1. The Barbie Car!
More specifically, the pink, convertible Barbie Corvette! I loved this thing! Now, the picture above is the best one I could find because mine was from around 1990 so just take my word, it was awesome! Yes, I liked Barbies and I was proud to ride in that Corvette. I had a phone which I called Grandma with, the hood popped up so I could check my engine and it drove in reverse...What a life, what a life! I drove this car until I was much too big to shove my little legs in it and I was sad to see it go. It was my first taste of driving and I was horrible at it, ask my dad who has me on film running into him then driving away cackling. This was an awesome present! These days I would never drive a pink car but back then, I WAS AWESOME!
2. Nitendo!
My sister's Nitendo looked like this. I have never seen a kid freak out like she did. She tore the paper, screamed and flung around like a moron (I mean this in the most loving way). We played that Nitendo constantly! Who could forget the wonderment that was Paperboy!? Yes, children, we pretended to be paperboys and threw the papers but no we didn't have motion sensors to do it...I know, we were deprived. I miss the old school Nitendo. I loved the Super Mario Bros and Duck Hunt. Those were the good old days!
When I was 12, I got the Nitendo 64 and I think I was nearly as bad as Kristin was when she opened her Nitendo, but much less spastic and completely cool. ;) My dad and I spent MONTHS trying to conquer Mario 64. This was the new thing back then, man I feel old! Making me feel even older is remembering the Sega and Gameboy we had to take along with us. Remember those things? They were so thick you could use them to prevent a mugging! One hit from them and bam, you are safe!
3. The Sit N' Spin
Ah, the Sit 'N Spin! Remember that thing? I think they are selling them again but I will always remember them as being from "my time." I'd wrap my chubby little legs around that sucker and spin as fast as my little arms could take me (YES KIDS, I spun myself!) Those things were great. I'd spin until I felt nauseous...then I'd do it again. Good times, good times!
4. The Easy Bake Oven!
Now, I can't remember if this was my sister's toy or mine but I loved it! I could bake my own little morsels of goodness and decorate them and eat them, all without my mommy's help! I felt like a big kid when I pulled out the little chocolate cakes that I made myself, from a nice packet of powder and water. Thinking back, those cakes had to be horrible for me but so delicious! I was my own baker, bow down to the amazingness of my scrumptious cookies! If only baking was so quick and easy these days...sigh, I miss that little oven.
5. Super Soaker!
Who can forget the Super Soaker? I remember saving my money to get the biggest Super Soaker I could, just so I could spray and torture people...I mean, have fun with them. These were the ultimate water fighting weapons. You'd pump the gun until it couldn't possibly be pumped anymore due to the pressure then spray! Pumping this much made it shoot far and hopefully soak your victim. What a wonderful invention!
6. Troll Dolls!
Ah, Troll Dolls. They were plastic little naked creatures with wild hair and bejeweled tummies...and we wonder why my generation went on to dye their hair wacky colors and pierce their belly buttons (and other things)? Just kidding. These things were a craze! I had the little ones, like above, and a giant one that I could dress and brush his hair. I honestly don't know why these things were so popular now that I look back but they were still one of my favorite toys.
7. The Furby
This toy is one reason this list is titled "Top Toys from my Childhood" and not, "Still My Favorite Toys from my Childhood." I was so excited when these came out. They talked to you, blinked and their mouths moved so you could "feed" them. They were awesome...until they started talking to you randomly at night when you were trying to sleep! I don't care if Furby is hungry, Jilly is sleeping! They also had their own weird language so we have no idea if they were being nice or if they fuzzy little demon was plotting to conquer the world. It was really cute, at first. I think my dad was happy when I stopped playing with it and realized it was not the most amazing toy ever. Still, my parents waited in line for that little creature and I loved him for a long time. It's not their fault that he was semi-satanic when the batteries ran low.
8. Puppy Surprise
The surprise was that your stuffed puppy gave birth on your table. Put that image aside and we will now go to the awesomeness: You not only got the stuffed dog but you got her puppies! I was so excited when I first saw this commercial. The dog would give birth to a random number of puppies, somewhere between 3 and 6 I believe, but you wouldn't know until you opened her up and pulled them out. Yeah, wash that weird image from your head and imagine you are a seven year old girl who wants a puppy very badly and it makes it all better. I named my dog and all my puppies and happily played with them. However, it's not really a shocker that I haven't seen a birthing dog on the shelf since then.
9. Beanie Babies
Who could forget the craze that was the Beanie Babies? Those small little stuffed friends made people go nuts. I knew people with hundreds of them. They were cute, they were small and they could go anywhere with you! They also came in all your favorite animals and colors and had names and little fun descriptions about them. My first one was a white seal, Slippery I think was his name, and he started the love for me. I had a bunch of these little guys, though not hundreds, and they lined the shelves of my bookcases for years.
10. Skip-it
The Skip-it! You put the plastic ring around your ankle and swung it around and jumped over it while it counted your jumps. What fun! You didn't even care when the miraculously heavy hunk of plastic on the end hit you in the ankle or the shin...let me tell you, that thing was built to last and it left bruises to prove it! Still, my sisters and I would spend hours taking turns on that thing to see who could get the highest count. It was a toy that kept you active without shoving us in front of a television, what a miracle.
So, while I was writing this, I realized I have way too many favorite toys. I included a few up top that I loved when I was younger though they soon revealed themselves to be ridiculous. Due to my need to comment on their absurdity, I had to leave out a few so here are some pictures of the honorable mentions!
For Sarah: Rainbow Brite and Friends! (I stole these a lot)
Tamagotchi- Another way to have a digital pet! Mine died a lot...
For Bill: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! I never had any of these but my friend's brother did and we stole them all the time. The turtles were awesome!
The Pogo Hopper! Both of my sister's had these. I loved it, though I had no balance.
And Muppet Baby toys! I had some from Kid's Meals and some that you bought in the store. I loved these things! They went along with one of my favorite shows. Good times!
Thus ends my list of fun toys. You may not recognize them all and you may not agree that they all needed mentioning...that is why this is my list. :) I know I forgot a bunch of them so I will ask this: What was your favorite toy, or what toy do you remember because it was absurd? Please comment below. I look forward to hearing from you!
I loved the skip it! I played with mine til it broke. I had an Easy Bake Oven, too, though I didn't cook with it. I used to to create horrible mutants with my brother's army guys. My daughter got a sit n spin for her birthday a couple months ago. She loves it!
ReplyDeleteOh! I bought myself the dragon Beanie Baby for my graduation present. I still love that thing!
I really love your all posted toys, specially Tamagotchi. I love this virtual toy and just collect my new Tamagotchi at PIJ. Its really cool.
ReplyDeletehttp://bit.ly/tamagotchii
We had a huge crate of Happy Meal Toys when I was a kid including those Muppet Baby toys. I think we had about 3 of the Fonzy, Kermit and Animal were really hard to come by. My brother had so many Ninja Turtle toys, he had a special case to carry them all in. His toys were way more fun to play with, I ditched barbies and baby dolls for Micro Machines, Legos, Ninja Turtles, and Nintendo every time.
ReplyDelete