The 35 best toys of the 90s including childhood favourites on
The best toys of the 90s that have stood the test of time
Wondering if the best toys of the 90s are still around? Scroll on and prepare for a trip down memory lane.
From Hungry Hippos and Furby to troll dolls and gooey alien eggs, the best toys of the 90s were nothing short of weird and wonderful. It’s kind of unbelievable to think that kids actually used to play with toys as screens have taken over, but these die-hard picks prove they’re still relevant – and aren’t going anywhere for 90s babies.
Yes, the best toys for 8-year-olds may have had an advancement in technology but who can forget the simplicity of Etch a Sketch or Baby Born? Here are 35 throwback toys that’ll give you all the nostalgic feels.
The best toys of the 90s
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Believe it or not, some of the best toys of the 90s are still around today. Here’s where you can buy them for a youngster in your life or even yourself, if the feeling takes you!
Dream Phone The Secret Admirer Board Game - £26.49 | Amazon
You can still get Dreamphone nowadays, but the original version was clearly the best – and if you didn't ever play it at a sleepover, we highly recommend getting your girlfriends round for a game today (you never outgrow it, we promise...)
Tamagotchi Electrical Pet - £19.99 | Amazon
For most 90s kids, this was your first, and most beloved pet. Until you forgot to feed it for a day, and those sad little cross eyes appeared.
Bop It! Electrical Game for Kids - £17.99 | Amazon
The original Bop It was a long shape and had less functions, but then the newer, more exciting Bop It Extreme came out, and we all lost our tiny minds.
Mr Frosty - from £28.99 | Amazon
The ultimate gift for Slush Puppy aficionados, we circled this every year in the Argos catalogue for Christmas, but all those E-numbers meant that Santa never obliged.
Stretch Armstrong - £11.99 | Amazon
Almost every 90s toybox had a Stretch, but a lucky few also had his sidekick, Fetch Armstrong, too!
Hasbro Perfection - £32.19 | Amazon
A race against time to fit shapes into holes might not sound like the most riveting of games, so why did we still spend hours slaving away trying to beat the clock?
Retro Troll Dolls - £4.99 | Amazon
Troll Dolls were kind of a leftover from the 80s, but 90s kids still loved them just as much. Bonus points if you styled their hair into anything other than the trademark pyramid (ours may have had pigtails at one point... )
Hasbro Hungry Hippos - £24.99 | Amazon
If you didn't have this game, at least four of your friends definitely did, meaning you still got to spend plenty of time mashing the buttons as hard as possible to chomp those pesky marbles.
Playskool Mr Potato Head - from £11.90 | Amazon
Can you believe the very first Potato Head came out in 1949?! It was actually the character's appearance in 1995 film Toy Story that brought him back into fashion with children of the time. Hands up if you had his wife, Mrs Potato Head, too?
My Little Pony Lickety-Split Classic - £10.99 | Amazon
One look at their coloured manes and you can instantly hear that advert jingle - all together now, 'My Little Pony, My Little Pony, we'll never be apart... '
Magna Doodle - £22.99 | Amazon
You wanted one because the characters from Friends had one on the back of their door, but never managed to get your dad to affix yours in your bedroom. In fairness, you wouldn't have been tall enough to reach it anyway.
Etch a Sketch - £44.95 | Amazon
If you actually drew anything that didn't resemble a child let loose with a Sharpie on yours, you were a better Etch a Sketch owner than us.
Fur Real Friends - £21.99 | Amazon
Amazingly realistic pets, with none of the mess, noise, or 6am walkies. There's a reason that kids AND parents were big fans of these...
Game Boy Colour - £44.95 | eBay
Okay, so 80s kids got the original Game Boy, but the Game Boy Colour brought your virtual world to life - especially when you were playing Pokemon Red and Blue...
Baby Born's greedier cousin, although all she ate was milk and cherries, so she was definitely healthier than us and our McNuggets.
Thunderbirds Tracy Island - £199.99 | Amazon
Tracy Island was a phenomenon similar to Elmo - demand was so high that in 1993, Blue Peter designed a version you could make at home because the shops had run out. If you want to have a go at one now, here's the whole tutorial in 90 seconds.
Spice Girl Dolls - £28 | Amazon
A 90s childhood wasn't complete without the Spice Girls, and owning the doll of the band member you most related to was of the highest importance (we were Baby, in case you were wondering).
Sesame Street Tickle Me Elmo - from £43.50 | Amazon
Elmo was released in 1996, and the shelves were empty in minutes - people went nuts for him! Some Tickle Me Elmos sold for hundreds of pounds, so if you've still got yours, it might be worth popping him on eBay...
The first toy that we were ever told to draw on, and one that still has a special place in our hearts. The Doodle Bear had to make our best toys of the 90s edit.
What's Her Face doll - £44.95 | eBay
One of the more creative 90s options, What's Her Face allowed you to stamp your chosen features onto your doll's blank head. Creepy to start with, but loads of fun once you got used to her (read: once she had eyes)
Of course, more tech-minded pet lovers were all about the Teksta, who was neither cute nor fluffy, but could do much more impressive tricks and put our Fur Real spaniel to shame.
After watching Home Alone, everyone wanted one of these electronic recording devices, and after months of begging, most of us got one. There was also a Talkgirl version too!
Power Rangers Figure - £19.49 | Amazon
The Mighty Morphin team was always on our TV screens anyway - these plastic replicas just allowed us to carry on the action once the episode ended. If more than three girls were present, there was ALWAYS a fight over who got to be the pink and yellow rangers.
Trying to get all four balls into Mr Bucket's mouth using plastic scoops was a struggle we all faced at some point. He was discontinued in 2007, so if there's a copy in your cupboards, you've got yourself a little piece of toy history.
Who knew tiny cardboard disks could be so exciting? We even invested in protective plastic tubes for ours.
In the 90s, if you asked for a doll for Christmas or your birthday, you were getting a Baby Born and her real, authentic weeing function - she was basically the only option in the stores. She also had a dummy that made her go to sleep in an instant, which made our expectations of real parenthood highly skewed.
Tobar Gooey Alien Egg - £5.49 | Amazon
Remember when everyone was obsessed with these grey, gooey aliens? Sadly ours never did hatch babies...
The first of many playground fads, Gogo Crazy Bones were basically just tiny plastic monsters, but weirdly addictive and totally collectible. You've probably still got a bagful in the loft.
Puppy Surprise - £29.99 | eBay
Puppy Surprise was a gamble, because you could end up with three, four or five puppies to play with. Somehow ours always ended up with the fewest (sob).
Initially, Furby seemed like a great idea - 'he's so CUTE', we squealed. However, by the time they'd told you their name was Coco and had said 'yum' twenty thousand times, you were ready to shut them in the airing cupboard (just us?)
Cupcake Sunrise - £7.89 | Amazon
Flip the skirt and these mini ladies turned into cupcakes, a trick which truly amazed our childhood selves. The sweet smell of these things will never fully leave our nostrils.
Pull the string and your Sky Dancer would take to the erm... sky, for a few tantalising seconds, much to your endless delight. If you remember these, you'll probably also recall the TV show of the same name, where the five main characters attended High Hope Dance Academy under the watchful eye of Queen Skyla.
Waterful Ring Toss - £8.82 | Toys Central
So many wasted hours, but such satisfaction when all those fiddly rings were finally behooped. This has our vote as one of the best toys of the 90s.
Cadbury Chocolate Money Box - 8.99 | eBay
10p for a square of chocolate was actually a con, when you realise that that would have bought you a Freddo at the time, but still, the joy when the block dropped out was worth the expense.
Dear Diary was the keeper of all of our childhood secrets, from first crushes to lies we'd told mum and dad - typed meticulously on those teeny tiny buttons. We also made good use of the scheduler, even though every single appointment was 'school, school, school... '
Now that you’ve found out what is the most famous 90s toy, check out the top-rated toys for six-month olds or discover the best educational toys that make learning and playing possible. Thinking about Christmas already? We’ve got you covered with our guide to the must-have toys for 2023.
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Grace Walsh is a health and wellbeing writer, working across the subjects of family, relationships, and LGBT topics, as well as sleep and mental health. A digital journalist with over six years experience as a writer and editor for UK publications, Grace is currently Health Editor for womanandhome.com and has also worked with Cosmopolitan, Red, The i Paper, GoodtoKnow, and more. After graduating from the University of Warwick, she started her career writing about the complexities of sex and relationships, before combining personal hobbies with professional and writing about fitness.
- Daniella GrayFamily News & Wellbeing Writer
- Becks ShepherdFreelance Writer
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