This 90s Christmas List will Kick Your Nostalgia in to Overdrive
Being born in the 80s meant I got to enjoy all the wonder that was the 90s... for better or for worse. I mean, no one is looking for Hypercolor shirts to come back. Certainly everyone is done frosting their tips. But, man, the toys from the 90s were the best. Here's a rundown of everything I wanted all those years ago...
- 1
Mighty Max
This toy was so badass they made a cartoon out of it. Not sure the Easy-Bake Oven can say the same. Mighty Max was a fully portable play set, complete with characters. You could go on pocket-sized adventures from one play set to the other - there were no rules! The male answer to Polly Pocket, I had way more fun running from Mad Scientists and mummies risen from the dead, than I ever did shopping or dog grooming... or whatever else Polly was up to. Mighty Max was definitely on my Christmas list.
- 2
13 Dead End Drive
Murder is fun for the whole family! That's what 13 Dead End Drive was about. Everyone wants the inheritance left by poor Aunt Agatha (may she rest). You have two objectives; get out of the house alive, or be the only one left alive. The latter means you'll be slipping in entrails before the night is over. Like I said, FUN! I don't know if it was the board itself, with all the fun pieces and set up, or the game play, but I wanted this game from the moment I saw this commercial.
- 3
Totally Hair Barbie
Three words was all I needed; Totally. Hair. Barbie. I don't know if Mattel was running out of occupations for Barbie to try, or if they were feeling nostalgic, themselves, for some Crystal Gayle, but their "totally hot, totally cool, Totally Hair Barbie," was a favorite among the children of the 90s. In fact, I don't think I've met anyone my age who didn't have one. I had the brunette version and managed to keep her mall bangs perfect until she went to Goodwill, the Island of Misfit Toys.
- 4
Doctor Dreadful Food Lab
Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble. I'm pretty sure Shakespeare wanted a Doctor Dreadful Food Lab, too. Make gummy spiders, gummy mummies, gummy anything, really. Thinking back, I probably would have blown through all the specially measured packages in one afternoon and the toy would have ended up collecting dust. But I had high expectations of all the gross stuff I was going to make, and then end up with a wicked stomach ache. - 5
Skip It
Today's youth would wonder why in the world anyone would want this toy. It's simplistic in it's design. The counter was as inaccurate as they come. But there was something really fun about the Skip It. I never got it... *sniff*... I'm going to need a minute...
- 6
TMNT Toys
I had the cartoon on video. Raphael was my dude. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was my world for a good two year run. I would have given anything for the full set (including Bebop and Rocksteady), though I really had no need for the Foot Soldiers. They were glorified bowling pins, anyway. But I certainly would have loved a chance to put Shredder in his place.
- 7
Squand
I didn't spell that wrong. There was something in the 90s called "Squand". When dry it was like regular, grainy sand. Wet, however, you could sculpt it in to the underwater landscape of your heart's desire. I didn't really know what I would do with it once I had it, I mean, what do you do with a moist, uninhabitable Atlantis? Maybe that's why I never got it.