**Collaborative Post**
As a parent, there's something incredibly special about looking back on your own childhood and wanting to share those precious memories with your own children. The nostalgia of simpler times, the toys we played with, the TV shows we watched, and the music that we listened to that my children definitely cringe at (and that's before they have even seen the clothes we used to wear!). So when I saw the latest campaign from Chums I knew now was the perfect time to share all those memories with my children and take them on a trip down memory lane and give them a glimpse into my childhood!
Chums' latest campaign, "The Decades that Defined Our Generation," celebrates the iconic moments and products that shaped the 60's right through to the 2000's, but my post will mainly focus on the decades of my childhood which were the '90s and 2000s. If you're curious to take your own trip down memory lane, you can explore more about the campaign here.
Growing up in the '90s and 2000s was a truly unique experience. From the buzz of Tamagotchis in our pockets to the excitement of Saturday morning cartoons. I still remember the hours spent playing with my Game Boy, the thrill of collecting Pokémon cards, Pogs, and the simple joy of listening to my favourite songs on a Walkman that you had to carry as they were always too big to fit in your pocket! Oh and can we not forget the smelly gel pens and all the diaries we kept? Those gel pens were elite and if you weren't scribbling on your hand with one and sniffing it during class, were you even in school in the 2000s?
With that in mind here are a few of my favourite from growing up in the 90's and 2000's. Don't forget to check out the campaign and share your favourite memories from your childhood decade in the comments below!
TV Shows
I feel like we were pretty spoilt for choice when it came to kid's shows in the 90s and 2000s. I remember coming home from school and already knowing exactly what programs I would be watching, in what order, and at what time, and of course it wasn't a Saturday morning without SMTV live!
Some other shows I loved watching growing up including
- Sabrina the Teenage witch,
- Rugrats,
- Saved by the Bell,
- Arther,
- Hey Arnold,
- CatDog,
- Art Attack (did anyone every actually successfully create any of the makes from this??
- The Simpsons
Toys & Games
I think perhaps the 90s and early 2000s were the last decade where toys were more popular than "tech" which makes me a little sad really. Nowadays kids are asking for phones, consoles and various other gadgets and tech for Christmas. But when I was a kid it was all about the "must have" latest toy that we would ask Father Christmas for and our poor parents had to go trawling the shops for. We couldn't wait for the Argos book to come out so we could circle all the toys we wanted on our Christmas list and things like mobile phones weren't even a thought.
Here are some of my favourite toys growing up in 90s and 2000s
- Furby - Had to be top of the list, begged my mum for one ALL year, she got me one and within a day I had hidden it at the bottom of my wardrobe because it wouldn't shut up. Our poor parents!
- Tamagotchi
- Gameboy - If you had the Gameboy colour you were Elite! I remember buying the little game cartridges and having hours of fun on them.
- Pokémon cards - I see these are making a bit of a comeback recently but nobody will ever do it like us 90s kids, lugging our 1 ton card folders into school so we could do swaps at lunchtime!
- Polly Pocket
- Barbies
- I-Dog - I think we honestly thought this was the top tech when really it was just a plastic dog that shuffled and barked.
Fashion
Isn't it funny how certain fashion trends come back around through time. I spotted a pair of Adidas popper tracksuit bottoms on sale the other day and they took me right back to me teenage years! Who else remembers the tracksuit bottoms with the poppers that went all the way up the sides of both legs? Or maybe the combat-style trousers with the tassels all over? Also were you even a girl going to school in the 90s if you didn't wear the chunky heeled Kickers school shoes that were so heavy it felt like a challenge to lift your feet?
Who can forget the accessories that went with them too, the HUGE chunky gold hoops (the bigger the better), the "shag bands" that were just flimsy plastic bracelets and we were yet to discover the phrase "less is more" opting for the "more is better" instead when it came to piling on most things including jewellery, make up and perfume!
Food & Drinks
Ok so take me back to a school disco any day because what I would give today for a blue panda pop and a bag of pick n mix where the sweets were all actually 1p or 2p each is insane. Tooty Frooties were my favourite sweet and it wasn't summer unless you were clutching a Calippo shots (banging it on every surface as the little balls inside would stick together and were impossible to get out!).
Some of my other favourite snacks growing up included -
- Mars Planets
- Dream Bar
- Echo Bars (packed lunches were NEVER the same without these!)
- Fruit Polos
- And although not a "snack" there is an entire generation of kids who still haven't forgiven Jamie Oliver for depriving us of the ultimate after-school tea meal of Turkey Twizzlers and no the "new" version are not the same.
What was Invented??
The 90s saw the invention of some things we still use to this day including text messages in 1992, DVDs in 1996 and the one things many teens wouldn't be without now, the PlayStation in 1994. But not to be outdone there were some pretty cool inventions in the 2000s too including the iPhone in 2007 and many of the social media channels we still use today including YouTube in 2005 and Facebook in 2004.
There’s something so comforting about these memories, like wearing a favourite jumper that’s been passed down through generations but still feels just as snuggly to put on. And while times have certainly changed, the essence of childhood remains the same: the thrill of discovery, the warmth of family, and the magic of imagination. Sharing these moments with my children feels like passing on a bit of my own history, even if they did laugh at my fashion sense and cringe at my music choice.
It is so important that we carry on talking about these things, sharing our memories, keeping our childhood memories alive, and ensuring that the essence of those decades continues to live on in their hearts, just as it does in mine.
xXx
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