80s Toys You Can Still Get Today

Are you a child of the legendary decade known as the 1980s? Did you grow up without a cell phone in your pocket from sunrise to sunset? Were you forced to entertain yourself prior to the introduction of Netscape Navigator?

Pack your bags, because we’re about to go retro. Allow us to reminisce for a moment about the final decade of offline gaming. The following is a humble take on the top toys born in the 1980s that will bring back fond memories for late Gen Xers and early Years.

Glo Worm

Glo Worm, created by Hasbro’s Playskool division in 1982, was a popular toy for children born in the 1980s. A battery-powered system was hidden inside the stuffed plush toy.

Squeezing the toy, which lights up the vinyl head, was part of the fun that most kids had with Glo Worm.

This, in turn, produces a soft glow that adds a sense of surprise and fun. Following the success and popularity of this toy, Playskool also released a series of Glo Worm-themed storybooks and videos.

Game Boy

Another popular toy from the 1980s. According to Nintendo, the creator of this game console, Game Boy sold over 118 million units as one of the best 80s toys.

On April 21, 1989, the game was first released in Japan. Around this time, the game was also released in America and Europe. The Game Boy’s core components are a dot-matrix screen and a contrast dial. The directional pad and adjustable volume speaker are also included.

Nintendo Entertainment System

The Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES to its friends, is without a doubt one of the most exciting and influential toys of the 1980s. This is the console that got Nintendo started, the machine that made Samus, Link, and many other characters famous.

With over 61.9 million sales, it’s safe to say that the NES dominated the competition in the 1980s. In comparison to the Intellivision’s 3-million sales, there was virtually no competition.

The NES Classic Edition console released by Nintendo in 2016 rekindled many gamers’ love of the NES. Even so, the best NES games look the part when plugged into the original console.

Cabbage Patch Kids Doll

Cabbage Patch Kids dolls were one of the most popular toys in the 1980s, with sales totaling nearly $2 billion during the decade. The huggable dolls came with a birth certificate and were so popular that consumers rioted across the country when supplies ran out before Christmas in 1983. The original Cabbage Patch Kids dolls were not intended for sale to the general public, but were created by Kentucky artist Martha Nelson Thomas, who gave them to her friends before her idea was stolen.

Trivial Pursuit 

Trivial Pursuit

One of the game’s description lines reads, “test your knowledge of stranger things.” Trivial Pursuits, regardless of how it is done, is one of the cool 80s toys you can add to your collection. This board game is designed for four players aged 14 and up. Originally created by Selechow and Righter, it was purchased by Parker Brothers in 1988 and later absorbed by Hasbro.

Pound Puppies 

Whether you like dogs or not, they are cool and friendly animals that have some fun toys built around them. Aside from color aesthetics, you’ll find an intriguing selection of plush stuffed dog dolls both online and offline. Mike Bowling is credited with inventing the pound puppy doll in Canada around 1984. To gain the attention of children at the time, Pizza Hut and other restaurants began including pound puppy dog toys in their children’s meals and coloring materials in restaurants. Pound Puppies are still available today for $12.99.

My Little Pony 

What could be cuter than a herd of multicolored horses leaping gracefully over rainbows? The answer is nothing. That is why over 150 million of them were sold during that decade. MLP, like its boy-targeted cousin He-Man, inspired an animated series popular among girls. This was followed by another, which was then followed by a movie. The franchise has been revived a few times in the 30+ years since its initial release, but no one can deny that this is an 80s achievement. 

Rubik’s Cube 

You most likely thought you had a brain until you picked up what has become history’s most instantly recognizable piece of casual geometry. Although it isn’t as common on store shelves as it once was, it’s still as frustrating, and it has firmly established its place in the toy hall of fame. It even has its own competition in the World Cube Association’s organized puzzle competitions.

Masters of the Universe (He-Man)

Seriously, how awesome does a toy have to be to inspire an entire TV series? That’s right, the action figure came first, and the cartoon followed. Then there was the surprisingly bad 1987 live-action production starring Ivan Drago, Dolph Lundgren, and a pre-Friends Courteney Cox. Don’t watch it if you haven’t already. Since then, the toys and cartoons have been rebooted, and there’s even talk of a new live-action film in 2019. But, if you ask us, nothing beats the original. Squad of Castle Grayskull.

Monchichi

Monchhichi-Kiki-packaging-byYRundvald

Monchichi is a line of vintage stuffed monkey dolls from the 1980s produced by Japan’s Sekiguchi Corporation. Originally released in Japan in the 1970s, they quickly gained worldwide popularity, beginning in the United States in 1985 when Mattel licensed them. Four television series based on Monchichi were also produced. You can still find an assortment of Monchichi monkey dolls on Amazon and other reputable retail websites today.

Care Bears

The ten original Care Bears, who wear belly badges to indicate their personalities, were originally intended to be American Greetings card characters before becoming plush, stuffed Parker Brothers dolls in 1983. Cheer Bear, Bedtime Bear, Birthday Bear, Wish Bear, Tenderheart Bear, Good Luck Bear, Love-A-Lot Bear, Friend Bear, Funshine Bear, and Grumpy Bear had all appeared in an animated television series by 1985 and had also appeared in three major Canadian-American films by the late 1980s. Despite being relaunched a few times over the years with new names, books, and films, the soft and furry fad had gradually faded by the turn of the century.

Koosh Ball

An engineer created the Koosh ball, which is made up of approximately 2,000 natural rubber filaments, to make playing catch easier and safer for his children. After only a few years, Archie Comics took up the idea, publishing a short series based on six living Koosh balls. When Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was asked to rule on the toy line’s copyrightability in 1993, and a woman sued after being hit with one on the “Rosie O’Donnell Show” in 2003, the toy line sparked controversy.

Teddy Ruxpin

Teddy Ruxpin rose to fame as everyone’s favorite chatty stuffed animal back when it was supposedly not creepy for your dolls to talk to you as long as they weren’t named Chucky. This was the pinnacle of toddler artificial intelligence. a long time ago And that should tell you something, because everything he said was pre-recorded on cassette. To call Teddy the forerunner to Siri may be a stretch, but hey, it was still fun. As a result, it was the best-selling children’s toy in the mid-1980s.

Power Wheels

When Pines of America introduced Power Wheels to the masses in the early 1980s, kids of all ages experienced the sensation of driving around the neighborhood like their parents, albeit at around five miles per hour. Before the first of many Jeep models debuted in 1986, kids could choose between an All-Terrain Vehicle, a monster truck, or a convertible. Since then, over 100 other models have been released, and the impact of these battery-powered marvels is still felt today, with events such as Extreme Barbie Jeep Racing and the twice-yearly Rednecks with Paychecks Downhill putting the hard plastic shell to the test.

Simon Says Electronic Memory Game 

Simon Electronic Game

This electronic memory game was one of the most popular among 1980s kids. There was something about the glowing colorful buttons and ambient tones that made you want to keep playing Simon for as long as you could. It was a great game for improving memory skills that was enjoyed by both children and adults. Simon has four colored buttons that light up in any random order. When the buttons light up, you must mimic the order in which they light up and repeat these yourself. If you are correct, an additional button will light up on the next round, adding to the other and making the sequence even longer and more difficult to remember.

View Master

The View Master is a three-dimensional image viewer. It’s a classic, vintage model L viewer that any child or collector will adore. This viewer is designed to work with other View-Master reels, so if parents already have some, they can use them with this one.

Atari 2600

Many consider the Atari 2600 to be the console that started it all. It was one of the best-selling toys of the 1980s and is still popular among retro gaming enthusiasts today.

Gaming may not seem like a big deal in a world where anyone can easily connect to the internet and join a massive multiplayer event, but the Atari changed the way games were played forever.

It moved everyone’s favorite games from the arcade to their living rooms, where they could enjoy them whenever the mood struck.

Pac Man, Space Invaders, and E.T were all present, as were the six other launch games available on this super console.

The Atari 2600 has sold well over 30 million units in its lifetime, and its popularity shows no signs of waning.

Star Wars Figurine

Nothing says 1980s toys like a plastic Chewbacca. More than 40 years have passed since George Lucas first brought Luke Skywalker to screens, and the franchise is still going strong.

Aside from being extremely collectible, the original Star Wars figurines were a lot of fun to play with.

Some of the original characters from Episodes 4, 5, and 6, as well as modern-day figurines of Rey and Kylo Ren, are still available.

Skip It

Remember skip-its

Skip It is a fantastic toy that makes fitness enjoyable for children. It’s one of the best ’80s toys available in 2020 for getting kids moving. Every time they skip, a flash wheel illuminates in a variety of colors. 

LITE Brite

Because it encourages hand-eye coordination, the classic LITE Brite helps a child’s creativity as well as motor skills. This package includes a single tablet, an art guide, eight templates, and two storage cases. There are also 314 pegs for kids to use to create any image they can think of. They can activate four different light shows with the press of a button.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo are all included in this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set. Each of them is packaged separately because they each come with their own signature weapon. For maximum playing action, there are over 12 different articulation points.

Transformers

Transformers are among the best ’80s toys available in 2020, which children of all ages may enjoy. As a Transformer, this Optimus Prime action figure can transform into its signature blue and red truck in just six steps. It’s also a great tall size, standing at 11in.

Conclusion

Those were the days. Are you feeling sentimental as well? So, for the special people in your life who have everything and are on their way to middle age, here are some vintage gift ideas that will send them into orbit.