After sharing a few niche and retro finds on the DadBlog Facebook page, I figured it was time to dedicate a full post to toys from the days of yore. These little treasures from the past hold a lot of fond memories for me, and I’m sure they do for you too!

I’ll be updating this post as time goes on because the wife keeps showing me reels and TikToks that trigger flashback memories. I want to share the same joy I’m feeling with my kids – and with you too!

Let me know in the comments if there’s anything you distinctly remember, or if you feel like there are any iconic toys that I have missed and I’ll be sure to add them!

Iconic & Nostalgic Toys Of The ’80s & ’90s

SuperSonic Pinball & Water Wizard Toys

Anyone who can remember the Sonic The Hedgehog comic series from the early 90’s will remember the absolute barrage of Sonic related memorabilia available on the market.

As an avid reader, I would duly enter every competition in the hopes of winning one of the top prizes. As luck would have it, I managed to bag myself a pinball machine (Though I’m pretty sure the rats got to it at some point.) The wife knows that she’s always safe with any Sonic related memorabilia for any birthday or fathers day. Instant win every time!

Tomy Tutor Play Computer

Most of us have a vague recollection of this amazing bit of machinary. Originally manufactured in the early 80’s as a companion for the Tomy Tutor 16-bit computer (or Pyūta) in 1982 in Japan, this toy was one of the reasons I’m a computer fanatic to this day!

Rubik’s Cube

No ’80s nostalgia list would be complete without a nod to the world-renowned Rubik’s Cube. It was the perfect companion for those endless car journeys, especially after your Gameboy batteries decided to snuff it!

GoCube Edge, The Connected Electronic Bluetooth Cube – Award-Winning 3×3 Magnetic Speed Cube – App Enabled Interactive Smart Cube – Best Gift for Kids & Adults – STEM Brain Teaser Puzzles – Free App

• A NEW GENERATION OF CONNECTED CUBES – This smart bluetooth enabled speed cube brings a new engaging and smooth twist to the classic puzzle. Quickly charge, connect, and let the app take you through exciting lessons, games, online competitions and mental exercises with friends and cubers from all over the world.

£74.95

Buy on Amazon

Times have definitely changed, and now there’s a whole assortment of advanced Rubik’s Cubes on the market. My son is an avid collector, and we’ve probably spent over £200 on his ever-growing collection, including a 7×7 cube and the GoCube Edge (which I’ll admit, I’ve “borrowed” more than once!).

Nintendo Game Boy

I was a Sega fanboy through and through, spending most of my waking hours glued to the MegaDrive. But when Pokémon fever hit the country, I couldn’t resist getting swept up in the craze. I spent every free second glued to my Game Boy, determined to catch ’em all before any of my friends!

The Game Boy will always hold a special place in my heart, even though I probably only ever played 3 or 4 games on it. Those few games were more than enough to make it a cherished part of my childhood!

A special mention goes out to the Gameboy “Light Boy” which ate batteries like nobodies business, but made night time drives all the more entertaining. I never had one, but my brother did.

I had to wait for the streetlights like a povvo.

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Fisher Price Activity Center

This one hit really hard, obviously a baby / toddler toy – but I have vivid memories of stimming with that little red button, over and over and over *ding ding ding*.

There were a few varients of this toy, some made in the ’70s others in the ’80s, but there’s a modern day varient that you can pick up from Argos of all places!

Tiger 2-XL

Those flashing red lights still haunt me, and the end of tape “wheee-wooo, please turn me over NOW” alarm. Oh, My, God, nightmares for days. Even so, the Tiger 2-XL was probably one of my favourite toys from my childhood.

Thinking back, I’m pretty sure I tried to put my ELC Dinosaurs Cassette into the 2-XL as well.

View Master

Anyone who’s ever been to any kind of gift shop will have come across these absolutely amazing pieces of advanced technology. Stereoscopic viewing in HD before 3D and VR really took off.

I was fortunate enough to have one with a Yosemite Nation Park series and I can still remember staring at the Half Dome from Glacier Point for literal HOURS. (Neurospicy much?)

Tamagotchi

Defintely a late ’90s toy, but everyone had one! Unless of course you were poor, then you had the knock-off 8-in-1 heart shaped boot sale version *raises hand*… and of course I couldn’t leave it there, I found a video of someone with the “octogotchi” that I had.

My wife spent an inordinate amount of money importing all sorts of crazy, weird and wonderful new varients of the traditional Tamagotchi because we both missed out as children.

More Nostalgia

That’s all I’ve got for now as the kids are screaming at me to get outside, what toys do you have fond memories of from your childhood? Leave a comment below or get in touch and i’ll add as many as I can!