Growing up in the 1980s we all owned lots of different toys, and we all had our personal favourites. There were hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of different items, all created to give us kids pleasure whilst we were growing up in the greatest decade that ever existed.
But despite all the different toys that were available for us to purchase and play with, there were a much smaller number that were the essentials. The classic 80s toys that we all remember, all wanted to own, and all still love remembering to this day.
Below are 12 legendary toys that will decide which of you is the greatest 80s child of them all! Simply post a comment telling us how many of the toys you personally owned, and one of you somehow managed to obtain every single one of them growing up, then you will be crowned the truest 80s kids of them all!
1. Etch A Sketch
Long before the days of parents being able to download apps on tablets, we had to make do with an Etch A Sketch. And did we complain? Of course not, because Etch A Sketch is one of the greatest pieces of creative kit ever to be invented!
2. Mr Frosty
Wanted by many but only owned by a select few, Mr Frosty was perhaps the most legendary 80s toy of them all!
3. Speak & Spell
It was essentially a glorified calculator, but nonetheless, back in the 1980s Speak & Spell was one of the most popular toys out there.
4. Screwball Scramble
Given enough time and with a few attempts at it, most of us were able to complete the Screwball Scramble course. But once you started the timer, the pressure increased, your hands would shake, and you’d be lucky if you could get the metal ball over the first section!
5. Petite Post Office
We all loved toys that let us act out real life jobs, and Petite Post Office was perhaps the greatest example there was when we were growing up.
6. View-Master
Kids these days have Virtual Reality headsets and 3D Movies at the cinema. Back in the 1980s we had View-Master, and it was all we ever needed.
7. Teddy Ruxpin
Although perhaps slightly creepy, Teddy Ruxpin was one of our favourite 80s toys, singing us songs and telling us stories, all with the aid of a simple cassette tape.
8. Fisher-Price Cassette Tape Player
And talking of cassette tapes, this amazing Fisher-Price cassette tape player was fantastic. We spent hours recording our own stories, even though our little sister could always be heard trying to spoil things in the background.
9. Turnin’ Turbo Dashboard
Long before the law allowed us to take the wheel of our very own real life car, Tomy’s Turnin’ Turbo Dashboard had us practicing for hours and hours on end.
10. Glo Worms
Not only were Glo Worms extremely cute and super cuddly, but they of course had a head that would light up, causing much excitement after our parents had kissed us goodnight and turned off the lights!
11. Big Yellow Teapot
It’s impossible to look at the Big Yellow Teapot and not be immediately transported back to our childhoods. We’re sad to say that we never owned one, were you one of the lucky ones who did?
12. Tomytronic 3D
About as great a piece of handheld technology as we could ever wish for (at least until the arrival of Nintendo’s GameBoy), the Tomytronic 3D headsets gave us hours of entertainment. Which one did you own?