You know, the kind that includes limited edition Happy Meal toys, AOL connection, and VHS tapes. Here we have the complete nostalgia starter pack for anyone who grew up in the late 80s and early 90s.
Beanie Babies
Ah, the loveable Beanie Babies. If you were born in the ‘90s this toy was a huge deal for a long period of time, starting from the ‘90s up to the late 2000s.
The fad has since died down though there are still hardcore vintage collectors out there that might even be willing to shell out some serious bucks for the right ones.
Sega Genesis Consoles
The Sega! This is where it all started. If you were into Mario and Sonic games back then, you’ll definitely remember this console.
If you happen to have one lying around in your home, you might end up with a few extra hundred smackaroos — or more. These might cover the cost of whatever the newest Xbox is these days.
Polly Pockets
This literally pocket-sized toy was all little 90s girls could ever want. Each of those Polly Pocket sets had different pieces that were incredibly compact on but also incredibly easy to lose.
This only meant you probably asked your parents for another one when that happened. Remember that? Those were good times. 90s kids, however, have their pockets now full of other things, such as keys, wallets, and coffee punch cards.
Super Soakers
This is absolutely nostalgic. Owning a water gun back in the day meant fun for every kid on the street.
It was a favorite pastime on hot summer days whether you were having a water war or just sneaking up on unsuspecting passersby. However, playing in the street is an art lost on most millennials. They'd prefer to stay home and order takeout. Honestly, they might be on to something.
Huge Boom Boxes
This piece of outdated technology is even older than CDs. Even if you're a bit older, you may have missed this fad, but boomboxes were the musical item of the decade during the eighties. While most people don't need an item like this, there was a time when these players took up every street corner and bedroom.
The current trend is tiny, yet loudspeakers you can discretely blast your music from. Now you can only find these huge boom boxes in the homes of vintage aficionados and old music videos.
Stupid Phones
Most people these days have a smartphone, which means the lightning-fast world of mobile phone technology has left your old flip phone in the dust.
The first Nokia you got in your teens is lightyears away from being all the rage it used to be. Apparently, they aren't totally worthless, though. You can still use them as burner phones if you're planning on running any business with the underworld. Either that or you can use it as a paperweight. Well, if you still use paper, that is.
Pokemon
OMG! Pokemon! Who could forget how addicting it was to collect these cards when we were younger? And not just the cards, watching the show too! At the time of its popularity, kids would go gaga over this anime.
The later phenomenon known as Pokemon Go gave millennials a few more moments of joy with the beloved childhood memory but now it mostly has a nostalgic value.
AOL Connections
"Come on, get off the phone, I need to use the internet!" Here is something we thought we'll never hear again. As millennials must recall, back when internet connection was making its way into private households, people had to choose between using the phone and using the internet.
Now thank god, not only do we have the privilege to do both simultaneously, but we usually have in our pocket a little device designed specifically to that end.
She-Ra, Princess of Power
She-Ra was He-Man’s twin sister and she was a badass, as anyone who watched cartoons in the 80s knows.
Well, there is the Netflix reboot, of course, but it pales in comparison to the originality of the 80s show. Today's kids will never know.
Care Bears
Care Bears were the ultimate collective bear during the 1980s. The cute bears were first brought into the market in 83' after their initial popularity surged on greeting cards and subsequent television shows.
As kids, millennials were either obsessed with the cartoon or obsessed with the actual care bear they hugged each night to chase the bad dreams away.
Postcards
Sending a message to a person has never been easier. Some millennials might remember their parents telling them stories of snail mail and telegrams. A lucky few may have even received an actual postcard from a distant relative.
Now, however, it's pretty safe to say that they haven't touched a stamp in years. Who needs one when you can text literally anyone from literally anywhere?
Music CDs
As streaming services become more and more popular and used, many bands are opting to forego physical technology to save money and time. Millennials can probably tell you all about their fancy CD collection from way back then, but will fail to remember the last time they held one of these in their hands.
With vinyl making a comeback, the CD might have gotten a boost. It's an ongoing battle, but the victory has yet to be announced.
PEZ Dispensers
A childhood favorite, aside from the Bubble Jug, Pop Rocks, and all other amazing candies, the Pez Dispenser was one candy dispenser that kids loved to collect once it ran empty.
Some of these hyped-up bobble sticks are so rare that they can sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars, which means that unless they trade in them, millennials haven't thought of these cases in years.
E.T.
Growing up in the '80s means you've heard the sentence"E.T. phone home" more times than you can count. You fantasized about going on an other-worldly adventure and meeting a friendly alien.
Much like other Hollywood hits, the merchandise wasn't too far behind, and it's possible you even had a life-sized E.T. toy! At 38 inches tall, it was the closest thing you had to a fantastic alien friend.
Floppy Disks
Technology grows by leaps and bounds, and something that used to be ubiquitous and common in the nineties, and even the early aughts, is now hopelessly outdated. So goes the sad song of the floppy disk, which in our current age might as well be used for something else – a single email holds far more information.
Unless you're an internet historian or want to teach your kids about the dark days of the early interweb, you probably have zero use for these.
Teddy Ruxpin
We remember this bear! This Teddy Ruxpin bear was very popular back in the day. It was a very creative way for kids to become more interested in books. Tell us, did it work for you?
Back then, if you had one of these, the loveable animatronic bear “read” kids' stories, thanks to the audio cassette player that was built into it, which made it totally entertaining. The bear also sported appropriate expressions on his face during the story, reacting to the plot along with the child, which made it even more interesting for kids.
Sky Dancers
Never has a fairy princess made little girls go oooh and aaah more uncontrollably. Sure, some of them were recalled for being dangerous, but that's what happens when a toy is designed to fly out of your hand like that.
This toy had all the drama and momentum a little 90s girl could ever need to fulfill her fairyland fantasies and some eye-poking sounds like a small price to pay.
Wun-Dar He-Man
Remember the He-Man character? A muscular and brawny action figure that was a giveaway and came with the purchase of Wonder Bread back in the ‘90s. We found this modernized version, but we are sure you recall.
He was also known as “Naked with a loincloth He-Man”. Yes, we know the name sounds too funny to be real, but that is what kids back then used to call him. Now you might call him "that semi-naked action figure I used to play with when I was little."
Jem and the Holograms
We haven’t seen this one in ages. Not the cartoon and not the doll, which was only owned by a lucky few.
Aside from Barbie, Jem and the Holograms dolls were pretty popular in the ‘80s. Girls loved this rock diva so much that they would go crazy just to have one in their hands.
Pagers
Pagers are one of those technologies that didn't have too long in the sun, but they were ubiquitous to all sorts of people. Millennials might remember them as a grown-up thing. Like briefcases and business suites.
But, once cell phone technology took off, beepers fell by the wayside for most. Getting a page has been replaced by texting, chat programs, and social media, and leaves pagers practically useless.
Radiators
After fireplaces, radiators became the common way to keep your home heated during the cooler months. Radiators are still around technically, but they've moved to HVAC vents that bring warm and cold air around much faster and cheaper.
Radiators did their best to disperse hot air but were frequently faulty, required constant expensive upkeep. So yeah, the radiators millennials might have at home today are nothing like the ones in their childhood homes.
Paper Maps
You probably have a few paper maps stashed in your glove compartment, but in the age of smartphones and wireless maps, they're getting less and less use as a cheerful electronic voice guides people to their destinations.
There's no need to toss them all into the trash – some maps, if kept well, framed and hung in the right way – they can make a great picture on the wall.
Garbage Pail Kids
Back in the ‘80s, Garbage Pail cards may not have been popular amongst parents, but we all loved them as kids. The average millennial has probably had a carefully curated collection that must be stuck somewhere along with other childhood items.
For a nice dose of nostalgia, try to locate them. Once you feel like you've had enough, try to have them evaluated. Some of them might actually be worth a few good bucks!
Jurassic Park Figures
No, we're not talking about the Jurassic World franchise from the late 2020s, we're talking about the original stuff. Let’s face it, no matter how scared you got watching "Jurassic Park", it still felt like the coolest thing to have an action figure of the T-Rex displayed in your room.
The 90s "Jurassic Park" toys ruled the market of the time, and any millennial would love to give their kid the modern equivalent of those cool toys.
Talkboys
Did you watch "Home Alone" as a kid? We have got to admit, those movies had some of the best gadgets, and having one available as a toy back then meant everything.
Well, here’s a fun fact, believe it or not, after the release of "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," Talkboy became popular. Sure, this thing was just a stylish version of a tape recorder, but if you had one, you were probably the most popular kid in class.
Answering Machines
It has been decades since anyone has left anyone a voicemail on an answering machine.
Sure, we all have voice messages in a different capacity, but having a completely different machine to connect to your landline (which is another thing going the way of the dodo)?! This seems like a foreign concept now.
Pound Puppies
The "Pound Puppies" were a popular favorite back in the day. They usually came in a variety of plush stuffed dog dolls with cute floppy ears and droopy eyes. When they were first made and finally released, kids started going crazy for them.
This toy was sold by Tonka in the 1980s, which later inspired a TV special, two animated TV shows, and a feature film so anyone growing up in that era knew them all too well.
Blockbuster
Movies are almost laughably easy to watch these days. Everything is so accessible now it's easy to forget the hassle you had to go through when renting out a tape from your neighborhood Blockbuster.
As much as we love our Netflix account, there was something about browsing through the shelves of Blockbuster on the weekends that made us get emotional.
Happy Meal
Yes, we finally have a happy meal toy on our list. This happy meal toy is where "The Smurfs" really became big.
So many years before "The Smurfs" (2011) was revealed to the world, these cute blue creatures were on a T.V show, coloring books, and happy meals.
American Girl Molly
Molly McIntire, of the 'American Girl' doll series, grew up during World War II and moved to America. This doll has such a life story it might as well be somebody's grandmother.
Molly dolls first found their way into American toy stores in 1986, and soon became a hit among the children of the time. Those children are now old enough to be parents themselves and probably haven't given much thought to their beloved Molly in the past decade or so.
Fax Machines
Fax machines had a brief, bright period that lasted something around a year where they were the favored way to communicate, but since then, phones, email, and text messages have launched past it. The internet practically killed it.
Some companies still use them for security reasons but it should be safe to assume that they haven't used one in a decade at least. And if they have, the use was accompanied by an exasperated, audible UGH.
Skip-It
The Skip It toy was a perfect combination of a game and an exercise plan when it was first made available in the 1980s. And when it was recreated in the 1990s, its numbers went through the roof!
Skip-It was also on Time magazine's list when they featured 100 of the Greatest Toys ever made. Nowadays, it's no more than a happy memory. Either that or a cool piece of a vintage toy collection.
Camera Film
Hipsters and people who just can't bear to part with their old film camera may still use this service, but otherwise getting your film development is a waste of time. Everybody has a camera in their pocket, and many have easy printers to use, which means mailing your film to a development facility only to wait patiently for an envelope of photos (which might not even look good) is a practice long gone.
Professionals might still develop their own film, but most cameras and printing equipment is good enough for anybody. Even a Polaroid prints its own pictures.
Furbies
While many parents found this toy unbelievably annoying, they weren't cheap back in the day. That didn't stop 90s kids from asking for them at the toy store (especially the walking, talking ones).
These furry guys didn't last too long inside their boxes if you got one as a kid. Tiger Electronics revamped the toy in 2012, but the new versions are not the ones that modern-day millennials have in mind when they reminisce over their childhood toys.
Pogs
It seems as if the last time we've heard the words 'pogs' and 'slammers' was at least two decades ago. And that's probably true as they were most popular in the '80s and early '90s.
Some of an average millennial's best childhood memories involve playing with those at school, trying to score as many holograms and slammers as they could.
Phonebooks -or- Yellow Pages
Hardly anyone does anything with a phonebook other than picking it up and dropping it straight into the trash. Once upon an age, teeny tiny millennials were taught that these huge books were where you can find the phone number for any friend, business, or look up other information.
Now, though, thanks to the smartphone, they might use it as a stepping stool, or to add a little bit of height to a seat.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
We dare you to look at the picture and not hum the song. We loved these green heroes so much they had us glued to the TV for way longer than our parents were comfortable with.
These four awesome turtles were popular collectors' items too, with their faces splayed over any kind of merchandise you could think of. If you talked your parents into it, you probably had some TMNT notebooks and a backpack to go with your action figures.
Calculators
From the abacus to the slide rule to the solar-powered calculator, people have been using math aids for millennia. Calculators used to be a mathematician's best friend, and if you took calculus in high school or college, you used a graphic calculator to get through tough problems.
But, with a smartphone in every pocket, millennials have long forgotten when was the last time they even held one of these.
Alarm Clocks
There's nothing wrong with liking an old analog alarm clock, but if you're using one to rise in the morning, you're probably not a millennial. In fact, odds are you're a parent to one.
Nowadays, all millennials have to do is ask their Siri or Alexa to wake them up at a certain time and let hi-tech do its thing.
Walkmans
Millennials can be spotted listening to their music using the holy trinity of smartphones, Spotify, and wireless headphones. When they were in elementary school, all the cool kids carried their music around in a walkman with cassette tapes.
Later, CDs were all the rage, followed by mp3 players. Thanks to Walkmen and other brands of portable players, eager listeners were soon able to hit the streets with their tunes.
Cable Boxes
During most millennials' formative years, it was much easier to keep up with TV trends thanks to cable services.
Nowadays, cables are obsolete thanks to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Television, and all of the other up-and-coming streaming services that almost every household subscribes to now.
The First Harry Potter
Sure, Harry Potter is timeless, but for millennials who were there when the whole thing started, it marks the beginning of an era!
Even millennials who aren't self-proclaimed Potterheads have given the first book a shot at some point. The franchise has since blossomed and it seems that nobody has given much thought to the book that started the whole thing all those years ago.
Dictionary Books
Once a piece of the home that any deep thinker or inquisitive child will reach for at a moment's notice, dictionaries have now joined the phone book as a large tome that sits in the corner and collects dust.
Some versions, bundled with a similar thesaurus, may hold sway above the other books on your shelf and look handsome, yet you probably aren't reaching for one of these if you don't know what a word means. With multiple definitions and uses one Google search away, if you're moving and don't want to haul another heavy book, this one is destined for the trash.
Radio Sets
Millennials can recall all too well what it was like to come home from school, turn on the radio, and have some tunes help them through their homework. These days, though, putting your favorite tunes in the background is much easier through a phone or computer than a portable radio.
While these symbols of a bygone era still have a few uses – such as relaxing in an area without cell access – we all now prefer to turn to Spotify, Pandora, Bandcamp, and lots of other options at our fingertips.
Tamagotchi
Millennials will probably remember the Tamagotchi as their first attempt at parenting. We fed it, looked after it, and were devastated when it sadly died. At least until we figured out we could resuscitate it with a pencil.
Either that or you may have found yourself getting bored with it after a few days of taking care of a small, annoying, electronic creature.
My Little Pony
My Little Pony is no exception when it comes to toys released in the 1980s. During its heyday, this doll sold numerous pieces and was the ultimate birthday present for every little girl out there.
Nowadays, the little colorful pony has been reinvented and remade by many more toy manufacturers all around the world and even got a Netflix reboot. FYI it doesn't compare to the original. Nothing ever will.
Vintage Atari Cartridges
Here’s another vintage item on our list that brings back a lot of memories. We all know that aside from the Sega console, there was Atari, and it was the love of our lives at some point during our childhood.
Now a rare collector's item, these cartridges will send most of us on a trip down memory lane. And on another trip to the nearest game console for a nice Fortnite session.
Game Boys
Ah, yes. The Game Boy. This little device marked the beginning of gaming culture. The Game Boy quickly became the must-have toy when it was released in 1989, and came bundled with Tetris.
And while the console has since been upgraded and re-released, there is nothing like the original gadget to spark some sense of nostalgia in every millennial out there.
VHS and VCR
Nothing brings the word “obsolete” to mind like a VCR. All millennials have fond memories of watching their favorite film over and over until the inside film turns to dust.
They might even have a discarded VHS tape in an attic somewhere but they probably can't even think of one person to borrow an actual VCR to play it on. These days they're relegated to the trash heap.
Vintage Strawberry Shortcake dolls
We loved Strawberry Shortcake and all her adorable friends. She was famous for creating that cute little song that became so viral before viral was even a thing, and up until now, people are still making it their ringtones.
As a kid back in the ‘80s or ‘90s, this doll was a collectible and we loved it so so much.