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*if you have one minute, please take this sugar survey for me and put my name in the referred by space! thanks!*
dudes. christmas is coming! you know how i know? there are commercials for super awesome toys. kids these days have really high tech toys! one that especially caught my eye was a crayon maker. you throw in a bunch of colors and out pops a new, custom made crayon color. i have to admit, i would have loved that when i was a kid. shoot, i would love to have it NOW.
and man.. don’t even get me started on all the tech toys that are marketed to kids of the 2010s. (is it the 10s? that’s just weird to say.. but we did say 90s, 80s, 70s, etc) those toys just go too far for me. pretty sure most seven year olds could operate an ipod touch better than i can. i say it’s time to put the nintendo DS down and go fly a kite, for goodness sake.
yeah, i am pretty glad i was a kid back in the day.
back before there was responsibility…
back before i had a full time job, a husband, a mortgage, or a driver’s license…
back before there were blogs.. or even the internet (in my home at least, i am sure it was somewhere in the world..)
there was the 80s.
and i had a wish list.
this wish list was by no means compiled in the same year—just in the 80s/very early 90s in general. some of these gems i was lucky enough to get, others were just longed for, never to be something i could call my own. all were WAY better than any video game out there.
before i go on, let it be known that i hated dolls. HATED. in fact, i was given a doll as a gift at my 4th birthday party and i burst into tears. i remember it vividly. i was more into stuffed animals—namely cats.
yes, that is a pound purrer. and yes, i am wearing a sweet getup with cats on the fabric, that momma b made herself. crafty lady!! fun fact: momma b used to have a sewing business where she sewed appliqués onto sweatshirts called “sweats by sue”—come to think of it, she could totally repurpose that name and use it if she ever wanted to become a personal trainer!
so, here’s my childhood wish list. i am sure a lot of you will relate.
koosh balls.
i loved these things! i remember we had a hole in the wall in my brother’s bedroom, and i accidentally put my koosh ball in the hole and it dropped into the depths of the house walls.. never to return. in fact, i be it’s still sitting there collecting dust. either that, or a mouse has scurried off with it.
64 pack of crayola crayons WITH the built-in sharpener.
oh, and don’t forget the new colors they came out with! remember macaroni and cheese? and asparagus? i loved that they were food-themed.
popples.
i wasn’t too into teddy ruxpin or cabbage patch dolls. i just wanted popples! sure wish i had hung onto my collection. i had a few full size ones and a few mini popples—weren’t they called pocket popples?
jelly sandals.
don’t deny it.. you wanted a pair. especially since your mom had been dressing you in saltwater sandals for years. these were WAY cooler than saltwater sandals!
mall madness.
i never owned mall madness.. but luckily my best friend melina did! i remember playing this game for hours and hours. it was so awesome how you had play credit cards and the announcer would tell you which stores were having sales. now days, kids just actually go to the mall.. and probably have their own credit cards!
easy bake oven.
sigh. this was the one i always longed for and never owned. luckily my mom trusted me in the kitchen and i just ended up using the real appliances at a young age… i even started my own neighborhood restaurant, janetha’s place. i could use the immersion blender better than any other eight year old on the block! er—in the culdesac.
pound puppies & pound purrers.
i had A LOT of these critters. like.. a LOT. do you wonder where i kept them all?
in my pet net, of course! mine was pink.
dude.. pet nets were really convenient! why aren’t they around any more? if i had kids, they would have pet nets.
caboodles.
another one i never had. i always would go to my friend jessica’s house and admire her caboodles.. and her cable TV so she could watch let’s make a deal, supermarket sweep, and whammy. yeah, i was a strange kid. always loved those game shows! i had (okay, still have) a major crush on richard dawson. so dreamy.
the baby sitters club books.
i had them all. i read them all. i loved them all. i wanted to be dawn. ann m. martin was my hero. pretty sure i read about 4 or 5 books a week when i was a kid. sheesh, what happened to me?
and.. i saved the best for last…
SYLVANIANS!
okay. i kind of tear up every time i think about my sylvanian families. they were my best friends when i was a kid! well, aside from my imaginary friend, jazzy, but that’s a story for another day. i simply adored my sylvanian families and would play with them for hours and hours and HOURS on end. i had the rabbits, the bears, the foxes, the mice, the racoons, the dogs, the cats.. probably others. a personal favorite was the sylvanian-sized china cabinet i had, complete with teacups and saucers.
oh and mom—please don’t feel guilty reading this because i know you do every time i cry about not having my beloved sylvanians. it’s ok. i know it’s not your fault.
oh man. that was a REALLY fun trip down memory lane!! i really loved my childhood and growing up in the time that i did. wouldn’t change it for all the technology in the world!
this year my christmas list includes a professional house cleaning session and a towel rack for my bathroom. not joking. sure would be nice to be a kid again…
Q~
what was on your childhood wish list? or what was your favorite toy?
you may want to put the year you were born in your answer.. i bet the age range we have here is pretty large! i was born in 1983.
xo. janetha g.
all product images taken from google images.
*p.s. the winner of the lollihop giveaway was #156, sara, congrats! you can still use the code MEALSANDMOVES for 20% off your lollihop order!
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ohhh man, love this all. i was totally into the jelly sandals, super cool crayon boxes WITH the sharpener, easy bake ovens, caboodles, and babysitter club books. except i totally did love dolls. i had way too many. i was super into American Girl dolls. i wish more toys these days were less techy too – they were so much fun!
SERIOUSLY, I thought I was the only one who remembered Sylvanian Families! I still get the song stuck in my head…”Sylvaaaaaaniannnnnnn. Sylvanian Families. They’re so cute and tiny…”
This is such a fun post!! I was obsessed with my easy bake oven. I grew up in the 90s so I wanted a skip it, barbie workout, barbies, goose bump books/movies, a push scooter, and so much more. I took the survey!
Thanks! I had a Skipit–it was in 2nd grade. Pink and fabulous!
I loved my Walkin’ Go-Go dog. I always wanted a Skip-it but never got one. Not sure why my parents were so against that one…
I was reading this and thinking…oh my gosh, I loved all of these things, and when you said 1983 was your birth year, it made sense :) Mine too! I loved Sylvanians, pound puppies and kitties, had a pet net, and adored my Caboodles and Babysitter’s Club books!
Ahhh, thanks for bringing up some great memories!
I was only born 3 years later in 86 but I have never heard of half of this stuff! Amazing how the trends change so quickly. I definitely did read all the babysitter club books though and loved my skip it. I hated barbies like you hated dolls – was always super upset when I got one. I always wanted nintendo 64 but my parents wouldn’t get me one. I always slept over at my friend’s houses so we could play mario cart and donkey kong!
nice list! i was a proud owner of almost everything on this list. also LOVED snap bracelets, Quints, my talking Freddie Ruxpin and My Little Ponies. My mom still has a lot of our toys stored…for what future use, i’m not sure. they’re just so hard to throw out! Born in 1984, if you couldn’t guess by my list :)
I love this post!! I think you just brought back just about every one of my favorite things from growing up, Mall Madness was my jam! How about SkipIt, remember that genius invention, loved it. Happy Friday! :)
On Thanksgiving my cousin pulled out her old Mall Madness game for the next generation to play. It brought back lots of memories of the year she got it.
I was a huge BSC fan and had nearly a complete set (actually, I still do somewhere in the depths of my mom’s attic). I was born in 1981, so a lot of these were similar to me, but add in lots of Barbies, He-Man and She Ra (and her awesome castle), Teddy Ruxpin, and an original Game Boy.
I was born in 81 and had everything on your list with exception to the sylvanians (never heard of them). Some of my favorite toys were Hot Look Dolls, skip-it, pogo ball, and my roller racer… Oh and my pocket rocker that I still have!
I love this post. I was born in 79 but had and loved many of these things. Especially Sylvanian Family! I seem to remember having a house for them. I was also obsessed with the Baby Sitter’s Club and reread those books many times. One thing I always wanted was a Snoopy Snow Cone Machine but never got it…until my 20’s when I told a college friend and she bought it for me! Sadly, I never ended up using it!
I remember going to a friend’s house after school and eating snow cones made from his Snoopy machine…made with Five Alive! Anyone remember that juice? I really wanted the Snoopy Snow Cone Machine, too.
hahaha love those caboodles! I was born in 88 so I didn’t get much of the 80s, but I definitely loved the babysitters club books, too!! I learned how to french braid by practicing on my cabbage patch doll. I remember it perfectly: I was grounded and my mom was having a garage sale and it was the middle of summer. I couldn’t go outside to show my mom because I was in trouble! haha I preferred k’nex and power rangers!
I was born in 1984 so I wanted a lot of the same toys you did! My parents didn’t like buying me trendy gifts, so i was surprised one year when I got a Baby Alive! She popped her diaper and everything! I also loved my Spirograph and I LOVED the BSC books!! Wow, thanks for bringing me down memory lane :)
I totally love BSC when I was a kid. Did you know they came out with a prequel recently-The Summer Before? It was awesome to read about Claudia, Stacy, Kristy and Mary Anne again!
I’m right with you on most of those toys – my best friend had mall madness and I loved the BSC and the Sylvanians, even though I never knew what they were called!
And the house cleaning session is on my wishlist too. And running shoes. Yay for growing up?
the baby sitters club books — total staple!
that and anything by judy blume. are you there god it’s me margaret..oh the memories…
koosh and crayons, yep. “santa” is bringing down enough crayola to aruba to open up an art store. Like mother, like daughter. Skylar loves crayons and art projects, too.
oh my goodness! I had a popple… babysitters club books… beanie babies.. easy bake ovens… LOTS of games…. a pog maker… and my skip it!
caboodles!!!! forgot all about those.
i always wanted dolls. i got one cabbage patch kid. it was really the happiest day of my life.
Oh memories! ’86 baby here. Around age 2-4 I was all over the Pound Puppies. I had a ton of them, but there was one I loved more than all the others. I put him to bed in the kitchen drawer that held all the pot holder. I apparently put him to bed in the mall one day and my parents were never able to find the puppy. I cried myself to sleep for days!
Well that was sad! I also loved the BSC, easy bake, skip it!, trollies, goosebumps..the list goes on.
Oh my gaaaaahhhhh. I freaking love this. I’m so glad you said easy bake because I loooooved mine and that was the first thing I though of when you started this post. I’m getting rylee one for her bday even though she’s 3.. (I can use it til she gets old enough)
And mall madnesss!!!! Ahhhhhh! Hahah I also like pretty pretty princess.. And I loved slinkies. And my skip-it!!! And the crayon box had to have the sharpener for me too.
I was born in 1987 :)
You continue to amaze and entertain me…. brilliant Sweats by Sue I may just stencil that on our gym door :)
I loved your trip down memory lane and yes I did shed a tear or two.
I wanted a record player and was so excited when it shand owed up one Christmas …..some of your readers may have to google that after all I was born in 1952 WAY before any tech stuff.
xo
Bahahhahaah yes! I had a Popple (a teal one), a Caboodle (purple and pink), read the Babysitter’s Club books, had jelly sandals, loved my huge boxes of crayons (still do, though I prefer markers), had a TON of Pound Puppies and Pound Purries, and had a pet net FULL of Garfields. Teddy Ruxpin was another huge favorite of mine as a kid. :)
And actually, now that I look at them harder, I had some Sylvanians too, but I don’t know that I knew what they were other than cute animals in clothes. OH and FREAKIN’ GLOW WORMS! I loved those creepy-ass things! :)
Oh my gosh! You brought up great memories Janetha! I loved mall madness and what was that game where you stick fake pimples on your face? Also I absolutly was obsessed with those lip-chapsicks called Kissing Koolers. I looked them up because now I want one again so bad in the flavor Tutti Frutti. They are going for 80 bucks on Ebay! They were like 99 cents back in the day!
Great post!
How cute was baby JBean?! So many of these things bring back memories for me, especially jellies, Easy Bake Oven, and Kaboodles! Do you also remember Cherry Merry Muffin dolls? I was obsessed with those. They smelled like food (vanilla, cherry, chocolate), so maybe that’s why (kind of like your crayons…) :)
I had a little doll that smelled like vanilla, and there was another around here (probably my sister’s) that was supposed to smell like chocolate. I wonder if they’re the same thing…
When I was a kid, we had lip gloss that tasted of flavors- the watermelon and bubble gum were all the rage!
i was born in 1982 so it was fun reminiscing while i read this post! LOVED the BSC series – i always wanted to start my own club. did you read sweet valley high or anything by RL Stine at all??
i had those jelly sandals! i didn’t like dolls either. i wasn’t really into toys now that i think about it…love the crayons with the sharpener in the back that never worked, hahaha.
i always wanted one of those skirt bottoms that had the shorts attached underneath and had a lacy hem (anyone know what i’m talking about??), but by the time i got one as a hand-me-down, they were no longer “in”, but i rocked it anyway :)
Teddy Ruxpin used to scare the beeeejesus out of me.
I was born in ’88 and let’s see – my faves were my skip-it, polly pocket, barbies, tons of stuffed animals. I can’t really remember wanting anything really bad….
JELLIES! I had far too many pairs of those…and blisters to go with them.
On my wish list were Polly Pocket, Beanie Babies, and Trolls. Ah, memories.
oh man..too good, too good!
Would you freak out if I told you I still have a WORKING Mall Madness AND Dream Phone at my parent’s house?
Katy and I still play them about twice a year!
D.O.B. October 3rd, 1985. My favorite gifts that might ring a bell for everyone were Littlest Pet shop collections (specifically, the monkeys and turtles which were apparently impossible to find, but Santa must’ve pulled some strings somewhere), Furby, Beanie Babies (<—such a waste of money), Nintendo 64, and the clam shell iBook of 1999. Furby drove me crazy. I regretted that one.
Oh my gosh. Seriously, me and my friend have been going back and forth about 80’s things every since we read this post. I had a caboodle that was filled with nail polish, pound puppies, mall madness, easy bake oven, skip it, jellie sandals, polly pockets. Ohh and one of those games that I desperately wanted and never got was Pretty Pretty Princess. Loved this post :-)
I found so many sites dedicated to 80’s toys-ebay has a lot as well!
http://www.ilovethe80s.com/toys_toys_keypers.htm
I remember skip its! Those were awesome-except the counter never worked properly!!
I loved Barbies growing up, they were always my favorite toys. I did also love my Caboodles and my thousands of mini BonBon (I think that was the name?) nail polishes I kept inside. I was also obsessed with Lisa Frank and loved collecting it all. Oh yes! Can’t forget Sanrio, I wanted everything from Sanrio! Something I never got and always wanted was an Easy Bake oven but, like you, I experimented in the kitchen instead.
Oh yes my birth year was 1987.
This post was fantastic! I am obsessed with the recreation of the Crayola make your own crayon toy! They had this years ago and you could make your own shapes too! I have wanted this for such a long time. As for your ‘blast from the past’-amazing! Koosh balls and slinky’s! The 64 pack of crayons with sharpener!! My friend just bought me a new 64pk last year as a surprise present to cheer me up-awesome! Popples! I remember KEYPERS (those animals that had a hidden chamber that you unlocked with a key), I think I had the snail, and you unlocked the shell! They each came with a mini rubber version that you could use as a toy/piggie bank!
http://www.ilovethe80s.com/toys_toys_keypers.htm
I loved Globugs, trolls (remember that craze?!), the Kodak alien animals (stuffed ones), lego, and anything that had to do with markers (the ones that smelled great!), and glitter crayons! I was never allowed to have the EZ-BAKE oven, and I felt so shafted! lol. Now that they came out with ‘new” (ie cheap) ones, I am so tempted to buy it! Polly pockets came later, but my parent’s weren’t the types to wait in line for the newest “cool” consumer toy (Barbie). I grew up on books (which are still my favorite thing to this day), and art! I do remember those backpacks that were shaped like teddy bears, monkeys and puppies! We were SO cool back then! I also remember those neon loop things you made bracelets out of, and they were fabric; you could knot them and make “friendship bracelets”…
you know we are only 20 days apart in birthdays, right? same year too, so this totally hits home. The jellies always made my feet sweat and stink. My mom hated that. haha.
So many good memories! I loved BSC and the big Crayola boxes, but I never had the one with the built-in sharpener and I was bitterly envious of my classmates that did :) I loved Polly Pockets and sea monkeys when I was a kid- born in 1989!
i was born in ’87 and i was all about polly pockets, playmobiles, junie b. jones and amelia bedilia books, edible creepy crawlers (blech), trolls, anything personalized or scratch n’ sniff, the glitter charm book series (where you get a necklace with all the books, like ice skates or ballet slippers) and american girl dolls! i was also REALLY into body suits and had a pair of high heeled jellies!
I am a lot older than you, but I still enjoy your blog everyday. Born in 1963, spent a lot of time listening to records on my record player, playing MadLibs and Mastermind, and making pictures on my sister’s Lightbright.
I was born in 1979. I had a Spirograph, I believe it was called. It was an art thing, and I think they still make it but it’s completely different now, like electronic or something. You guys remember Shrinky Dinks? Loved them! My sister and I had twin Cabbage Patch dolls (we’re twins, too!). I remember when my cousin got an Atari and it was AWESOME. And when my other cousin got his Walkman, I was super jealous, and when he came to visit, I sat in the corner listening to Heart sing “Alone” on his Walkman. Really. I need to think of more stuff!
OMG I looooved the Babysitters Club. I wanted to be Stacey! Haha. I loved Polly Pockets too :) I’m an ’89 baby!
woah, dude, our wish lists are eerily similar…. I wanted all of that stuff! ah, the 80s.
I was sooooo into Babysitters club, I had all of them. I donated them to my best friends class a few years ago, apparently little girls still dig them.
I did the survey :-)
Yes! Such good memories..I always wanted Mall Madness and loved a pair of jellies I had…I was obsessed with ‘legging’s that had the lace at the bottom but my mom would never let me buy them because they were ‘trashy’. I was a major Barbie lover and was always coveting the new doll, car, house, and boy toy to go along with…born in the 80s obvi!
Love this post! I was born in 1975, but I still wanted a lot of these things. What can I say, I was a late bloomer! I had an easy bake oven and it was the best. Loved those little cakes. Oh, and I think they make something like sylvanians now, but with a different name. I saw them in the toy store the other day. Shoot, I can’t seem to find them online. I’ll let you know if I figure out what they are. You can add them to your list this year.
So had an easy bake oven and jelly shoes! Love :D
I also had Sylvanian animals…crazy-I didn’t know anyone else who played with them-until now! Did you have the house? My Sylvanian house and animals are all boxed away in my basement.
This is such a fun post! My sister’s STILL a bit sad that she never got an easybake oven. Ha! My 80s toy list would also have to include a Cabbage Patch Doll, a Carebear and My Little Ponies (MLP were my most favourite toys, bar none). Oh, and Charmkins, those little jewelry dolls.
We had a Popple. I don’t know if it was mine or my sister’s. But we used to spend hours playing Operation Popple. Which basically meant passing the popple up and down the stairs using a rope system. Yeah, I don’t really know.
Jelly sandals! Heck I STILL want a pair!
We loved barbie and my little ponies, and we had jelly sandals, oh those were the good days haha
LOL, I Jellies were the in shoe huh!!!!!
Cute little girl
This is really weird, but it just occurred to me when you said “Sweats by Sue” that me and your mom have the same name. I don’t know how I never noticed that before? Or is it short for Suzanne? Anyways, I am also currently on painkillers, so this comment may make no sense.
1) I love that you were a crazy cat girl as a kid. So cute.
2) I want to make my own crayons. As an adult.
3) I belonged to the Babysitters Club FANCLUB. And also wanted to be Dawn.
4) I was born in 1986 and loved Barbies. Especially the ones with bangs and hair gel. I also loved Polly Pockets and My Littlest Pet Shop. And I was a huge book nerd, I always asked for tons of books (Goosebumps! Sweet Valley High!)
I also belonged to a BSC fan club! However I wanted to be Stacey. ;)
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