The festive season always comes with at least a tiny bit of nostalgia. On Christmas, most of us would usually go visit our relatives, give presents, sit around the table, and unavoidably reminisce about the good old days of childhood and the way Christmas used to feel back then. Unfortunately, this year's holidays have been a lot different for most of us since the pandemic has prevented most people from visiting their loved ones living elsewhere.
And since a lot of us spent Christmas at home, some might well have missed out on that heartwarming opportunity to get all nostalgic about the past for a bit. But don't worry, we are here to save the day. Bored Panda prepared you a nostalgic list of photographs from the '80s and '90s capturing people enjoying their Christmas gifts. Let's take a look!
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Mario 2 was my fave! It has been years, but I could probably remember the jumping pattern on the whale level.
I remember my son getting his PS. It came with games but the one game he was to young to understand was Final Fantasy 7. I was hooked on that game since then.
The Commodore 64: that's ancient. We got the 128 but the 64 remained the most popular computer ever.
Its mine and no one is getting their hands on it even if i have to fall asleep holding it.
Or parents that busted their asses the whole year to afford them maybe?
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I had that tape measurer on the far right. That's the little orange guy with eyes and feet.
My kids get this many toys for Christmas. From their grandparents, one grandma in particular. It's f***ing annoying. I can't get them more than one gift because of the overabundance of crap. It's just too much. And that one grandma really does remember it all and would be sad if it was donated to someone else. It also requires me to do a huge cleanout of their room before the holidays. And they're not any happier or better off than if they had a reasonable amount of toys. Ugh. Thanks for letting me rant.
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Looks like there was a lot of noisemakers...would have been a lot of tape shortly thereafter to cover up the holes for the speakers and muffle the sound a little!
Ker-Plunk. When games were fun and simple and didn’t need a TV with a SCART socket. Good grief, I feel so old!
Too early for hose. Or tights or whatever she is wearing Christmas morning. I'm glad hose is not a thing anymore. I wore them maybe twice as a kid. Awful. Thick tights are ok, but sheer hose I hate.
When I was as bout 11 or 12 (1990ish) my mom took the Nintendo from the living room and put it in her room "because I was playing it too much". A few weeks later she put it back in the living room because she would stay up all night playing Mario, and one morning driving to work she tried to kill a gumba (which was really a car) with the buttons (?) on her steering wheel. She had to fess up.
No love for the Sega? I didn’t get my first Nintendo console until the wii, but you can bet I played sonic the hedgehog for HOURS on my sega!
Note: this post originally had 50 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Getting a game system is peak Xmas for most kids from the 80's through today. Computers, tablets, and phones have moved in, but a console is still very popular and on many wishlists. They're expensive, fun, stay fun for years, and wildly popular. This isn't just true in the US either.
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Vintage is 1980s at the earliest at this stage. Don't insult people by saying "90s vintage" wtf man we're not even 40 yet :(
Vintage is wrong. Retro is probably the word you’d use. It was over 20 years ago after all. But I feel you.
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I grew up in relative poverty (in the 90s) and I am always amazed by the amount of gifts kids got. In general we got a set of pajamas, a coloring book with crayons, and a stuffed toy. And that was because this is what was provided by the local church for families in need for children under 12. I am blown away by some of these pictures.
That's sad : ( Sorry to hear that. It makes me cry when I see the Salvation army adverts on the telly giving toys out to the unfortunate but the smile on their little faces. Some kids can be brats!
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This was fun, but, as a non-gamer, I would've loved to have seen more non-video game shots. At least one shot of a girl opening up a Cabbage Patch Kid gift in 1983 would've been great--I remember how I screamed with joy when I opened mine!
I kind of think the term vintage should be for a time before video games (circa - mid-1970's). Video games are still a primary Christmas gift so it's really not vintage.
Considering the explosive evolution of game systems in the last 25-35 years? Yes, these are older/classic/vintage/etc.
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When I look back at the people I used to play video games with when I was I child I find, two doctors, one teacher, one scientist, one kindergartener teacher, and one web developer. Truly the downfall of humanity.
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I never got a gaming system as a kid. My best gifts were a cabbage patch doll (when no one could find them. Luckily I had a dad who worked in retail) and original My Little Ponies.
"80s/90s Boys with Ugly Haircuts, Getting Video Game Systems on Christmas Day" -- Fixed the title for you.
This was good. I really enjoyed it. The main present i always remember from the 70's was getting a bike. I remember waking up and it was at the end of my bed.
These photos brought back memories for me, even though I celebrated Channukah as a kid. Still got lots of awesome gifts. I celebrate both Christmas and Channukah now, BTW
Notice they're all computer games? Pretty sad, actually. No bicycles, train sets, hobby kits, model kits, radios, chemistry sets, board games, baseball gloves, footballs, soccer balls, tennis rackets, mini pool tables, weight lifting sets (beginner), slot cars... Yeah, I know most of those are totally outdated, but they were still popular in the 80s. Me and my friends all had them growing up in the New England. Here in Tokyo (arguably the most hi-tech centered culture in the world) many of those 'outdated' gifts are still super popular, along with vinyl records, tape recorders, CD players, etc. (We even still have a Towers Records). Now, it's probably worse. All apps or QR codes for tattoos. Lol! I thank my lucky stars I grew up before the 90s. Merry Christmas from 2023!
I'm a child of this generation. My family didn't celebrate Christmas, so I never experienced the whole getting game consoles/barbie/lego on Christmas morning. Now I'm an adult and make my own rules and traditions so Christmas mornings are filled with gifts, wrapping paper, chocolate, bucks fizz and generally my son playing a new game on his games console. 🎄🎄
I was sad not to see the Amiga computer in those pics. I understand the Amiga was not as popular in the US as Europe
Could have shown way more cool games, alot of repeat products n64 Nintendo etc.....
So someone cherry picked a bunch of photos as what, exactly? An ad for Nintendo? Boring.
There are a lot of game systems and a few TVs. My parents never would have bought such expensive gifts.
Same for me. We had toys for Xmas but we weren't rich at all, so no video games for us. I can't relate with these pictures.
Load More Replies... Getting a game system is peak Xmas for most kids from the 80's through today. Computers, tablets, and phones have moved in, but a console is still very popular and on many wishlists. They're expensive, fun, stay fun for years, and wildly popular. This isn't just true in the US either.
Load More Replies... Vintage is 1980s at the earliest at this stage. Don't insult people by saying "90s vintage" wtf man we're not even 40 yet :(
Vintage is wrong. Retro is probably the word you’d use. It was over 20 years ago after all. But I feel you.
Load More Replies... I grew up in relative poverty (in the 90s) and I am always amazed by the amount of gifts kids got. In general we got a set of pajamas, a coloring book with crayons, and a stuffed toy. And that was because this is what was provided by the local church for families in need for children under 12. I am blown away by some of these pictures.
That's sad : ( Sorry to hear that. It makes me cry when I see the Salvation army adverts on the telly giving toys out to the unfortunate but the smile on their little faces. Some kids can be brats!
Load More Replies... This was fun, but, as a non-gamer, I would've loved to have seen more non-video game shots. At least one shot of a girl opening up a Cabbage Patch Kid gift in 1983 would've been great--I remember how I screamed with joy when I opened mine!
I kind of think the term vintage should be for a time before video games (circa - mid-1970's). Video games are still a primary Christmas gift so it's really not vintage.
Considering the explosive evolution of game systems in the last 25-35 years? Yes, these are older/classic/vintage/etc.
Load More Replies... When I look back at the people I used to play video games with when I was I child I find, two doctors, one teacher, one scientist, one kindergartener teacher, and one web developer. Truly the downfall of humanity.
Load More Replies... I never got a gaming system as a kid. My best gifts were a cabbage patch doll (when no one could find them. Luckily I had a dad who worked in retail) and original My Little Ponies.
"80s/90s Boys with Ugly Haircuts, Getting Video Game Systems on Christmas Day" -- Fixed the title for you.
This was good. I really enjoyed it. The main present i always remember from the 70's was getting a bike. I remember waking up and it was at the end of my bed.
These photos brought back memories for me, even though I celebrated Channukah as a kid. Still got lots of awesome gifts. I celebrate both Christmas and Channukah now, BTW
Notice they're all computer games? Pretty sad, actually. No bicycles, train sets, hobby kits, model kits, radios, chemistry sets, board games, baseball gloves, footballs, soccer balls, tennis rackets, mini pool tables, weight lifting sets (beginner), slot cars... Yeah, I know most of those are totally outdated, but they were still popular in the 80s. Me and my friends all had them growing up in the New England. Here in Tokyo (arguably the most hi-tech centered culture in the world) many of those 'outdated' gifts are still super popular, along with vinyl records, tape recorders, CD players, etc. (We even still have a Towers Records). Now, it's probably worse. All apps or QR codes for tattoos. Lol! I thank my lucky stars I grew up before the 90s. Merry Christmas from 2023!
I'm a child of this generation. My family didn't celebrate Christmas, so I never experienced the whole getting game consoles/barbie/lego on Christmas morning. Now I'm an adult and make my own rules and traditions so Christmas mornings are filled with gifts, wrapping paper, chocolate, bucks fizz and generally my son playing a new game on his games console. 🎄🎄
I was sad not to see the Amiga computer in those pics. I understand the Amiga was not as popular in the US as Europe
Could have shown way more cool games, alot of repeat products n64 Nintendo etc.....
So someone cherry picked a bunch of photos as what, exactly? An ad for Nintendo? Boring.
There are a lot of game systems and a few TVs. My parents never would have bought such expensive gifts.
Same for me. We had toys for Xmas but we weren't rich at all, so no video games for us. I can't relate with these pictures.
Load More Replies...