These were the coolest toys for girls in the 90s
20/7/2023
Translation: Julia Graham
Maybe it’s nostalgia, or maybe it’s just the truth: we had some incredibly cool toys in the 90s. Much cooler than girls’ toys today, don’t you think?
I’d say that those of us who grew up in the 90s were probably the generation with the best toys ever. And I know what I’m talking about, as the stuff I buy my kids is either deadly boring, second-hand (from the 90s!) or an homage to 90s toys. Here’s an overview of the favourites I grew up with.
Furby <3
Better than a real pet, Furby was, on the face of it, a cross between Chucky the serial killer doll and a cute, glittery cuddly toy. You petted your Furby and talked to it. And in turn, it looked at you lovingly. It only got creepy when Furbys suddenly started chattering in their secret language with their fellow Furbys in children’s rooms at night. Incidentally, nothing has improved in that respect. My sons’ toot toot cars always give me a fright in the dark each time they blare out their catchy tunes.
Trolls
The Furby’s beauty was surpassed only by that of trolls: naked little folk with brightly coloured or even colourful frizzy hair and a rhinestone for a belly button. Oh how we loved them. Even though they didn’t match up to beauty standards, such as that of Barbie. Maybe that’s what was so special about them?
Source: Rex K. Williams/Shutterstock
Polly Pocket
A magical world tucked away in a tiny plastic box – that was Polly Pocket. It was lovely to take the boxes with you everywhere and lose yourself in their dreamy worlds. Remember the ballerina play set? Or the one with the water slide? If you can still find your Polly Pockets from back in the day lurking in the attic, your kids will no doubt love them. Alternatively, why not see whether today’s Polly Pockets can still compete with our classics?
Tamagotchi
No, we didn’t have mobiles when we were ten years old. But we did have little computers that were much cooler. Enter Tamagotchis. These egg-shaped imports from Japan contained small but needy, highly pixelated hatchlings. If you didn’t cuddle, entertain or bathe your Tamagotchi pet often enough, it could die of sadness and loneliness.
Source: Ana Belen Garcia Sanchez/Shutterstock
Want another go? This could be your next favourite interactive pet:
Smooth and shiny stickers
My son also likes to get stickers of cars and superheroes. And then stick them on his bed, on cupboards or his water bottle. But how cool were we with our sticker albums, filled with the most colourful and beautiful smooth and shiny stickers? No play date was complete without them, and they were hotly debated and (un)fairly swapped.
Water tattoos
If Bravo magazine didn’t have tattoos as an extra, I hardly ever bought it. After all, you could spend hours playing with washable tattoos and morphing into someone else. These tattoo designs were also the subject of frenzied exchanges among friends. The only way to be even hipper was with choker necklaces, which have seen several revivals since then.
Diddl pads
Even bigger than my sticker collection was my assortment of Diddl pads. I had a whole folder filled with different notepad designs – of course, all of them individually filed away in clear film. There was naturally a roaring trade of these notepad sheets in the playground.
Not forgetting the fact there was also Diddl bedding, Diddl friend books, Diddl cuddly toys, Diddl mugs and Diddl pens. And that was just for starters.
Rainbow slinky
We had at least ten rainbow slinkies in our house, which was justifiable with three sisters. This toy was actually designed for leaping down stairs. But as we all know, they were used as a form of occupational therapy instead – always slinking from one hand to the other. And back. And again. The good thing about these toys is you can still buy them now. The other day, I gave one to my friend’s daughter who’s going into her third year of primary school. What can I say? She’s as much a fan of it as we were back then.
As an important side note, I know that boys also enjoyed playing with all the above toys, just as I loved playing with dinosaurs and still do. So please don’t leave me comments like that. Instead, tell me what cool toys for girls I forgot to include.
Cover photo: Luoxi/Shutterstock
A true local journalist with a secret soft spot for German pop music. Mum of two boys, a dog and about 400 toy cars in all shapes and colours. I always enjoy travelling, reading and go to concerts, too.
