It’s true that every generation believes their own was raised with the nicest toys, but we give the nineties’ youngsters the edge. They came of age during the beginning of the industry’s commercial explosion, but they were born before the first wave of kids who grew up with smartphones and tablets. This meant that from the late ’80s to the early ’00s, the toy sector was thriving. However, do you believe that you would know your childhood toys if you saw them again? Do you still have a clear mental picture of your kid’s favorite toy from 1997? What is it? Toys from the ’90s that only a genuine Millennial (or parent from that era) would recognize!

Viewmaster

When youngsters didn’t have the entire world at their fingertips, they had to find new ways to use visuals to spark their creativity. This toy served that purpose; it was essentially a turnstile that used removable disks. The visuals on these CDs could be anything from exotic landscapes and wildlife to stills from your favorite animated series. The headset has persisted until the present day, however its design has evolved to meet the needs of virtual reality.

Cabbage Patch Kids

This is an early mass-produced commercial fad of the twentieth century. Even while other ’80s toys like Barbies, G.I. Joes, and Seamonkeys sold well, this one was a huge hit with kids. These little dolls came with a “birth certificate” that detailed their history and gave them names. These toys were unique because they were claimed to have grown from the earth just for you.

Koosh Balls

You wouldn’t believe it now, but back in the day, all it needed to get us kids excited was a rubber ball with a bunch of frilly things on it! This popular toy from the 1990s is still being manufactured today. What exactly was the allure of this? It was great fun to toss it around and observe the strings bouncing in synchrony, but we still don’t know what it is. Also, our hand sensations were very off from handling this material.

Furby

This tiny guy gave off an impression of being fairly harmless at first glance. He responded to your greetings with his own, would wag his ears in delight, and even “ate” once daily. However, when abandoned for long periods of time, he became quite frightening. Sometimes, in the dead of night, you’d be sitting in your bedroom when you’d hear his incoherent babbling coming from the direction of your closet. And if his batteries were running low, making his voice seem satanic, that would be even more disturbing.

Bop It!

If you were a kid in the late 1990s or early 2000s, this was the must-have toy. The toy would play music and provide an instruction, and players would answer by pressing, tugging, or twisting the appropriate button in order to advance the game. As you traveled further, the pace of the directives increased. If you messed up, you got a loud “OWWW!” and had to pass it on to the next person.

Tamagotchi

It’s one of the first things that comes to mind when you think about the ’90s. These phenomena arose frequently throughout the decade but quickly faded away. You could take this clip-on handheld with you anywhere, and treat it like a virtual pet, feeding it and cleaning up its excrement, playing with it, watching it sleep, and even grieving its death. Even though this toy made a comeback not too long ago, it was never as popular as the originals.

Troll Dolls

The 2016 release of a successful children’s film based on these toys has brought them back into the spotlight. However, they enjoyed a brief period of success as a top-selling toy in the United States. These characters were ubiquitous in the 1990s; students had them in their dorms, workers had them in their cubicles, and educators had them in the classrooms. The ensuing query was, “Why?” All they are is bare infants with alien features and fluorescent hair.

Tickle Me Elmo

You may recall the simple doll that everyone wanted in the movie Jingle All the Way, but it ended up selling out everywhere. So, that film was apparently based on actual incidents that occurred with this plaything. For the 1996 holiday season, this toy was in high demand and swiftly depleted from shelves around the country. Despite its popularity, this Elmo doll didn’t have too many features. Squeezing his tummy made the Sesame Street character giggle.

Pogs

The popularity of this trend in the ’90s was one of the decade’s more puzzling aspects. Pokemon and baseball cards made perfect sense as collectibles because they were based on well-known franchises. Unfortunately, they turned out to be nothing more than tiny cardboard balls. Some included images of well-known brands or teams, while most were simply humorous cartoons or creative designs. The tokens might be used in a game, but most people just wanted to collect them for their designs.

My Little Pony

The popularity of these toys, which debuted in the 1980s, has continued to grow. The dolls’ manes glistened with color, and each horse’s name was represented by a different sign. The toy line has evolved throughout the years to include TV series, play sets, and accessories. As of now, this Hasbro toy line is widely regarded as a classic. Do you know the name of these teeny creatures?

Beyblade

Everything you might want in a toy line could be found in this series. The anime was adapted from a popular manga series. Also released in America that year, it featured personalization choices and allowed for intense multiplayer battles. Seriously, what else do you need? These were modeled after the classic game of “battle tops,” in which two players spin tops into a tiny arena and the loser is determined by whose top stops spinning first. Toys like these may be modified to be stronger, quicker, or even lethal if used against an enemy.

Tech Decks

These items were formerly ubiquitous but are now largely extinct. Children would use these on the playground and in the classroom for pranks. You could use your fingers to ride these little skateboards, but they were otherwise identical to their full-size counterparts. You could personalize the wheels, apply decals, and even purchase half-pipes and play sets to practice your sick kickflips and ollies! What did they call these finger boards?

Polly Pocket

Delicate Polly the original, truly pocket-sized Pollys may have gained in value because Mattel has enlarged the Pocket Doll line and its accompanying mini playhouses after purchasing the brand in 1998. You can make hundreds of dollars by selling a sealed set on eBay, especially if it was produced between 1989 and 1998.

Pokémon Cards

Finding a Charizard in the ’90s was already an anomaly. Now, individuals who want to “catch ’em all” will have to shell out serious cash to complete their collections with a Charizard. Charizard Holo cards from the original 1999 Pokémon set can go for over $5000 when they are in perfect condition. It’s not uncommon for complete first printing card collections to cost $4,600 to $8,700. On eBay in February of this year, a first-edition holographic Charizard set in immaculate condition began bidding for about $12,000.

Happy Meal Toys

There are some toys from the 1990s that are worth more than the price of a Happy Meal. A full display of four Super Mario 3 Happy Meal toys is worth up to $400. However, a few years back, a seller could only recoup $46 by selling an entire toy display for Tiny Toon Adventures Happy Meals.

Slap-on Bracelets

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, these wristbands were heavily advertised. The attractiveness of even the simplest toys cannot be emphasized; these were merely stacked stainless steel bands with colorful plastic on them. To make the bracelets coil nicely around your wrist, you would first straighten them until they were firm, and then slap them against your wrist.

In the 1990s, slap bracelets went from being a harmless school accessory to a full-fledged fashion statement. The metal band of the slap bracelet cut into children’s fingers and wrists as it eventually wore through the plastic sheath, despite becoming a cultural icon of the ’80s. In New York, the bracelets were prohibited from schools and there was a massive recall of counterfeit versions.

Care Bears

What matters is concern. This held true in the 1980s, and it holds true in the 2010s as well. The newer versions of the Care Bears are less saccharine than the originals, but they still express their emotions frankly. We can thank them for our generation’s unprecedented level of candor regarding mental health issues, and we can only hope they have the same effect on the next. My entire life I’ve been a Grumpy Bear, but as I matured I discovered I also like the color of Good Luck Bears and have a soft spot for Tenderheart Bears.

Simon Classic

Simon is an incredibly fun memory game that also puts your reflexes to the test. Simon will perform a pattern of lights and sounds, and in order to win, you must recreate this pattern. Is Simon a game you (or your kids) can win?

Etch A Sketch Pad

That toy that taught you to design winding stairs with knobs that turned is here in miniature form. The Etch A Sketch Pocket Drawing Toy allows kids to “draw,” “shake,” and “repeat” their creations.

Lite Brite

It was such a basic idea, yet it held our attention for hours on end when we were little. Even though Lite Brite included instructions for lighting up a few standard patterns, kids were free to improvise with the product, with many of us simply using their creations as nightlights.

Fisher Price Chatter Phone

When I was a kid in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, it seemed like every kid in America had one of these. Although it has been redesigned several times since then and lost some of its original eeriness in the process, the original design is back in production thanks to Fisher Price (even though phones like this are essentially nonexistent at this point). They are always looking with their shifty tiny eyes.

Conclusion

Did your childhood memories of 90s toys put a smile on your face? They sure did on ours. We totally encourage you to introduce the kids in your life (including the little kid inside you!) to these awesome toys and show them what a great childhood looks like.