13 Toys Every Kid Had in the ’80s That Will Make US Instantly Nostalgic
Kids who grew up in the 1980s experienced life vastly differently than children of today. The toys that GenX and older millennial generations played with showcase that fact.
The 1980s saw fascinating transitions into a more digital age while also having one foot in the past. This mix of new technology and classic, more old-fashioned toys demonstrated why these generations love nostalgia and understand the world in ways others may not.
Looking back at the toys most 80s kids grew up with illuminates a fun path down memory lane and inspires warm, nostalgic feelings.
1. Lite Brite
Lite Brite represents the kind of toy that teetered between the old and the new back in the 1980s. The version kids in this era played with consisted of a rectangular plastic perforated panel with a small light bulb behind it. Each Lite Brite came with patterns that you placed on top of the grid and colored pegs into. One could create images of anything from animals to clowns to flowers.
Kids would delight in the colorful designs and ease of use, especially creative kids who would come up with their own patterns. Today, the Milton Bradley toy still exists in a much lighter and debatably lesser quality. Anyone who wants to relive their Lite Brite childhood or get their kids an older one can find them in various places online, such as eBay and Etsy.
2. Cabbage Patch Kids
Those who lived it remember the Cabbage Patch craze of the 1980s. Created by Xavier Roberts, these cloth dolls had an invented origin story, including a magical garden where each doll was born and in need of a good home.
The popularity of these dolls took off so much that just about every child wanted a doll of their own. Still, the term popular does not do it justice. The desire for them inspired mass hysteria and riots that made national headlines, such as one in Minneapolis in 1983. Black Friday has nothing on the Cabbage Patch Kids.
Today, the craze feels like a memorable but distant memory. The kids who “adopted” them likely only remember the fun they had.
3. Teddy Ruxpin
Teddy Bears got an upgrade in the 1980s with Teddy Ruxpin. The adorable bear featured moveable limbs and could blink and speak thanks to a cassette tape in his back. Like the Cabbage Patch Kids, Teddy Ruxpin featured accompanying stories. Kids would listen to Teddy narrate companion books for hours, much to their delight.
Selling over seven million bears, Teddy Ruxpin was considered the first animatronic stuffed animal. You could not cuddle with him in the same way as other plush toys, but he had unique qualities and charms that kids who grew up in the era still look back on fondly.
4. Play-Doh
While children before and after the 1980s love Play-Doh, the sets from the 80s had a distinctive and fun quality. This colorful, non-toxic clay-like substance can occupy kids for hours upon end and spark endless amounts of creativity.
GenXers and millennials remember the various Play-Doh sets they had, such as the Barber and Hail Salon. You could place the Play-Doh in a figure with holes in its head, squeeze it out, and cut it with plastic scissors. A cookout set allowed kids to create pretend meals for friends and family.
Besides inspiring the occasional future hair stylist or chef, sets like these demonstrate how the 80s always aimed to upgrade the playtime experience. Collectors can still find these vintage gems online on eBay and Etsy.
5. Color Forms
Despite the technological advances of the 1980s, many toys still had a lovely, old-fashioned simplicity to them. A perfect example would be Color Forms. These consist of vinyl cutouts that one could place on glossy cardboard images to create various scenes. Like stickers but reusable, these proved cost-effective, so kids from all social statuses played with the fun and inexpensive toy.
I loved my Disney and Barbie color forms. With so many themes to choose from and a simple concept, color forms stand the test of time. Case in point, you can still buy a brand-new Mickey and Minnie color form set from the 1980s.
6. Pound Puppies
The plush toys for kids who loved dogs, Pound Puppies had an undeniably lovable quality, mass appeal, an individual history, and their own animated series. Pound Puppies became an easy compromise for the nurturing kids who yearned for a pet.
They came in cardboard crates with adoption papers and care guides that encouraged nutrition, walks, and baths as if they were real dogs. Sadly, a thing of the past, one can look back on Pound Puppies with admiration for the fostering of compassion towards dogs.
7. View-Master
The technology behind View-Masters first came about the invention of the stereoscope and viewer cards in the 1850s. In 1939, William Gruber and Harold Graves updated that concept to the View-Masters we know today. In the 1980s, these lightweight plastic toys brought images to life in fun and vibrant ways.
Kids would place circle discs with miniature photos of various characters, stories, places, animals, etc. into their View-Masters. Simple but entertaining, collectors remain on the lookout for View-Masters in good condition, especially those who feel a sense of nostalgia for the toy.
8. Nintendo Entertainment System
The original Nintendo Entertainment System may not necessarily fall into the “Every kid had one” category as much as others in this list; however, whoever did not have this video game system almost always had a friend or family member who did.
First released in Japan in 1983, the NES took off into the stratosphere after its U.S. launch in 1986. The earliest games, Super Mario Brothers, Duck Hunt, Donkey Kong, and The Legend of Zelda, have become iconic and synonymous with the Nintendo brand, and they have not lost their appeal.
Video games have changed and evolved by leaps and bounds, but the original Nintendo still holds a special place in the hearts of everyone who ever played or watched the defeat of Bowser, Gannon, and other legendary characters.
9. Rubik’s Cube
Toys in the 1980s often fostered creativity and challenged kids to stretch their minds. Of all the games and puzzles out there, none inspired more determination than the Rubik’s Cube. Invented in 1973 by Erno Rubik, the Ideal Toy & Novelty Company re-named it from the Magic Cube to the Rubik’s Cube and began selling it in 1980.
Over 100 million households owned the puzzle, and kids of all ages attempted to solve it. The brightest challenged their friends to see who could do so the fastest, while onlookers watched in awe. Though it was unlikely any kid could solve it as fast as Vicky, the humanoid robot girl from the 1980s sitcom Small Wonder, they would still try.
10. He-Man and She-Ra
Toys and their animated series or movies go hand-in-hand, especially in the 1980s from GI-Joe to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While so many dominated the decade, just about every kid knew of or had a He-Man and She-Ra action figure because they targeted boys and girls at the same time.
Based on the characters from Masters of the Universe, these figures firmly belong to the era more so than their counterparts, with their design and specific 1980s appeal. Other figures remain in the mainstream consciousness, but He-Man and She-Ra reside in their generation’s nostalgic memory box.
11. Read-Along Books With Cassette Tapes and Vinyl
A certain phrase remains in every kid’s mind from the 1980s: “You Know it’s time to turn the page when you hear the chimes ring like this.” Thanks to the Read-Along Books of that era, any child can recall and hear those words.
For young kids who had not learned to read and for those just beginning, these books came with cassette tapes or vinyl records that would narrate a story. Most households had at least a few, from Disney movies to Rainbow Brite. Sweet and inexpensive, thinking back on times with Read-Along books will undoubtedly bring back happy memories of sitting in a parent’s lap or a rocking chair listening to a favorite story come to life.
12. Speak and Spell
Whoever says toys can’t be educational does not remember the Speak and Spell. Developed in the 1970s by Texas Instruments, this toy was the first consumer product to use Digital Signal Processing, or DSP, which converts analog data to digital.
The Speak and Spell data helped kids learn the proper spelling and pronunciation of words. Increasing their vocabulary and assisting their spelling skills made the toy equally fun and useful. Technology has evolved far beyond the Speak and Spell, but its simplicity still resonates and inspires nostalgic feelings. Anyone like that can still buy brand-new versions of the classic toy.
13. Care Bears
With numerous television shows and movies, many might not know of the Care Bears stuffed toys and their origin. First created for greeting cards in 1981, they became toys in 1982. These colorful bears featured symbols and names based on various emotions and traits, such as Cheerful, Bedtime, Grumpy, and Tender-Heart.
They branched out to other animals called the Care Bear cousins and produced an animated series and The Care Bears Movie in 1985. These cute and cuddly plush toys sold for nearly 40 million by 1988 and still have their beloved fans. 80s kids no doubt still cherish their Care Bears memories and maybe even still have their favorite one on display.
