Meal dolls. (If you do, it's okay... and I'll be sure to send them right back to Goodwill so you can find them, right after I cherry-pick all the Spider-Man and Star Wars figures)

So on a recent trip to the Belfast, ME Goodwill I found the following items in just such a grab bag. The price was 2.99 for the whole lot, and the bag looked like it had been put together for me specifically:

More details after the jump! 

So, this was actually a pretty awesome trip to the Belfast Goodwill, and there were a lot more items from that trip that I will share with you in the future... but for now I just want to focus on the specific splendor of this one bag of random items. I wasn't head-over-heels in love with any one item in the bag mind you, but as a whole, they make for a very well spent 2.99 in my opinion. 

First, we have a random trio of toys. A Clone Wars Amidala bobble-head from MsDonalds circa 2008. A Trashcan the Dog toy from the 2009 Astro Boy movie (he goes along nicely with my Astro Boy from the same line that I picked up here... but honestly, he's a robot dog, so in any case what's not to love?). And a Green Goblin  Happy Meal toy from 2009. Not as jazzed about Gobby and Amidala as I am the dog, tho. 

These super cute little guys I have seen before, and in fact, my son has some... but cars that have been athromorphosized into Sesame Street characters? Too cool. Will be keeping these for my shelf. There was a whole series of these produced, and with my love of all things Muppet/Sesame Street, I may have to try and track down the rest of the set. 

I genuinely enjoyed the very first Ice Age movie. It is a great movie. The sequels have been not so much great movies. But one thing that endures and entertains consistently throughout is Scrat. I love Scrat. I liked the addition of a female antagonist/protagonist in the third film and so thes two toys are pretty great. unfortunately, Scrat came without his Acorn, so his belly looks bare. But his lady friend still has his attention, and they make a lovely couple. 

Papo toys! These guys are great, and always cost an arm and a leg. These two also have the benefit of being extremely cool figures. The guy on the left is known as the Devil of Darkness, and the guy on the right is obviously a skeleton inspired by Ray Harryhausen. Now honestly, I already owned copies of both of these figures... but a duplicate skeleton is always welcome, and one can never own enough devil knights I suppose. 

In another weird example of synchronicity, here is a Sigma 6 Storm Shadow to go along with the Sky Bat I bought along with my Astro Boy figure back here. I will honestly say I do not care for this figure much at all. He looks awkward and blocky in all the ways that he shouldn't, and is a pale comparison to the other Sigma 6 figure I own. Also, his head is covered in crayon or candle wax or something... so it's magic eraser time for sure. (We'll be discussing the wonders of Magic Eraser usage in the future, you can be sure.) 

And believe it or not, the last figure from the bag is one of the ones I am most excited about, period. It makes me think of my daughter just to look at it. She has since outgrown the Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl... but seeing this figure brings back all my memories of how much she loved it when she was younger. I love that I have it to represent that memory on my shelf. Other than that, it is a HIDEOUS figure. I mean genuinely horrible. But I forgive it. Because... love.