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Adam 12

(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Let’s take a trip back to the ’90s and dive under the tree and unwrap a few Millennial Christmas toys that were all the rage back in the day.

 

I’m presenting this as a 12-Inch Poll, of course. It’s the holidays season and I’m simultaneously in making-my-shopping-list mode and nostalgia mode. And I’m guessing you probably are, too. And I’m also guessing that you either unwrapped one of the gifts below as a kid (or maybe a sibling or cousin or friend did). Or, you were the one wrapping one of these for a kid during the holiday season.

 

By the time the ’90s came around, marketing toys to kids had evolved. The Madison Avenue ad machine of the ’70s and ’80s had evolved and was even more on point in developing toys that kids would crave in the ’90s. And that trend of developing TV shows that existed explicitly to sell toys to kids that had bloomed in the ’80s–either in the programming or in the commercials–was still going strong.

 

Millennial Christmas Toys: 12 Favorites From the ’90s

I did some research to identify some of the top toys of the early part of the ’90s, when the average Millennial was getting the big gifts. Some of them were obvious wish-list choices (hello, Nintendo Game Boy). But there are some others that were maybe a little less obvious but were still huge at the time. Especially in the Boston area (hello, New Kids on the Block Concert Kits).

 

If you’ve voted in one of my polls before, you know the deal. Scroll through the toys below, soak in the nostalgia from the early ’90s commercials, then cast your vote. And, as always, if a favorite toy of yours didn’t make the cut, let me know on the ROCK 92.9 Twitter or Facebook.

  • Barbie Golden Dream Motorhome

    With 2023 being the Year of Barbie, can you imagine how much this would be worth if you still had it mint from 1992?

    1992 Barbie golden dreams motor home glamorous house commercial
  • Creepy Crawlers

    This was the “slime” trend a generation before there was a “slime” trend.

    Creepy Crawlers Toy Commercial (1992)
  • Matchbox Car Wash

    Hot Wheels and Matchbox figured it out back in the day: give kids playsets to use for their collections of cars and the kids WILL ask for them as gifts.

    Matchbox Car Wash Commercial - 1993
  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Action Figures

    It’s tough to argue there was a bigger TV/toy pop culture phenomenon in the ’90s than MMPR. The show launched in ’93 and the toys followed soon thereafter.

    1994 Bandai Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Action Figures Commercial #1
  • New Kids On The Block Concert Kits

    Never even knew these existed. But now that I do, I’m guessing they sold a TON of ’em in Massachusetts.

    New Kids On the Block Toy Commercial
  • Nerf Guns

    Forever fascinated with how guns have been marketed as toys for children over the years.

    Nerf Gun Commercial (1993)
  • Nintendo Game Boy

    The Game Boy hit U.S. shores for the 1989 holiday season, but was still an “it” toy for the next couple of years.

    GAME BOY COMMERCIAL 1990
  • Play-Doh Cookie Lovin' Oven

    For generations, parent’s couldn’t go wrong with Play-Doh toys. The fun and creativity was still going strong into the ’90s.

    Play Doh Cookie Lovin' Oven Ad (1994)
  • PlayStation 1

    The PS1 owned the 1994 holiday season and became the first console experience for a wide swath of Millennial gamers.

    PlayStation 1 (1994) Commercial
  • Tiger 2XL Robot

    With Small Wonder on TV and Short Circuit in theatres in the ’80s, I’m surprised this robot toy didn’t land until the ’90s.

    Tiger 2-XL toy commercial
  • WWF Wrestling Buddies

    I can imagine the ad execs: “How do we make stuffed animals cool for older kids? Let’s make a Hulk Hogan stuffy!”

    WWF Wrestling Buddies | Television Commercial | 1991
  • X-Men Action Figures

    Was there a better ’90s super hero cartoon than X-Men? The toys were pretty damn cool, too.

    X-Men Animated Series Action Figures Commercial (1992 Global Television Toronto, Ontario)