Growing up in 90s Australia meant Cheez TV in the morning (or Saturday Disney on the weekend), riding your Razor scooter down the street and almost bowling over neighbours, and lots of wild toys. In fact, 90s toys in Australia were a class of their own, really. A strong blend of whatever came out of America, plus some of our own school playground fads, we all have 90s toys we remember fondly.
So let’s take a trip down memory lane – from Furby to Tamagotchi, Sale of the Century boardgame to Barbie campervans, these are the 90s toys every kid who grew up in Australia remembers – and still loves.
Side note – check your attic at your parents place, some of these toys are worth serious cash these days.
1. Furby
Furby was the creepiest toy, but we all begged our parents for one. The fluffy robot could talk, sleep and interact with us. It was a 90s game-changer.
2. Bop It
This strange game involved whacking the toy when it told you to. A game of skill, it was top of Christmas wish lists in the 90s.
3. Tamagotchi
If you didn’t kill you Tamagotchi because the teacher at school made you put it away during class, did you even grow up in 90s Australia?
4. These Pencil Cases
You were the coolest kid in school if you had one of these. Bonus points if it was filled with pastel or glitter gel pens.
5. Dinky Diary
Double cool if you had one of these – although maybe you kept yours at home to write secrets in?
6. Barbie Campervan
Barbie went on a LOT of road trips in the 90s.
7. Electronic Diary
The ultimate 90s toy to upgrade you from Dinky Diary.
8. Doctor Barbie
Her stethoscope made noises, which was the height of technology in 1993.
9. Art Box
This was the best Christmas present if you fancied yourself a bit of an artist.
10. Polly Pocket
It was all fun and games until your brother flushed Polly down the loo to spite you.
11. Koosh Balls
Endless fun, also endlessly fun to rip the rubbery bits off them.
12. Puppy In My Pocket
You could convince mum to let you buy one of the surprise puppies at the supermarket, then ask for the full puppy playpen for Christmas.
13. SeaMonkeys
It was like having a dog, except they were tiny larvae (?? what WERE they) that did nothing.
14. Creepy Crawlers
Marketed at boys, we all wanted these edible (!!) lolly bugs you moulded yourself.
15. Mighty Max
The “boy” version of a Polly Pocket, these were just as coveted by Polly fans.
16. Cupcake Dolls
They smelled like perfume, and when you flipped their skirt up it became the base of a cupcake, with the “hat” as the icing.
17. Sky Dancers
Hands up if your Sky Dancer flew into the fireplace, pool or the next door neighbour’s yard? Extra hand up if you got it confiscated for flying it into your siblings face.
18. Super Soaker
There were so many iterations, it was hard to keep up. But the bigger, the better.
19. Tazos
The most collectible item as a kid in the 90s, Tazos were the coolest.
20. Mouse Trap
One of those board games that was advertised SO much during Saturday Disney, you were basically guaranteed to get it for your birthday.
21. Doodle Bear
A toy you were actually allowed to write all over.
22. Hama Beads
So many window hangings were made by ironing these plastic beads into various designs.
23. Magna Doodle
Draw and stamp whatever you want then wipe it away! Or, draw and stamp whatever you want and have your little sister wipe it away rudely when you weren’t looking.
24. Poo-Chi
A robot dog who did barely anything but for some reason felt like a real dog.
25. Sale Of The Century Board Game
Sale of the Century was THE show you watched at 6pm every weeknight thanks to your parents obsession with it, so naturally owning the board game was paramount.
26. Playdoh Fun Factory
What could be better than rolling Playdoh? Shoving it through a bunch of moulds to make weird squiggly Playdoh.
27. Fashion Plates
If you fancied yourself a fashion designer, you had these plates, which helped you trace designs.
28. TechDeck
Finger skateboarding? Seems unnecessary but we loved it.
