Lisa O
Growing up in the 90s meant your birthday wishlist was basically a catalogue page you’d folded at the corner. There was something about the toys back then that felt different. Maybe it was the colors or the sounds they made, or just the fact that everyone at school had the same ones. You’d walk into any house and see the same plastic bins overflowing with the same stuff.
Tamagotchi
That little egg-shaped keychain turned everyone into a parent overnight. You’d be sitting in class, hear the beeping from someone’s backpack, and know exactly what it was. The screen was tiny and the buttons were stiff, but you’d check it anyway. Sometimes your pet would die while you were asleep, and you’d wake up to a ghost floating on the screen. There was real guilt in that moment. Like you’d actually let something down.
Furby
These things were everywhere for about two years, and then suddenly nobody wanted them anymore. The eyes would blink, and the beak would move, and it would say words you didn’t teach it. People said they’d start talking in the middle of the night. You’d shove it in the closet and still hear it making noise through the door. The batteries lasted forever, too. It felt like it would never fully turn off.
Super Soaker
Summer meant showing up with one of these strapped to your back. The big ones held so much water you could barely carry them full. You’d spend forever filling it at the hose just to empty it in seconds. The pump handle would squeak after a while. Everyone’s parents had the same rule: no spraying faces. The plastic got hot sitting in the sun between refills.
Game Boy
The original was that grey brick with the green screen you could barely see. You’d tilt it trying to catch the light right. Batteries would die mid-level, and you’d lose everything. Long car rides meant fighting over who got it in the backseat. The sound through that tiny speaker was terrible, but you’d crank it anyway.
Polly Pocket
Polly Pocket compacts opened up into these miniature worlds that fit in your palm. The doll inside was barely bigger than a pencil eraser. Everything came with tiny plastic furniture and accessories that you’d lose within days. You’d find random pieces stuck in carpet fibres or behind radiators years after you’d forgotten about them. They made the compacts look like jewellery boxes or lockets, and kids carried them everywhere.
Beanie Babies
The Beanie Baby thing was absolutely wild. People treated them like stocks. The heart-shaped tag couldn’t have a single crease, or the whole thing was supposedly worthless. McDonald’s started giving away smaller versions, and it caused actual traffic jams. Everyone had collections sitting on shelves still wrapped in plastic. The idea was they’d be valuable someday. Spoiler alert. They weren’t.
Power Rangers Action Figures
Every kid had at least one Megazord sitting on a shelf. The pieces would come apart, and you’d lose the little connector parts that held them together. The toys never looked quite like they did on TV. The plastic was cheaper, and the joints would get loose. You’d spend an hour trying to transform them back and forth, only for something to snap off.
Easy-Bake Oven
The lightbulb inside was supposed to cook real food, but it took forever. You’d mix up the packet and wait thirty minutes for a cookie the size of a quarter. It tasted like chemicals and burnt edges. The pans were tiny and would get stuck inside. You had to push them through with a plastic stick. Your mom’s real oven was right there, but using this one felt more official somehow.
Troll Dolls
Troll Dolls had that crazy neon hair that stood straight up. You could style it or just leave it sticking out in every direction. The faces were ugly in a weird way that made them appealing somehow. They came with different-coloured hair and a little gem in their belly buttons. Kids would collect dozens of them. Some were small and some were huge, but they lined bedroom shelves everywhere.
Pogs
There was this game where you stacked cardboard circles and slammed a heavy metal piece down on them. Whatever flipped you kept. That’s how it was supposed to work anyway. Most kids just collected them and traded at recess like baseball cards. The tubes they came in never closed properly. Your backpack would be full of scattered pogs by lunch. Nobody remembers why these mattered so much.
Giga Pets
These were the knockoff versions when Tamagotchi got too expensive. Same idea but bulkier. You clipped it to your backpack and kept a digital pet alive. The reset button sat on the back, where you’d hit it by accident. Your pet would die, and you’d start over. Kids acted like it was an actual responsibility somehow.
Lite-Brite
The pegs were scattered everywhere, and you’d step on them barefoot. The black paper ripped if you pushed too hard. You’d follow the designs on the package, then just make random shapes. The light behind it never seemed bright enough. The box had slots for organizing colours, but everything still got dumped together.
Talkboy
This tape recorder got popular after Home Alone. You could record your voice and speed it up or slow it down. The buttons were chunky and loud. Recording yourself felt strange at first. You’d play it back and not recognize how you sounded. The tape would jam, and you’d wind it back with a pencil. It picked up every background noise in the room.
Stretch Armstrong
Stretch Armstrong was basically a toy you tried to destroy. Everyone pulled his arms to see how far they’d go before snapping. They never did snap, though. After a while, the gel inside would leak, making him feel gross and sticky. You’d get lint all over him. Some kids froze him or tied him up. But he’d just bounce back to normal.