90s Toys That Will Make You Nostalgic

No one gets nostalgic like 90s kids. That’s why seeing 90s toys on our timeline can get us thinking back to a simpler time: the good old days of Nick Cartoons and electronic pets.

Because owning a dog and making sure your Tamagachi survived the weekend is the same thing, right? Definitely the same amount of responsibility.

So let’s take a stroll through memory lane and think of all the toys still hanging out in our parents’ attics. While not all of these were originally made in the 90s – for example, Barbie stepped onto the scene in 1959 – they reached immense popularity during this decade.

Here are the best of the best 90s toys.

The Best 90s Nostalgia Toys

These are the toys you talk about and almost every millennial and z-lennial in the room will say “I had that!” And if they didn’t, they definitely had a friend that did, or they spent their childhood wishing they had one. 

Here are some of the classics when it comes to 90s toys.

Easy Bake Oven

Ah, yes. The science of baking something that tasted like play dough with an extremely inefficient light bulb.

What kid wouldn’t want one of these?

Beanie Babies

In 1993, Ty Warner released a new type of stuffed animal called “Beanie Babies” and it started a craze that some people carry on to this day. 

And some people will pay top dollar to own that nostalgia.

If you have mint Large Wallace and His Squad (two little versions of Wallace, Cashew, and Huggy), you could sell it for a cool $600,000. (And if you find someone willing to buy this from you – let us know. Our editor has still got some Beanie Babies she needs to sell too!)

Furby

Love em or hate them, Furbies have a way of clinging to the cultural consciousness. Whether they make your skin crawl or you can’t resist their large, unfeeling eyes, these creepy monsters were icons of the 90s.

Moon Shoes

Wow! These shoes make it feel like you’re walking on the moon!

These oversized plastic monstrosities made you feel like you were bouncing along a lighter atmosphere. They also provided an excellent way to roll your ankle.

Tickle Me Elmo

While Tickle Me Elmos can still be bought and sold brand new today, this Sesame Street superstar first made its debut in 1996. His adorable catchphrases are activated by tickling.

And he inspired a mad craze in 1996 when there was a shortage. Not nearly enough units were produced to fill the popularity and with the scarcity, people took things too far.

Two women got arrested for fighting over the very last Elmo in a store, and one clerk was injured with a pulled hamstring, back, jaw, and knee complications, a broken rib, and a concussion in a frantic “Elmo-mania” shopping surge.

Bop It

Bop it! Twist it! Pull it!

Who doesn’t think getting instructions yelled at them is fun?

90s Toys: Tech Edition

Back in the 90s, we thought these bad boys were the coolest things on the market. Here’s where the intersection of 90s tech and 90s toys collide.

Tamagotchi

Want to prove to your parents that you’re responsible enough for a pet? How about you take care of a tiny ball of pixels to prove you deserve a dog?

The Tamagotchi was a handheld digital pet. It was created in Japan in the mid-90s by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai. Bandai brought the toy to market on November 23, 1996 in Japan. And roughly 6 months later, it made its debut in the rest of the world.

Nintendo 64

The Nintendo 64 brought us classics like Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Star Fox 64. And thankfully, these Nintendo 64 games have actually been updated to be accessed on the current Switch.

Game Boy Color

The Game Boy Color was the first of the Game Boys to have a color screen, rather than being monochrome and backlit. It had a lot of options when it came to available games because it had backwards compatibility with previous generations.

Forgotten 90s Toys

Some 90s toys immediately flood your mind when you think of that decade: Tickle Me Elmo, Tamagotchi, and Beanie Babies. But what about the toys we’ve forgotten? We’re here to jog your memory on the 90s toys that may have slipped your mind. 

Sky Dancers

Sky Dancers: the trendiest toy that got a spinoff TV show and got discontinued for being a safety hazard. After 100 reported injuries, ranging from temporary blindness to facial lacerations, Sky Dancers were taken off the market. However, not before they (or some knockoff) became the subject of a viral Vine, which you can see below.

We feel guilty for laughing as hard as we do at this video.

Rainbow Art

This was an infomercial titan. You created masterpieces by adding multiple colors of paint to a sponge brush to make art with a rainbow as your medium.

Iconic.

Skip It

You don’t know the true meaning of pain until you get one of these wacked into your ankle at full speed. 

To play with these, you would shove your foot into the plastic circle and swing it around so the toy would make a circle around you as you lifted your other foot like it was a jump rope. It was super fun to see how many rotations you could get in a row, but super painful when you failed.

90s Girl Toys

Now we know that you shouldn’t just give girls dolls and boys army figurines, but in the 90s, toys were extremely gendered. Here’s what “girl” toys looked like in the 90s. 

Spoiler alert: everything was pink.

Polly Pocket

With a new show that launched in 2018, Polly Pocket is making a comeback! While they first launched in 1989, they were a girly staple of the 90s. You could change her tiny, rubbery clothes and give her even smaller accessories, all of which would, of course, fit in your pocket.

Totally Hair Barbie

What is a generation without a specific brand of Barbie to call their own?

Totally Hair Barbie had hair that went down to her toes and is the highest-selling Barbie doll of all time. It was also historically relevant as the very first brunette Barbie to ever be released. 

Now that’s what I call 90s toys diversity! *yes, we’re rolling our eyes*

American Girl Dolls

You had two options: you could get a Girl of the Year, or you could get one custom-made to look just like you. If your parents really had cash to spend, you could get matching clothes so you and your doll could twin. 

American Girl Dolls were for grown-up sophisticated girls, and Bitty Babies were for your little sister who wasn’t quite as mature as you just yet.

Betty Spaghetty

Betty was a lovable, bendable rubber doll that let girls pose her rubbery hair in different styles. Not to mention collect all her accessories, such as a fancy cell phone, laptop, and skates!

Your Favorite 90s Toys

So what did we miss? What 90s toys did you love the most? What video games did you love on the Nintendo 64? Did you collect a bunch of Pokemon cards?

Were you obsessed with the Power Rangers? Did you make your masterpieces on a Lite Brite? Tell us in the comments!