One of the best secondhand things we ever bought for our daughters was a vintage brown Fisher-Price “suitcase style” record player. Here it is:

Santa brought it a few years ago and we have accumulated quite a few albums of various music and stories since then. Here is a small sample of our collection (the Mary Poppins record is one of my faves):

I still have a bunch of my old records. This is how I was able to introduce my kids to my own childhood favourites such as Purple People Eater and Hello Mudda Hello Fadda. (CLASSIC.) Used records can be picked up very inexpensively. One of their favourite albums is the Sound of Music soundtrack, but I’m partial to 1950s-style storytelling.

The girls have loved having record player, and even now, when I think they’ve just about outgrown it they surprise me and give it a spin. It’s perfect for impromptu dance parties. Sometimes they like to play it fast… so instead of Bing’s Christmas we get Chipmunks on Steroids.  (That’s when I go find the Tylenol and retire upstairs.)

There is a lot to be said for kids having control over their own music. I guess you could go the iPod/MP3 player route too, but it doesn’t have the same tactile charm that a record player does. Don’t you remember what it felt like to put the needle down in the right spot and wait for your song to come on? And then to flip it over when it was done? Lovely.

p.s. If you want a record player to call your very own, you might be interested to know that I just found the exact same one on Used Ottawa. (!)