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Remember When These Toys Reigned Supreme? 🧸🪀

22 items

Hui Sim

A look at some of the top-selling toys of the past 50-80 years. Some, like Teddy Ruxpin, have been re-invented and made comebacks to the cross-marketing accompaniment of movies and TV films. Others, like Slinky, have stayed in their original incarnat...this list to learn more about it.

Note: This list may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission (at no extra charge to you) if you make a purchase using these links.

Sections

Toys

A multi-decade compilation of the toys and gadgets that have grabbed my attention over the years.

Rolled out at the start of the 21st century, Bratz dolls are the coolest, most fashionable girls ever! Everyone's pretty here … no body dismorphia to worry about!

Bratz

These cheeky children exploded into toy stores in the early '80s, and it seemed like everyone wanted a Cabbage Patch Kid – and were willing to fight to get one at the toy store!

Cabbage Patch Kids

The adorable Care Bears were also launched in the early '80s. Another favorite of mine … rhyming ursines in every color and with every personality imaginable! TV shows, movies, and merch cemented their popularity.

Care Bears

The brilliantly-named and simple to operate Etch-a-Sketch was launched in the '60s. I considered it time well wasted, and my doodles could be erased quickly. I probably spent more time undoing my creations than actually creating them -- I had that mu...

Etch A Sketch

Did you know that the Furby, which premiered in 1998, was actually inspired by adorable little Gizmo the Mogwai (of The Gremlins movies)? I would rather have plush Mogwai, to be truthful.

Furby Galaxy Edition Glow in Dark Plush

Ahhh … that's better. It seemed like no one could obey all the three rules of owning a Mogwai … but Gizmo always knew better. Unfortunately, his troublemaking offspring were anything but like their father. Gizmo as a plush toy didn't actually pop up ...

Gizmo the Mogwai

These were all the rage in the ‘90s, and I even had a couple. They didn’t do a whole lot after you threw them – but the zany colors were so much fun to stare at!

Koosh Balls Multi-Color Gift Set Bundle (3-Pack)

Not just a passing 60s fad. Just looking at colorful blobs moving up and down those lamps was such a relaxing thing to do. For me, the closest thing to lava lamps has to be the jellyfish at the local aquarium!

Lava Lamp

Oh, what joy creating with colored lights was (and still is!), a toy that came to the attention of many North Americans in 1967.

Lite Brite

Of course I loved My Little Pony! They're equines! (even if the anthropomorphization of horses is quite silly). Like the Care Bears, these equids premiered during the early 80s.

My Little Pony

One of the hottest selling “toys” of all time got repurposed in 1955 for kids when sales for it as a modeling compound for wallpaper took a nosedive … and the rest is history.

Play Doh 42-Pack 1-Oz Modeling Compound

I never got more than 3 sides, but always gave Rubik's Cube--an invention from Eastern Europe when it was still behind the Iron Curtain--more than my college best! It was always fascinating to see how fast people could solve the whole cube.

Rubik's Cube

The only other Muppet (in his tickling incarnation) to end up stealing Kermit's thunder and spotlight in 1996. Well, perhaps Miss Piggy was a good runner-up; (or any Muppet who could give the little green guy pause or put a kibosh on his smooth demea...

Sesame Street Elmo Slide Singing & Dancing 14" Plush

It must have been her food-influenced name and scented hair (and pet), because I *loved* my Strawberry Shortcake figurine (I was never a Barbie fan – never! You heard it here).

Strawberry Shortcake

I was gifted one in the mid 90s, and quickly learned that I was never going to be a responsible digital pet parent.

Tamagotchi Digital Pet

Everyone was swooning over this cute, charming, and cuddly talking bear in the '80s. His mouth and eyes moved when he spoke – and if that didn't hook you, nothing was going to. The big screen adaptation was shelved because of its manufacturer's finan...

Teddy Ruxpin

The low-tech version of a lava lamp. I could watch this toy "walk" down the stairs for hours. It was as close as a piece of metal could get to being alive for me! The Slinky celebrates its 80th birthday in 2025!

The Original Slinky

The little blue creatures of '80s animated TV and film fame found that they had never lost their charm when they hit the big screens (again) in the 2010s and 2020s after a 30-year-hiatus.

The Smurfs 40th Anniversary Classic Figure 10-Pack

Did you grow up playing with TINKERTOY (whatever you do, don't call it “poor man's LEGO”!) Well, TINKERTOY has evolved with the generations.

TINKERTOY®

When The Transformers animated TV series launched in the mid ‘80s, Bumblebee was my instant favorite. Although the Maximals in Beast Wars (appearing in the late ’90s) always intrigued me even more!

Transformers Heroic Optimus Prime Figure

It was a shock for me to discover that Treasure Troll dolls were not toys of the ‘90s, but the ’60s. They were significantly re-tooled from their Danish origins, transitioning from wood to plastic, and cross-marketed with video games, and animated sh...

Treasure Trolls

These plush toys became a serious investment for some in the ‘90s and early 2000s. Ty Warner, the creator, caused a public outcry when he announced the discontinuation of many Beanie Babies in 2007, and forced the value of many rarer Beanie Babies to...

Ty Beanie Babies