Every generation has its favorite toys and games. The 1950s had the Slinky and Play-Doh. The 1980s had Cabbage Patch Kids and the Rubik’s Cube. Now let’s take a nostalgic journey and throw it back to some of our own childhood favorites. If you were born anytime in the late ’90s to the early millennia, you are sure to recall these popular diversions.

• Webkinz: There was always a mad scramble to get your hands on as many Webkinz as you could. These stuffed animals marked with an unmistakable rainbow “W” on their paw, flipper, hoof, etc. were all the rage. They came with a secret code that when entered into the Webkinz website gave you access to the splendid “Webkinz World,” where it was your job to care for your pet. You could dress them in elegant ball gowns or even purchase a breathtaking seven-bedroom mansion in their name.

“I loved [Webkinz] because there was so much I could do with it, and I could get super creative with the different Webkinz I had. It was definitely very entertaining,” freshman Olivia Field said.

• Doodle Bears: These plush bears gave you the freedom to be as creative as you wanted while you decorated their bodies with washable markers. Once bored of your designs, the bear could be tossed in washing machine and be stripped of your old doodles. This unique feature allowed you to draw your imagination as many times as desired on your snuggly friend.
• Legos: Legos seem to have been popular among young people since the beginning of time, and that is because they basically have! The first Lego set was manufactured all the way back in 1949, and as of 2013 about 560 billion Lego parts had been produced! Legos are still widely popular today as evident in the immense success of the new “The Lego Movie” and the recently developed LEGOLAND.
• Tamagotchis: Tamagotchis were handheld digital alien pets that we were responsible to raise from an egg into an adult creature. Do you remember them? They struggled to stay alive for even a day? Yeah, those things. I like to think this is where children of our generation got their first taste of frustration. I remember spending hours hunched over these key-chained sized toys trying to stick a toothpick in the device to reset it because my pet had just died for the thirtieth time. Despite this endless exasperation, we all enjoyed playing games to care for those little buggers.
• Zhu Zhu Pets: “The one and only Zhu Zhu Pets!” Unless you lived under a rock when you were a kid, you have seen one of the famous Zhu Zhu Pet commercials. These musical commercials advertised a line of plush robotic hamsters that moved across the floor powered with batteries called Zhu Zhu Pets. During the 2009 Christmas season, one could not find a child’s wish list that was lacking a Zhu Zhu Pet. With all this Zhu Zhu Pet craze, everyone was watching their step to make sure they didn’t step on an innocent Mr. Squiggles.

“I always thought Zhu Zhu Pets were extremely annoying because they were really girly and would just run around and be annoying,” sophomore Daniel Andrade said.

• Polly Pockets: These pocket-sized dolls came equipped with countless plastic accessories. I think it is safe to say they had a bigger closet than Miley Cyrus. Hours could be spent dressing these dolls in outrageous outfits to prepare them for their stroll down the Polly Pocket Runway.
• Game Boys: Despite their name, Nintendo Game Boys were extremely popular amongst both youth genders. This handheld video game device’s simplistic design consisting of only five buttons made it qualified to be enjoyed by a wide range of ages. Some well-liked games included Pokemon, Super Mario Land and Lizzie McGuire on the Go.
• Club Penguin: Like Webkinz, Club Penguin let you step in to a virtual world brimming with online activities and games. Although, unlike Webkinz, free Club Penguin memberships were offered. As a member, you were allowed to waddle around and explore this virtual world in penguin form. You were even allowed to converse with fellow penguins, but the language had to be kept clean unless you wanted to wave goodbye to your membership. The Club Penguin site is still running today, and now they even offer it as a mobile app.

The children that had their childhood shaped around these toys and games will never forget them. These toys were our way of having fun with friends or siblings. Toys have a huge impact on our development, and unfortunately many of the kids of this generation won’t be able to enjoy these toy or websites.