• corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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    6 months ago

    I was a poor kid. The aunties and uncles would chip in to get us Lego cars and hands-in-pockets minifigs as kids. It had stickers for stuff like truck grilles before there was silk-screening.

    They’re still on the sticker pages, so many decades later, carefully stored so a small boy can look at them.

    It’s weird, of course, to someone who never experienced ‘eke’ level of working poverty, but it’s the situation. My nephew will pass these parts onto his kids who I hope will use them all in a week with wild abandon.

    • chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      I feel the same way about things. Growing up poor I didn’t really get much, so when I did I never used it for fear of losing it. My parents bought me a book of paper airplanes where you rip out the paper and follow the instructions to make a unique plane. I never used it. I still have the same problem with receiving food as a gift, I won’t eat it. I make enough now to be comfortable, but I have shoes that are worn through that I won’t throw away because I rarely got new shoes when I was a kid. I form crazy emotional attachments to gifts because they were so rare and typically meant someone I loved had to go without just to afford it.

    • f314@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      You still get sticker sheets in Lego sets! Only some pieces are screen printed, and usually only in more expensive sets (or on super common pieces).

      • lud@lemm.ee
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        6 months ago

        Yes, and stickers are universally hated when they are in some more expensive sets because they are a pain to apply neatly and they don’t last as long or look as good as printed parts.