14 iconic toys from the '80s

For sure on your Christmas list in 1980, playing arcade-style Pac-Man at home was a dream come true. 

Complete with a name and birth certificate, were you actually a child of the ’80s if you didn’t have one of these? 

Based on the popular cartoon, you still try to apply ‘sharing is caring’ to your everyday life, don’t you? Over 40 million of these were sold between 1983 and 1987!

Buy it: $25, canadiantire.ca

1989 is when teachers everywhere started confiscating handheld video games in class. 

The military-themed action figure from the ’60s resurfaced in the ’80s. Gnarly. 

He-Man and the gang were all here. Look at those thigh muscles!

Before the mystery packs and multitute of series and characters, there were the OGs who were pretty basic but still cool. 

Buy it: $4, shop.lego.com

Pastel-hued ponies with sparkly manes, glittery butts and delicious-sounding names. Into it. 

Buy it: $15, thebay.com

1988 happened and so did Duck Hunt and Super Mario on the NES. A re-release of a miniature model created chaos in 2016. You can try to scour the Dark Web for a mini, but the competition is fierce. 

The Cabbage Patch Kid of the dog world, each sad-eyed pup came with a cardboard doghouse and adoption papers. 

Quintessentially ’80s, Rainbow Brite was huge on the big and small screen, with colourful toys to match. 

Initially marketed as the Hungarian Magic Cube, it went mainstream, got a new name and has challenged the world with it’s colour-coded puzzles since 1980. 

Buy it: $13, walmart.ca

“Come dream with me tonight…..” Who could forget this creepy animatronic friend with a tape deck in his back? 

Buy it: $150, bestbuy.ca

Is it a weapon-toting bot or is it a vehicle? Guys, it’s a Transformer so it’s both, obvie. 

Buy it: $70, toysrus.ca

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