I was perusing my Facebook stream and a post by Wishful Thinking 247 that featured a butterfly-shaped Lite-Brite got me thinking about how much toys have changed over the last few decades. Sure, all my old favorites are still around, but they’ve morphed into something completely different over the years. In some ways, I’m a little jealous of kids today, and in others I’m totally nostalgic for “the way things were.” Here is a look at a few childhood toys that I recall well, and how much they’ve changed (or in some cases, how little they’ve changed) over the last 25 years or so.
Barbie Then and Now
I think of all the toys, Barbie has received the biggest makeover throughout the decades that she’s been around. In the 80s, when I was playing with her, she had big hair, one little sister (Skipper), and only dated Ken. Her clothes were, of course, the height of fashion for that time, but still nothing I’d be caught dead in today.
Today, Barbie is still in the height of fashion, but she has more relatives, and last I heard, she and Ken were filing for a divorce. About time. She needs a man who can bend a little more, don’t you think?
Then there’s her Dream House. When I was little, I had the cardboard dealie, the kind that would have been taken out if a strong breeze from my dog’s tail hit just the right way. It was a little more upscale than this one, but I couldn’t find the exact picture. This one is from the 1970’s:
Source: google.com via Nicole Etolen (Pretty Opinionated) on Pinterest
And this one is from 2011. I don’t think it’s made of cardboard anymore. For close to $150, I sure hope not!
Action Figures Then and Now
My little brother played with a lot of action figures, especially Transformers and Thundercats, both of which have made a major comeback in recent years. I used to make Barbie marry He-Man and various Thundercats, because quite frankly, she was getting sick of Ken way back then even!
The Transformers have definitely come a long way from this:
to this:
Although to be perfectly honest, they held together a lot better back in the 80s. I’ve stopped buying Jake Transformers because every single one we’ve bought broke within two days, and they require a degree in Engineering to transform.
The Thundercats, on the other hand, really don’t seem to have changed all that much. Sure, Lionel got slightly better hair and a more modern physique, but overall, I think they’re pretty similar. Here is a 1980’s version…
…versus the newer ones: 
Games Then and Now
Since the Lite-Brite sparked this whole post, it’s only appropriate to show you what I’m talking about. In the 1980s, we had the bulky design, like this:
Source: google.com via Nicole Etolen (Pretty Opinionated) on Pinterest
Now, even the Lite-Brite has gone flat-screen (at least it’s one flat screen I can afford!) Plus, they have a handy little storage thing under it. Did they have that when I was little? I don’t remember. I just remember losing half my pegs within an hour of opening the box.
And for the grand finale, it would take an entire post to go through the evolution of video game consoles from the time I was little through now. They’re constantly changing, and I’m still not even caught up because we don’t have a PS3. But I do remember the excitement on Christmas morning when my brother got this little beauty:
I also remember the excitement of almost Christmas when we finally got this one:
I’m sure toys will continue to evolve in ways that I can’t even imagine, and 25 years from now Jake will be sitting down to think a post about how much they’ve changed (because by then, computers will be in our heads!). I still want to know though, where is my darn flying car?!?
Great post – funny to see how much everything has changed!
A mom friend of mine suggested that the “hottest” kids toy this year was a robot toy, the Prime 8 Gorilla to be exact. Transformers have always been around, now they’re autonomous beings, lol.
Too funny! And you’re right about all of them! And, wow! Transformers have changed. I only had a sister, so we never had transformers. My son has a lot of them. We have the Kre-O sets now, too. I would love to get a LiteBrite for my kids, but I’m sure the pegs would end up all over my house, just like the LEGOs and Barbie shoes.
I am still resisting the Lite Brite for the same reason. I’m already impaling my feet on Lego’s, Hot Wheels, and other random stuff. Not sure if I want to add Lite-Brite pegs to the mix!
I loved this post!! I remember wanting the Barbie Dream House in the 70’s and my parents would not buy it because it was only cardboard. My sister who is about 5 years younger did have the Bionic Women’s house though, she also has the Barbie Jacuzzi which I thought was very cool, I had the airplane, which was more like a Barbie carrying case!! My daughter got her dream house when she was 3 and it was not cardboard and it was over 100! So funny, I remember Lite Brite too, and of course the easy bake oven which took 5 hours to cook one little cake by a light bulb. It’s funny but my 13 year old is getting into nostalgia he wants records and older toys. Very funny! Everything old is new again!!!
I secretly want the newer Easy-Bake oven for myself! I figure if it’s made for kids, I could surely figure it out, unlike cooking in real ovens. LOL.
I love vintage items like toys and seeing the changes over the years. I actually did a similar post last year, looking to see where the older toys had been manufactured. Not surprisingly, many of the old fashioned toys were made in USA, but are now being made overseas. Hope things in the future shift back to their roots!
I noticed that the Barbie my daughter got for Christmas was “wearing” underware as well. And her new Easy Bake Oven is way more advanced than anything I ever cooked in! Thanks for the trip down memory road.
Crazy how much this stuff has evolved. Now if we could just move forward for the better as humans…
Oh, I loved this post…seeing all of the old stuff! Do you remember Stretch Armstrong? My favorite things we had as kids were our vintage lunch pales. I had a Holly Hobby one and a Wonder Woman one. They were totally cool!;)
I loved Holly Hobby!! I used to have the Colorforms of her. Do they still make those?
I guess the most impressive there is the Nintendo makeover. Whoa, it changed completely-a complete facelift. Great post and what a wonderful reminder that some toys are timeless. Awesome 🙂
A friend and I were talking about this very thing the other day. I think the “girl” Legos got us started. Marketing. Sigh.
u suck