Tis the season.
To all of my fellow Millennials who grew up in the 80s & 90s and to all of you who bought gifts for your children in the 80s and 90s…may this Christmas post warm your heart with nostalgia for those gotta-have gifts of the past. The Christmas lists of the 80s and 90s were epic-ly long and robust. Today, the gaming, solving, building, socializing and/or watching that all of the below toys satisfied…can now be experienced on either a smartphone or tablet. Amazing. If nothing else, we have technology to thank for less gift wrapping.
Still need gift ideas for your Millennial…try checking their Pinterest board.
Merry Christmas all!
TOP 80s TOYS
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
My personal favorite. Responsible for the over-use of "cowabunga" and pizza cravings country-wide.
Rubiks Cube
This 3D twisty puzzle was the source of numerous dents in the wall.
Pound Puppies
Guilty. I had some of these plush stuffed dog dolls with floppy ears and droopy eyes.
Glo Worms
….just plain creepy.
Nintendo and Sega Game Systems
Blowing the dust out of game cartridges and wireline controllers are not missed.
Legos
Toughest part was finding pieces the dog had not chewed.
Transformers
More than meets the eye. Robots in disguise!
Cabbage Patch Kids
One of the most popular toy fads of the 1980s and one of the longest-running doll franchises in America!
Care Bears
Who could forget those belly badges that represented their duty and personalities.
Koosh Ball
Human version of a cat toy. Named after the sound it made hitting your sibling in the face.
GameBoy
8-bit handheld game device. These games were life changing:
Bo Jackson - Hit and Run / Super Mario Land / Tetris / Donkey Kong / Earthworm Jim / Castlevania / TMNT: Fall of the Foot Clan
Simon
If memory serves me…this was the electronic game of memory.
My Little Pony
Plastic ponies that I think my brother owned a few of ;)
Micro Machines
More than anything, these painfully found the bottom of your bare feet.
GI Joe - Real America Hero
With 500 figures, 250 vehicles and playlets, it's no wonder today why they are cashing in with the movies.
American Girl Dolls
Was this the start of our craving for customization with buying dolls that looked "Just Like You"?
Skip-It
Time magazine included it in their 100 greatest toys ever.
TOP 90s TOYS
SuperSoakers
Remember the annoying commercials with the drill sergeant.."Wetter is better!"?
Beanie Babies
Priceless then…can't get rid of now.
Furby
Who would have guessed an electronic hamster/owl-like robotic creature would be so popular.
Pogs
Why!? We all collected the pogs and slammers but did any of us actually play the game?
Giga Pets
Why have a live pet when you could have a digital one.
Talkboy
My personal favorite! First seen used by the mischievous Macaulay in the classic holiday movie Home Alone.
Talkback Dear Diary
"Girls only" response to the Talkboy. Groundbreaking that it had a "record & play-back" feature - oh how far we've come.
Sky Dancers
A pull-string base doll with foam wings.
Crossfire
Look hard enough and you can still find the steel pellets lodged in the crevasses of your house.
Pokeman Cards
So popular, they included 2 Pikachu balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and appeared on the cover of Time in 1999.
Sony AIBO robotic dogs
Again, why have a live one when the robotic ones won't leave their mark and understand both Spanish and English.
Power Rangers everything
Color costumed bad-acting heroes that you'd always get sucked into watching again and again.
Honorable Mention
Jonathan Taylor Thomas themed anything.
Inspector Gadget gadgets.
Nickelodeon Gak was best for getting under your fingernails and staining the coffee table.
Wearing Ghostbuster packs with a cold Ecto-Cooler flavor, Slimer themed Hi-C drink in hand.
Foursquare ball - remember when Foursquare was a physical activity?
The video game GoldenEye 007, day upon day of mad multiplayer game play!
All toys are in no specific order. All selected were based on my own personal memory and light research.
Question: What past Christmas gift makes you the most nostalgic?
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