Sorry it has been so long since my "Child of the 90's" part 1 entry. With summer being here FINALLY, I seem to be spending more time out of the apartment and less time blogging, especially now that Idol is over. I finally have found the time to do this so without further ado, I present to you the great toy fads of the 90's!!
1. Pogs
Seriously whoever came up with this idea lucked out big time. Who would've thought that creating milk cap size pieces of cardboard with various pictures on them would become such a hit! I remember going to different stores and digging through bins filled with thousands of pogs looking for the ones I want. I'm pretty sure they were cheap, so I was able to get quite a few for the little money I had when I was a kid. I even remember getting a pog maker for Christmas and then designing my own with pics of my fave TV shows and cartoon characters!! I am pretty sure my friends and I would also trade our pogs with each other for ones we liked more.
2. Furby
I myself never had a Furby, but my sister did and I remember them being very popular for a year or two in the late 90's. Cute, sometimes creepy little Gizmo the gremlin-mixed with an owl looking animals that would talk to you, sometimes in the middle of the night and scare the crap out of you! These little guys would start out speaking "Furbish" and would learn more English words and phrases as they "grew".
3. Tickle Me Elmo
This preschool character became the hit toy for kids of all ages in the 90's. Of course myself and my friends were tweens and in our early teen years when he was popular, but we still wanted him. Our parents knew better than to spend hundreds of dollars on them like other people did though. The popularity of Elmo ended up making Elmo so popular that they released a different toy every year for a long time though, making him one of the most popular Christmas presents ever!
4. Giga Pets or Tamagotchi
These were little key chain computer "pets" that were a hit in the late 90's. I myself remember having a cat. Once you set them up, you had to remember to feed them, clean them, and play with them. If the "pet" is left uncared for it will eventually die. I am pretty sure these toys ended up getting banned in our schools because they were becoming such a distraction, which meant that the poor little animal was left uncared for for a good 7 hours or so which led to it getting sick and possibly dying. I am almost certain this is how my giga pet cat died :(.
5. Beanie Babies
These cute little bean stuffed animals became a hit in the mid 90's. There were tons of different animals and they all had some sort of "value" to them. I remember the bears being the most popular among collectors. Of course people began selling these at extremely marked up prices to extreme collectors and many people were crazy enough to pay $50 or more for a toy that cost the original buyer about $6 or so. I myself became a collector of these little guys, but was not crazy enough to pay more than $10 or so for one.
6. Treasure Trolls
I used to LOVE these things!! I even remember going to the Russ store at the outlet mall to really get my pick of them. I would even buy different outfits to put on them. Now looking back, I can't believe this trend caught on because they aren't exactly the cutest thing. I do hear they are still popular "charms" for the avid bingo player though :). The troll did make an appearance in various moves and TV shows including the Toy Story movies too.
7. Gak
Gak was made by Nickelodeon and resembled the substance that used to get dumped on people on the Nick game show Double Dare. I remember having some of this stuff and it was popular to squeeze it into the corner of the little plastic, star shaped container it came in to make a "farting" noise. This was basically the only thing you could do with it. Ahh the things that entertained us as kids!!
8. Super Soakers
Now being a girl, I didn't own one of these myself, but I do know they were a big hit in the 90's since just about every neighbor boy had one. Of course they come in all different sizes and models, and the bigger one you had the better!! Very popular in water fights!!
9. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
As with the Super Soaker, I didn't own any of these personally, but I do remember watching the cartoon on Saturday mornings. Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Raphael were big sellers along with their friends (and enemies), Splinter, April and Shredder.
10. Mall Madness and Dream Phone
Okay so I LOVED board games (and still do) when I was a kid and had tons of them. However, Mall Madness had to be my fave! Seriously a game that gives you a "credit card" and requires you to shop in order to win is the best invention for girls. LOVED this game!!!! I also had the Dream Phone game and remember it coming with some pink Zack Morris cell phone sized phone in which you call the guys in order to find out which one "liked" you. I remember getting stuck with the dorky guys a lot of times!!! Check out the commercial below!!
Well there you have it!! Some of the toys I remember being popular back in the 90's. What were some of your faves???
