With all of the impending deadlines and the start of the new school year looming overhead, it's the best time to reminisce on simpler days. A childhood full of wacky toys and great memories. I am not ashamed to say that I recently found my old Gameboy in the bottom of my desk drawer at my childhood home and began to play Pokémon at three in the morning because, why not? Here is a list of toys that are sure to bring back great memories to a time when a spelling test felt like the end of the world and the best feeling was going to a Toy's R Us or KB Toys. If only college was so simple (sigh).
1. Tamagotchi
My original and most cherished fictional pet. It felt like a duty to keep that little pet alive. Luckily I proved significantly better at keeping my goldfish that I won at the school fair alive than this little toy. Still miss you Goldie, the chubby fish lived for the majority of my childhood.
2. Bop It
One of the more addicting and relatively pointless games of childhood. Following those directions became a challenge as well as a duty. The name was self-explanatory and much appreciated.
3. Furby
In all honesty, Furby kind of freaked me out as a kid, but that didn't mean that I refused to have a puzzle with these large eyed bird looking creatures. With such a variety of colors, they were generally a main attraction at toy stores. A toy that seemed to slowly learn how to speak english and one of my first introductions to robots.
4. Beanie Babies
These adorable stuffed animals were a trendy toy for children and adults alike. While kids enjoyed them for their adorable looks; adults began to purchase and collect them for absurd prices. It's not hard to see their selling points with such cute features and the personal touch of each Beanie Baby's information on their tag.
5. Easy-Bake Oven
This is about where my baking skills began and ended. No other child could struggle with that lightbulb oven like I could- should have taken that as extremely advanced foreshadowing. It was ridiculously fun and a time when making your own food was more fun than chore.
6. Skip-It
As self-explanatory as the Bop It. A great gateway toy into the world of all things that require coordination. The best way to learn anything resembling jump-rope is through the incentive to protect your shins and ankles and jump at the right blasted time.
7. Polly Pocket
This little doll gave Barbie a run for her pink convertible car in my mind. She came with the most adorable miniature homes and again had a very simple name to understand. Polly is so tiny that she can fit in the pocket of those paint covered overalls from grade school. I loved spending hours playing with Polly Pockets..wait do I still have her?
8. Water Wiggler
This was a toy. Parents bought this. Moving on.
9. Game Boy
My ultimate obsession and joy. Besides reading, this was an all time favorite of mine. Choose the game card that you want and then spend hours trying to catch Pokémon or playing with Mario and Luigi.
10. Pokémon/Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards
I loved the television shows as well as collecting their cards. No recess was complete without a healthy level of battling. I was personally an avid Yu-Gi-Oh! card collector and watched the second movie when it came out in theaters with one of my best friends. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching Digimon, but there was just something about that Yugi and Seto Kaiba rivalry that kept me hooked to Yu-Gi-Oh! just a little more. It was very strict business and was handled with all of the seriousness of a person who had to have brushed their teeth before bedtime.
