For many of us, the 70s and 80s were the best days of our lives. From the years of the perm to the songs of ABBA, these decades were some of the most iconic in history. It is easy to look back on these eras and remember the famous pop stars and the dress codes to come out of them, but do you remember the smaller details of these decades?
There were so many different toys which are typical of the 70s and 80s which we all spent so many hours playing with! From weird and wonderful pens to snugglebums, the 70s and 80s brought the best kinds of toys. We are taking a look back at these years by looking at 12 pictures of things which you probably had during these decades.
These are certain to take you on a trip down memory lane!
1. Character Pens
Who remembers these from back in the day?! We were completely obsessed with collecting things like this when we were younger. Whilst these undoubtedly look pretty sinister now, they were the bees knees back in the 80s. You weren’t cool until you had the whole collection!
Which of the characters was your all-time favourite? Did anyone else used to trade these with each other in school?
2. Stretch Armstrong
We ALL remember this guy from when we were younger. I swear there was one Christmas when every kid got this as their present. It was easy to spend hours stretching this little guy. It really is true, the simplest things are the most entertaining!
Me and my brother wanted to see how far he’d stretch and he ended up exploding in our front room. How were we to know that this guy was actually made up of goo? You can imagine by parents reaction to a bedroom full of stretch man’s remains…. my mum was NOT happy!
3. Pencils!
Whilst to the kids of nowadays, pencils are not the most interesting of things. When compared to the IPads and gadgets of the 21st century, pencils are pretty boring. But we were completely obsessed with pencils that looked a lot like this. These featured in our pencil cases throughout school. The more interesting the pencil, the cooler the person!
What we loved the most was the little plastic charms that you could get to fit on the pencils! You could jazz up your pencils in all kinds of different ways!
4. Garbage Pail Kids
We all remember collecting these cards when we were younger. These cards were pretty gorey looking back, but there was nothing quite as fun as swapping and exchanging cards with your pals during break-time.
We kept them in PRISTINE condition. There was no room for letting this collection get damaged at all. There was more than just your reputation at stake if you lost one of these. My favourite was Armpit Britt.
5. Lucky Bags
Who remembers these from back in the day? These were back when the lucky bags were actually paper bags! Lucky bags were really a delight. The best thing was that no-one really knew what they were about to get inside. It was usually a small pencil sharpener and a piece of cardboard to colour in, but despite the constant disappointment of its contents, the lucky bag remained one of the most exciting things to come out of the 70s!
This lucky bag was obviously one of the most expensive ones! According to the cover, you got seven pieces of jewellery or hair accessories. This was so exciting because it was a complete surprise what you were going to get!
6. Snugglebums
Who remembers these?! The best part of these toys was most definitely their names… Snugglebums! We are not sure if the name would even be allowed anymore. But look how cute these little things are. We occupied hours playing with these things. From styling their hair in pigtails to wetting it and spiking it up, these were the best toys to play with as a youngster.
These definitely bring back so many memories from growing up. I loved them so much.
7. Petite Office
We all remember getting one of these back in the day. For some reason, we all loved the thought of having a job and wanted to role-play these times. The wonders of technology in its earliest days!
However, it is completely the other way round these days… isn’t it?!
8. These pencil holders
Who remembers these from back in the day? I remember my year four classroom had one of these on the side. The coolest things back in the 70s and 80s seemed to be to do with stationary, oh how times have changed! Having a go at storing your pencil in this guy was the highlight of the day!
They were seriously cute because it really did look like a cute, little hedgehog. Do you remember these?
9. Insignia
Who can remember this aftershave from back in the day? Every single boy used to smell of this in the 80s. This scent was the ultimate way to catch the ladies. Insignia smelt of what we can only really describe of as petrol.. but if you had it on, you were instantly the coolest in the class.
We all know that this was one of the most popular aftershaves ever. Every single bathroom cupboard had an Insignia product in it!
10. Troll Pencil toppers
Who can remember these?! These definitely made your pencils about fifty times better than they already were. Trolls came in all different shapes, sizes and colours! From bright blue to electric green, trolls were the most colourful toy to play with! Whether you lined them up on your shelf or stuck them on the end of your pencil, everyone collected these little guys.
Which of the trolls was your favourite? I loved having the red one… my best friend had the green one and I was so jealous! Which troll you had was an indicator of your personality type! If you had the yellow one you were so sophisticated and if you had the red one you were way more stylish than your classmates!
11. Victoria Plum
These Victoria Plum sets were RIDICULOUSLY popular when we were younger, weren’t they?! Male or female, the smell was so delicious, everyone wanted one of these sets! There was nothing quite like feeling grown up whilst taking a bubble bath, getting rid of all of the primary school stress that day!
Every single Christmas you ended up with loads of these.. didn’t you? And they never got boring! They then lasted the whole year. Happy times!
12. Cabbage Patch Kids
These toys were something that every single kid from the 80s just HAD to have. They were so cute but when we look at them now, we can’t help but thing just how weird these dolls look. Their eyes are just that little bit too sinister…
The best part about them all was that every single one was a little bit different… this made them extra special. From their hair colours to their different outfits, we all had a favourite cabbage patch kid!
Do you remember the 70s and 80s? It is amazing to see how much has changed in the last 40 years. From pencil toppers to IPads, technology really has changed the kinds of toys kids enjoy to play with! We have loved looking back on all these toys which we used to play with, they bring back so many happy memories! Did you enjoy playing with any of these toys when you were younger?
