Memory Lane: Glo Friends (and a Giveaway, too!)

I'm back!  Hope you guys had a great week!  I spent most of it fighting a cold and then passed my germs on to Hubby. :}  So far, no kiddos are sick.  Hopefully we'll keep it that way. ;)

It's been a while since I've done a "Memory Lane" post.  I thought it might be fun to take a look at another line from the 80s, the "Glo Friends".  

The Glo Friends were a line of glow-in-the-dark bugs and insects of various kinds that were released by Hasbro and Playskool.  There were miniature plastic Glo Friends as well as stuffed Glo Friends, accessories, books, and more.  There was even a Glo Friends TV show!  In fact, when I was looking these up, I recognized the theme song from the show from somewhere deep in my memory. ;)  

Ghost of the Doll has a wonderful page about Glo Friends on their website HERE, where you can learn more about the line and everything that was released. :)

The Glo Friends I remember the most were the ones in the Wendy's Kids Meals, released in 1988.  So naturally, I was thrilled when I found several baggies of unopened Wendy's toys at Goodwill last week, which included Glo Friends.    

Here they are!  The pink bug in the front was one I'd already found individually at a thrift store trip earlier this year.  All the others were at Goodwill.  The purple bug in the front was also in plastic, but I was impatient and opened him before taking this photo. ;)

Here's a closer look at one of the Glo Friends in the plastic package.

These ones were finger puppets, and there were twelve to collect.

Dated 1988 

The outside of the pamphlet that came with each fast food toy.

Can I just take a moment to say that I really miss the fast food toys of the 80s?  I mean, look at this amazingly detailed pamphlet!  I also love the fact that the toys themselves are of a quality that could be sold in stores.  Wendy's toys today are usually cheap plastic or paper/cardstock stuff.  McDonald's is slightly better quality-wise (especially with their TY lines and their mini Madame Alexander dolls and things like that).  I sure miss the Disney toys they used to have, though.  McDonald's just isn't the same without the toys from the latest Disney movie.  Can you imagine how fun it would have been to have Frozen toys or Tangled toys to collect?  

Okay, sorry...done getting distracted (for now at least).  Here is the little section of the pamphlet with instructions on how to make the Glo Friends glow.  These things really work well, by the way!  It doesn't take very long at all to charge them up.

Here are the pamphlet pictures of each of the Glo Friends:

Glo Butterfly

Glo Snugbug

Glo Snail

Glo Bopbug

Glo Cricket

Glo Grannybug

Glo Doodlebug (this is the only one we're missing)

Glo Bookbug

Glo Clutterbug

Glo Skunkbug

Glo Bashfulbug

Glo Bug (they must have gotten tired coming up with clever names by this point) ;) 

The backside of the pamphlet advertises the stuffed Gloworm from Playskool.  Anyone remember these?  I remember one of my Baby My Little Ponies came with a mini plastic Gloworm (he didn't glow in the dark).  You can see a picture of it on the Ghost of the Doll website link I shared above. :)

The pamphlet also includes an offer for a glow-in-the-dark Glo Friends poster.  I wonder if I could get one if I sent this in? ;)

Here's the whole group from my Goodwill run (with the addition of Bashfulbug, who was already in my collection).

Another look at the group...except for Skunkbug and Bookbug, who are hiding. ;)

While I'm thrilled to have almost all of the Wendy's Glo Friends, Bashfulbug is my very favorite.  I remember her from when I was little.  I never had her, but I remember her being my favorite then, too.  She's got a sweet little face and fun pink coloring.

Bashfulbug from the back.  As you can see, the white things she's holding in front are actually her wings.

Each Glo Friend has a hole in the bottom since they are finger puppets.  I'm not sure if the regular Glo Friends had this as well, or if just the Wendy's line were finger puppets.

As you can see from the picture, they are marked "Made in China [copyright mark] 1986 Playskool, Inc."  This makes me think that perhaps the store line of Glo Friends have the same hole, since the the Wendy's ones weren't released until 1988 but are marked 1986.

The hole is very roomy in the bottom.  I was able to get my pointer finger inside quite easily.

Here's Glo Butterfly, another childhood favorite.  I like Bashfulbug's facial expression a little better, but this one is still fun.

She's holding a star wand.

In the back she has big, pink wings with blue and white accents.

Glo Cricket was one I actually had as a kid.  I bought him at the AWANA store with my AWANA bucks. :)  I love his little accordion.  

Glo Cricket from the back.

Glo Skunkbug is another of my favorites.  I love the way he's holding his nose.  It must be tough to be so stinky you can't even stand your own odor. ;)

Glo Skunkbug from the back.

Glo Snail is a Glo Friend I remember seeing a lot.  I think a lot of my friends had him.

I like his swirly, purple shell design.

Glo Snugbug reminds me a lot of the Gloworm stuffed toy...with a few added arms and legs. ;)

Glo Snugbug from the back.

Glo Bookbug is another cutie, especially with his little book and pencil.  He looks ready to study or write a story. 

Glo Bookbug has kind of a beetle-like appearance from the back.

Here's a very appropriate bug for our house: Glo Clutterbug. ;)  He's actually another one I'd found earlier, so we have two in the house now (one for me and one for the girls).  Appropriately, it took us a while to find the first Clutterbug.  He was hiding in the girls' cluttered rooms. ;)

Clutterbug has white wings similar to Bashfulbug's.

Glo Bopbug appears to be a spider of some kind.

You can see his extra legs in the back.  In our house, the girls have decided he is the Grandpa bug. 

Here is Glo Grannybug (yes, she is married to Glo Bopbug in our house's headcanon).  After I'd gotten the first group of Glo Friends, my mom went back that same day to Goodwill to see if she could find Glo Grannybug, since she was one of the few I was missing.  She was able to find her in another baggie!  (Thanks, Mom!)

Glo Grannybug has a ladybug-like appearance from the back.

Here is Glo Bug.  After my mom found my Glo Grannybug, I was two bugs away from having all twelve in the series.  We knew that Glo Doodlebug was not there, but I thought I'd remembered seeing Glo Bug in one of the Goodwill bags.  I went back the next morning, and sure enough, there he was! :)  I really like his striped top.

Glo Bug from the back with his blue wings.  He almost reminds me of a bee.

I haven't found a good way to photograph glow-in-the-dark items in total darkness (any suggestions, fellow photographers?).  Just to give you an idea, though, this picture was taken in our partially darkened hallway after I'd held Glo Butterfly up to the light for less than a minute.  I'm sure if these were left under a bright light all day, they'd keep their glow for a long time.  

I let each of the girls choose two Glo Friends to keep, and the rest I put on my 80s and 90s toy shelves.  The girls enjoy having them as little night lights at night.  They glow really well at bedtime, but the glow fades by the middle of the night...which is probably a good thing.  (Be honest, how many of you as kids woke up and startled yourself with the random glow-in-the-dark thing you left in your bed?)

I'm not going to do as detailed of a rating for this post, but we give these little guys 5 out of 5 stars for fun and just plain cuteness. :)

Do any of you remember the Glo Friends?

I ended up with two duplicate Glo Friends (Glo Snugbug and Glo Snail), and I thought it would be fun to do a giveaway for anyone else feeling nostalgic after this post. ;)

Since this is a small giveaway, I'd like to keep it simple.  Here are the rules:

1. This giveaway is open to anyone, in or out of the USA. :)

2.  Anyone under the age of 18 needs permission to enter from a parent or guardian.  

3.  To enter, leave your name or username and your email address in the comments below.  Comments will NOT be published.  No one will see your personal information but me.  Only one entry per person, please.

4.  The giveaway is open to entries until Thursday, October 30th.  On Friday, October 31st, I will put the names of the entrants in a bowl and draw one name.  The winner will receive both Glo Friends.  I will email the winner, and he/she will have one week to get back to me with a mailing address.  If I haven't heard from the winner by Friday, November 7th, I will choose a new winner.

Have a great weekend, everyone! :)