We’re all growing up and learning how to “adult,” and it’s super scary. But that doesn’t mean our great memories of childhood are gone forever. Here are some things from your childhood that are sure to take you down memory lane and make you feel some type of way. Let the nostalgia commence!
1. Easy-Bake OvensStep out of the way mom — I got this. (Except, actually, please help me because I can’t read these directions and hot things scare me.)
2. Play-Doh Squeeze it, pat it and make it into ice cream with the Play-Doh ice cream machine. There are endless opportunities. Just don’t eat it, unless you made the edible-ish kind, which was still super salty and gross.
3. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Of course you remember the CDs, the VCR sing-alongs and the infinite wisdom about crucial things like selling your brother, being the cuter sister and solving crimes.
4. Lizzie McGuire The songs, the movie and the CDs are all so perfect… just like Hilary Duff.
5. Happy Meals A burger, soda, fries and a toy. Life doesn’t get much better than that.
7. Portable CD players Take that CD anywhere you go and be stylin’ when you do. Hopefully you were jamming out to Destiny’s Child, Christina Aguilera or *NSYNC.
8. The Harry Potter book and movie series The first book came out in 1997. I know, it’s crazy that it was so long ago! And you might not have even been in elementary school when the first movie came out in 2001, and by the way — the first movie was epic.
9. *NSYNC If you can’t sing every single lyric “Bye Bye Bye,” then did you really grow up in the ’90s?
10. The Amanda Show This hilarious show of skits was everyone’s favorite. The best part was Judge Trudy and the dancing lobsters. RIP, young and innocent Amanda Bynes.
11. Radio Disney The perfect balance of not super baby-ish music, but normal human music minus the f-bombs and sex talk.
12. Valentine’s Day cards for your entire classLet’s be real — the only ones you cared about getting were the ones with candy attached.
13. Quaker’s Instant Oatmeal with dinosaur eggs Watch those eggs expand in the microwave. Pure sugar, which means pure happiness.
14. The Junie B. Jones book series Junie B. Jones had me like…
15. Piñatas A.k.a. a full-on war for candy at every birthday party.
16. Jump rope This was probably your go-to at recess. Let’s not forget those endless chants counting the amount of times you jumped.
17. Making your own jewelry
You had rope, beads and a disastrously cute work of art. But to the 7-year-old you, it was better than Tiffany & Co. jewelry.
18. Heelys No need to walk… just slide.
19. Locked diariesChances are that you bought one of these at a school book fair, and your parents probably scolded you for spending $20 on it.
20. Beanie Babies No explanation needed.
21. High School MusicalThe best Disney Channel movie in history. As soon as it started and you saw Troy and Gabriella singing a duet on New Years, you fell instantly in love with this series. You’re probably still in love.
22. The VCR Children today will never know the struggles of waiting for the tape to rewind.
23. Hair wraps and hair braids At every amusement park and vacation spot, you know you were asking for a piece of your hair to be wrapped in yarn for about $40.
24. Temporary tattoos Dab on some water, let it soak and wham, you’ve got yourself a (temporary) tat.
25. Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance and then Gameboy XPBefore iPhones, iPads, drones and all this crazy new stuff.
I’m really missing the good old days right about now. But college is cool, too. It’s the ultimate struggle of wanting to be 5 years old and play all day and also be independent and mature. Right now I’m leaning toward wanting the 5-year-old life again. Did we forget any of your favorite pastimes? Let us know in the comments below!
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