Popular Nostalgia

Toys & Games which bring back happy (or sad) memories. Remember when all you had was wooden blocks? You still preferred the box it came in? Tell us about it!

Tamagotchis came around in the mid-90’s as the alternative to actually owning a pet, for children it was very exciting period and these were all the rage in a time when digital was relatively unknown. They weren’t popular for long, like most things in the 90’s they were swept along on a wave of new […]

RETURN OF THE CATS A 1980s favourite is set to become this year’s Christmas ‘must-have’ as retailer demand outstrips supply of the new Thundercats action figures and vehicles. The retro cartoon – with celebrity fans including Jonathan Ross, Chris Moyles and Paulo Nutini – has been updated and recently released on British TV screens. The […]

The Sega Megadrive was the first games console that I first properly got given – I had used the Atari, but that had been my older brother’s console. It was known as the SEGA Genesis in America, I believe, and my parents somehow managed to get a Japanese version that played both Japanese and European […]

Before Transformers became a silly overblown movie with Corvettes in it, it was an altogether more pleasant cartoon and toy combo which involved robots who would transform from useful objects, like lorries, into more cool objects, like Optimus Prime ( a big destructive robot overlord guy). I loved Transformers, for they truly were Robots in […]

Before the time when everyone had a Tv in their room, on their phones, on their computers, maybe even attached to their face.. kids used to read. Kids used to read all the time. (I’m sure they still read a lot now… I’m sure they read this website ;)) The mothers helper, the baby sitter, […]

The 90’s was an amazing era. You could even make your own ice cubes! Imagine that. Rather than using a freezer to make ice, or even ice lollies, you could use a snowman and his hat! I remember seeing an advert for Mr Frosty through my old black TV box. Those were the days where […]

Mighty Max was an off-shoot of the Polly Pocket toy line and was aimed at boys. The plastic playsets are now worth a fortune to collectors as some of the pieces are so rare. The “Doom Heads” amongst other toys, sparked a trend for including a playset inside the head of a character. An animated […]

Polly Pocket was pure nineties. The only thing I remember about them was the adverts, even though I had a toy myself. There was a little box which opened up to reveal Polly and her little house. You could take the game anywhere with you and buy bits to add to it. There’s a new […]

Remember getting spokies in your Frosties? Remember trying to out-do your friends with the number you could fit on your bike? It used to make a racket but we loved spokies. They’re still widely available – especially the Disney ones. Some clever people used to get flashing ones or spokies that made a noise – […]

I’m not sure precisely when, but at some stage in (I think) the 1970s, some genius came up with the incredible “Spacehopper”. What was, presumably, one small step for a man, became a giant leap for under 10s the world over, as they bounced around aimlessly for hours upon end. Spacehoppers were quite possibly the […]

An excellent singer and perfect pin-up for teenage girls, Craig David was the poster boy for UK garage. His album sold loads and he became instantly famous for “7 days”, mainly because it was so liable to spoof versions and mockery at the method of seduction. Little goaty things and cornrows became de riguer for […]

Those little mice and hamsters that lived in windmills and houses. I remember the little green plastic beds that had so many details, down to the mini-mattresses. You could collect all sorts of stuff for them, I even picked up some tiny minature tins of food to stock them up. Somehow, the mini animals were […]

Supersoakers were a revolution in water gun technology. No more running back to the tap to fill up your pissy little revolver, oh no. Strap ten litres of water to your body and blast your siblings away all day long. I have a particularly vivid memory of a balmy summer afternoon near Bolton Abbey, visiting […]

In 1993, Blue Peter did a feature on the Thunderbird’s Tracey Island because many kids at the time had the Thunderbirds toys including Thunderbirds 1,2,3,4 and 5. So Blue Peter showed us how to make our own Thunderbirds HQ using the traditional toilet roll, washing up liquid bottle and papier mache. Due to the requirement […]

I’m quite embarassed to admit that have actually seen Power Rangers: The Movie. I’ll put this down to the young age of my cousins at the time. Back in the day I too used to watch Power Rangers, but this was the original power rangers. I thought it was pretty cool when the green Power […]