Essay
Alf Hand Puppets From Burger King
Back in the late 1980s, when fast food promotions were practically a second currency for kids, Burger King rolled out something that wasn’t technically a kid’s meal toy, but felt …
Toys
Special Feature
Highlights From the 1990 JC Penny Christmas Catalog
In my neck of the woods, the Christmas season always officially kicked off with the arrival of the yearly Sears Wish Book and JC Penny catalog, which was usually sometime …
Essay
When I Got Prince Adam For Christmas
Christmas morning, 1984. I was six years old, still in footie pajamas, hair sticking up in every direction, eyes wide with the kind of wonder only a kid can muster. …
News
Ghosts of Christmas’ Past
Now that we are officially past Thanksgiving and on the road to Christmas, I figure you might be in the mood for Christmas nostalgia. While I have a lot of …
Essay
I Thought Hit Stix Would Make Me Popular
In my elementary school years in the late-’80s, I wasn’t one of the “popular” kids. While I had friends, and was in several small cliques based on interests like trading …
Essay
This Kid’s Desk
I don’t know why I’ve put off writing about this kid’s desk for so long, but I’m going to remedy that right now. The picture above was part of a …
Essay
16-Bit Christmas
The image above has been circulating around online for years now. It’s probably been at least 10 years since I first saw it. Back then, I was enamored with it, …
Nostalgia Nuggets
Missing Out On the Mad Scientist Monster Lab
It’s Halloween season again, and every time the air turns crisp and the leaves start crunching underfoot, my mind drifts back to the toys that defined the season…and the ones …
Essay
“It’s Called Nintendo.”
For people who are my age, Nintendo was probably a pretty big part of their childhood. I’m sure we had all spent our fair share of time in arcades pumping …
Essay
Toys I Never Had: G.I. Joe U.S.S. Flagg Aircraft Carrier
I’ll be the first to admit that when it came to toys, I had what would be considered an awesome childhood. We weren’t rich by any means, but I usually …