14 Quintessential '90s And '00s Toys That Gen Alpha Will Never Really Get To Appreciate
I was recently thinking about the Doodle Bear I had as a kid (as one does), and it made me realize there are a lot of toys from the '90s and '00s that today's kids will never get to appreciate the way my fellow millennials and older Gen Z'ers did.
Sony Pictures Television / Via giphy.com
Here are just a few of them:
1.Furbies
The demand for these little Gizmo the Mogwai knockoffs was truly a sight to behold in the late '90s/early '00s. It was one of those toys grown adults would throw 'bows for during Black Friday. Granted, it was pre-online shopping, but still!
2.Bop Its
These toys are still around and have undergone quite a few redesigns and reimaginings — with computer integrations, voice commands, and requests like "selfie it" — but they just feel extremely '90s.
3.Skip-Its
Skip-Its were a clear path to popularity when I was younger, because everyone wanted to try it, but I guess as technology advanced, kids lost interest. I'm sure plenty of kids tripped on the damn thing and ended up with mild-to-serious injuries, so maybe it's for the best.
4.Candy-colored translucent Nintendo 64s
Of all the trends to come out of the '90s, translucent tech is the one I really want to come back. Kids today truly don't know what they're missing. Game consoles now are so boring to look at.
5.Beanie Babies
Beanie Babies still technically exist, but unlike the originals, they have eyes that look like the ones from the pleading eyes emoji. Hard pass. Plus, as with Furbies, I highly doubt we'll ever see these little guys become as popular as they once were.
6.Bratz Dolls
Nobody seemed to care much for these dolls when they were first released in 2001, but by the mid-aughts, they'd become a must-have. Anniversary editions were released in 2021, but it's hard to imagine Bratz becoming as popular as they once were.
7.Pogs
There was a time when everyone in my school was playing with these things, but considering they're literally just little cardboard discs, I feel like kids now would just laugh at them.
8.Sky Dancers
I had one of these as a kid and was obsessed with it. I set the damn thing loose all over my yard until the string finally gave out. Apparently, I got off easy — the toys were discontinued because they ended up causing dozens of injuries, including scratched corneas and incidents of temporary blindness, broken teeth, and a mild concussion.
9.Doodle Bears
I dragged this thing around everywhere and never bothered having my mom wash it — once I ran out of room, that was it. She just lived that way for the rest of time. You can still find a few different (inferior) versions of them on Amazon, and pre-owned originals all over eBay, but I think it's safe to say the Doodle Bear's heyday is long over.
10.Mary-Kate and Ashley Dolls
Mattel put out an array of these dolls in the first half of the aughts, basically stopping production not long after New York Minute — the twins' final film together — came out. As amazing as a pair of grownup Olsen dolls dressed in black with little cigarettes wedged into their tiny plastic hands would be, I think it's safe to say we've seen the last of the Mary-Kate and Ashley dolls.
11.Hasbro i-Dogs
I was a couple months away from graduating from high school when these music-loving robot pups came out in 2005, but if I'd been 10 years younger, I would have begged for one of them. Of all the toys on this list, I wouldn't be surprised if this (or a knockoff) was launched and went viral on TikTok.
12.Tamagotchis
As with some of the other toys on this list, you can still actually buy Tamagotchis and other e-pets, but Gen Alpha will never know the joy and sorrow of watching their digital pet die because their teacher confiscated it, or having custody revoked by their parents.
13.Whatever these things were called
If you're a millennial (or maybe an elder Gen Z'er), you definitely had one of these, and definitely used to see how far you could get it up your arm.
14.Troll dolls
Troll dolls have actually been around since 1959 and were popular in the '60s, '70s, and '90s, so who knows? Maybe they'll have another go-around. (And no, I don't mean the weird-looking ones from the Dreamworks movies.)
