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30 Pics Of The Most Popular Christmas Gifts In The ’80s And ’90s
191Kviews
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.
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.
Not a lot of variety here.
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.
It would be nice if there were more pictures of girls getting games too.
Girls play games just as much as boys now. In the 80's and 90's it was different...Nintendo, Sega, Sony, and PC game developers marketed pretty much only to boys. It started with Nintendo, really. Classifying their NES, GameBOY, and SNES console as a "boy toy" for sellers like Toys R Us.
Just wait a few years blugeagua. Gaming mothers are normal now, so games for girls will be normal too soon. I just hope they won't come up with pink consoles "for girls"
Vicky Zar love
Evidently game consoles were the absolute epitome of Gen-x and millenial nostalgia--and then the kid with the typewriter-- the Great Generational Divide
Girls got games too
Gen X kids definitely are normal with typewriters. I’m an older millennial (35) and my parents used one and it was never weird. Typewriters didn’t make their way out until the 90s, so a lot of millennials will remember their parents using them. I loved to use it, until we got a computer.
That’s because getting a Nintendo on Christmas is the greatest thing that could happen to a kid in the 90s.
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.
IMO, "Vintage" means 50 years old or older. 80's and 90's aren't there yet. Sure, they're deep in nostalgia territory...But stuff from that time period isn't antiquated yet, lol.
Im 49
Mag Pop follower
Ahem!!! 42 here...
Manny Regalado follower
This comment has been deleted.
ALMOST, but not yet! I remember EVERY toy I got EVERY Christmas... until '89 when I got mad about stereo....
Eric Mac Fadden follower
Eric Mac Fadden Good response!
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!
So sorry to hear that. I came from a family of 9 children total. Parents were both married prior with 3 kids each then got together and had me, my younger bro and sis. My moms kids were spoiled rotten and me and my full siblings got very lame gifts, so I feel your pain
Not a lot of variety here.
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.
It would be nice if there were more pictures of girls getting games too.
Girls play games just as much as boys now. In the 80's and 90's it was different...Nintendo, Sega, Sony, and PC game developers marketed pretty much only to boys. It started with Nintendo, really. Classifying their NES, GameBOY, and SNES console as a "boy toy" for sellers like Toys R Us.
Just wait a few years blugeagua. Gaming mothers are normal now, so games for girls will be normal too soon. I just hope they won't come up with pink consoles "for girls"
Vicky Zar love
Evidently game consoles were the absolute epitome of Gen-x and millenial nostalgia--and then the kid with the typewriter-- the Great Generational Divide
Girls got games too
Gen X kids definitely are normal with typewriters. I’m an older millennial (35) and my parents used one and it was never weird. Typewriters didn’t make their way out until the 90s, so a lot of millennials will remember their parents using them. I loved to use it, until we got a computer.
That’s because getting a Nintendo on Christmas is the greatest thing that could happen to a kid in the 90s.
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.
IMO, "Vintage" means 50 years old or older. 80's and 90's aren't there yet. Sure, they're deep in nostalgia territory...But stuff from that time period isn't antiquated yet, lol.
Im 49
Mag Pop follower
Ahem!!! 42 here...
Manny Regalado follower
This comment has been deleted.
ALMOST, but not yet! I remember EVERY toy I got EVERY Christmas... until '89 when I got mad about stereo....
Eric Mac Fadden follower
Eric Mac Fadden Good response!
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!
So sorry to hear that. I came from a family of 9 children total. Parents were both married prior with 3 kids each then got together and had me, my younger bro and sis. My moms kids were spoiled rotten and me and my full siblings got very lame gifts, so I feel your pain