Do you ever remember toys from your childhood and feel great nostalgia? When you see a toy you loved playing with growing up, often those memories come flooding back. Feelings of comfort and fun through the imaginative play experienced. For millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996, these feelings of nostalgia appear when seeing different toys from their childhood as well. What are these nostalgic toys? Follow along in our blog as we mention the specific toys millennials are nostalgic over. We will mention Tamagotchi, Beanie Babies, Furbies, Cabbage Patch Kids, Hot Wheels, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Barbie. These nostalgic millennial toys bring back fond memories and some even prove their popularity today amongst children with the new releases of these ever-cherished items.
Join Us in Seeing Toys Millennials Are Nostalgic Over
Join us in seeing the different nostalgic toys for millennials. These all include popular toys when millennials were growing up. Millennials played with these toys, circled them in catalogs, and saw them in commercials. Their childhood friends also played with the same toys. Many people remember those childhood days and get nostalgic when seeing the toys again. Follow along in our blog relive those days and remember the times of fun through imaginative play.
Tamagotchi
First up, Tamagotchi, takes a spot for toys millennials are nostalgia over. Since the release of Tamagotchi on November 23, 1996, many different and updated versions hit the store shelves. Made by the toy company, Bandai, Tamagotchi featured a virtual pet to take care of which grows into new and exciting adult forms. As the virtual pet receives care from the player through feeding, cleaning up, and playing with them, the pet begins growing. The player also manages the pet’s health, happiness, and discipline when the player decides necessary. These small Tamagotchi carry-on virtual pets may also include mini games to raise the happiness of the pet or earn the player points.
Tamagotchi played a huge part in millennials’ childhood. As they released in the late 1990s, many people from this generation remember fondly growing up with these toys. Tamagotchi became popular very fast after their initial release, especially among teenage girls at the time. The virtual pets grasped this generation and captivated them, becoming an iconic social trend. Many claim the Tamagotchi also helped shape this generation for future technology use. With the 24/7 notification system and interaction time, the player needed to keep their pet alive through regular use. This keeps people playing and captivated into the product. For many, the use of Tamagotchi potentially shaped their interactions with their smart phones and other technology today, having a lasting impact on their lives. These loved pets also continued to release throughout the years, causing nostalgia for millennials when they see the new products.
Beanie Babies
Next up, when looking at toys millennials are nostalgic over, we will mention Beanie Babies. This line of pellet-stuffed plush toys gained immense popularity through their release in the mid-1990s. They featured the plastic pellet stuffing, giving them a unique bean bag feel. Beanie Babies also seem very small for plush toys, at 6 inches, giving them their unique and noticeable appearance. Each of the Beanie Babies released comes with their iconic heart shaped tags, featuring their name, birthday, poem, washing instructions, age recommendation, and company of release. These Beanie Babies quickly became highly sought after collectible items as well. The company craze kept up with some designs retiring and very limited production. People began to search high and low for their favorite, or rare versions of these plushies.
The release of these Beanie Babies from the 1990s only lasted a short amount of time, with the company announcing “The End” bear in 1999 to conclude their release. Although the company still releases plush toys today, those from the 1993-1999 still prove their popularity for their brand and nostalgic memories for millennials. Throughout these years, over 1500 styles of Beanie Babies released, proving the rare finds and high demand. This includes the initial 9 Beanie Babies: Cubbie, Patti, Spot, Pinchers, Chocolate, Flash, Splash, Legs, and Squeaker. A lot of people also picked up collecting during this time, with the start of eBay making it easier for people to buy and sell items. People began to search online for these rare items and even pay big amounts of money for the items they sought out.
Furby
In 1998, Tiger Electronics first released Furby. These quickly became all the craze, especially during the 1998 holiday season. In fact, by Christmas that year, 1.8 million Furbies sold. Then, the company went on to sell another 14 million the following year, in 1999. The Furby toy featured interactive play as they responded to sound, touch, and light. This created a unique experience for children at the time with such a fun and engaging new toy. They also featured their “furbish” language which included phrases that quickly became recognizable to millions of children. This created the shared knowledge of certain phrases and what they mean even across multiple countries, since Furbies sold worldwide in 14 different languages. Both the unique appearance and the sense of companionship with the creative use of technology allowed millions of people to love these toys.
Furby released in different colors and models which further increased the popular demand. The design of Furby abilities often made them seem like real-life creatures. Their pre-programed speaking ability made it seem like the toys learned a language over time by replacing the Furbish language with common human phrases. These incredible creatures also held the ability to communicate with other Furbies through the infrared port in between their eyes. The Furby toy even appeared in popular media and prepared the way for future robotic companions and the advancement of interactive toys. The iconic cultural status, unique design, and worldwide craze, hold nostalgic feelings for so many millennials across the globe.
Cabbage Patch Kids
Cabbage Patch Kids also appear on our list of toys millennials are nostalgic over. Although they began mass production in 1983, Cabbage Patch Kids’ origin begins in 1976 when Xavier Roberts began needle molding and hand stitching these “little people” dolls. In 1992, Roberts paired with Coleco Industries to rebrand and release them as the Cabbage Patch Kids we all know and love. The Cabbage Patch Kids popularity spiked right off the bat in 1993 with almost 3 million sold by the end of the year. Each Cabbage Patch Kids design featured unique facial features, making the dolls extra special and individualized. They also came with adoption papers, making them feel more personalized and more than just dolls to many children. The limited production of the dolls also added to the urgency of buying specific dolls for children to “adopt”.
The great popularity of the toys also added to more marketing opportunities in many ways. In 1985, “Christopher Xavier” became the first Cabbage Patch Kid doll to fly to space as a passenger on the U.S. Space Shuttle Challenger. Then, in 1992, the Cabbage Patch Kids became the first official mascot of the U.S. Olympic Team. The Olympic team went to Barcelona with 2,500 dolls intended to land in the hands of children. For the 1996 Olympics, they became a part of the U.S Olympic Team Official Mascot collection. Each doll represented an Olympic sport such as gymnastics, tennis, and track. Every doll also features a soft body of cloth and stuffing, making them more cuddly than the typical plastic doll. This adds to the nostalgic factor for millennials since the dolls featured so many unique design aspects.
Hot Wheels
Next up, Hot Wheels take a spot on our list of nostalgic millennial toys. Hot Wheels initially released in 1968, but peaked in the 1990s. This decade often refers to a peak time for the brand with exciting designs, variations, and the Treasure Hunt series. Hot Wheels became popular for their design and affordable prices. Each model of Hot Wheels featured a type of car and the brand also introduced different franchises into their products. The low price point made these toys accessible to many people which made for many play and collectible opportunities.
These toys not only gained popularity in collecting items but also created a strong connection with car culture. Children and adults both began to collect the toy cars and gain an appreciation for the real cars. These toys allowed people to collect their favorite models of real cars as well as fantasy vehicles influenced by pop culture. Along with this, the toy cars feature low-friction wheels which make them faster than other toy cars at the time. They also catch the eye with their original bright Spectraflame metallic and polished paint appearance. The collector market for these cherished Hot Wheels toys only continues to grow. As rare models and specific designs or series become highly sought-out items, people grow their collections. These toys hold high nostalgia for many millennials especially with the specific releases during their childhood years.
Transformers
The next toys millennials are nostalgic over on our list are Transformers. These toys became incredibly popular after their release in 1984. The original Transformers toys, later called Generation 1, included 28 transforming robots. Many of these characters originally based their design off of Diaclone and Microman toy lines by Hasbro. Transformers featured a unique transforming ability to go from a robot to a vehicle and back. This toy line also became popular mainly through the multimedia franchise tied with the toys. These toys appeared in television series, movies, comics, video games, and more. The Transformer characters all feature in engaging storylines through media releases of good and evil backgrounds.
The Transformers’ ability to adapt to new characters and storylines allows the franchise and toys to continue in growth throughout multiple decades. Also, millennials who grew up with the original Transformers toys, allow the nostalgic factor to continue impacting the toys and franchise. People remember playing with the original toys and seeing their awesome transforming power. They remember times of play and their back stories while watching the movies that coincided.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
These Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures, vehicles, and accessories originally released in 1988 by Playmates. These epic toys originally released to go along with the comic book series. The original TMNT action figures include Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Along with these, Splinter, Rocksteady, April O’Neil, Foot Soldiers, and Bebop all released in the first line of figures. These figures took the resemblance of the characters from the comic books and come with their signature weapons and tools. They stand at 4.5 inches tall with different points of articulation for multiple poses available. More action figures released over the years, with most corresponding with the television shows and movies.
Millennials grew up when the TMNT popularity exploded in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Millennials played with these toys, read the comics, watched the television shows, and movies. They saw all the unique TMNT action figure designs and experienced the imaginative play with the characters for the first time. Also, since the TMNT figures still release new versions for children to play with, many millennials pass their love for the turtles onto their children. They get to relive their childhood memories, creating more nostalgia for many people.
Barbie
Next up on our blog of toys millennials are nostalgic over, we have the classic Barbie doll toys. Although the original Barbie doll first released in 1959, the 1980s and 1990s held an iconic spot for this brand. Because of this, many millennials remember playing with Barbie dolls of this time and feel great nostalgia. In 1980, the first diverse Barbie dolls came out. These included the first African American and Hispanic Barbie dolls. 1984 brought the company’s first partnership with a fashion designer. This brought fun and stylish, new outfits to the loved dolls. Then, in 1985, the CEO Barbie released along with the “We girls can do anything” campaign. In 1992, a “Barbie for president” doll released.
The message these dolls began to spread to children kept growing and made the brand even more popular. This time also encouraged more career and diverse dolls to release for future years. For millennials, the Barbies at this time shaped their memory of the brand and even impacted many lives with the message the company brought to children through the dolls.
Final Thoughts
From Tamagotchi to Cabbage Patch Kids and everything in between, these toys truly bring so much nostalgia to many millennials today. They remember seeing these toys on the TV through commercials as well as movie and television show tie-ins. Millennials remember playing with these toys, acting out the scenes, and all the memories that came with them. These toys shaped a lot of millennials’ childhoods and now pass those feelings of nostalgia and memories onto their children. Many also collect these toys as they remember those days in the past of creative play and fun.
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About the Author
Chris Ingledue is the founder and owner of Wheeljack’s Lab pop Culture and Toy Shop. His vision has always been to reunite customers with their favorite childhood toys and pop culture, triggering fond memories, and reigniting their imaginations. Every day he works in the “lab” where it’s Christmas 365 days a year; scouring the internet – like we did the Sears Catalog of yesteryear – for the next great treasure, awaiting the arrival of the postman as if he was Santa Claus himself and helping collectors worldwide with their own versions of Christmas. For Chris, every day as a vintage toy buyer is an absolute joy!