There’s something about getting older that makes us gravitate toward the people, places, and things that remind us of our youth. Toys and whimsical decor have a knack for bringing back warm childhood memories, and that’s exactly why many people end up tracking down their favorite toys and trinkets as they get older. (Bonus: Some old toys end up being worth a lot of money!) It’s like purchasing a physical representation of the feeling you had back when your biggest worry was what snack you’d dig into after school.
“As generations age and start to gain some disposable income, they attempt to buy back their childhood,” explains Kayleigh Davies, toy specialist and toy consultant for Miller’s Antiques Handbook.
For the past few decades, it’s been baby boomers and Gen Xers searching for old Barbies and G.I. Joes, but now it’s the millennials’ turn to chase after their childhoods. Ahead, eight nostalgic vintage finds that are at the top of their eBay searches, according to experts.
My Little Ponies
Remember the pastel-colored ponies that were so charming they even spawned a TV series? And, in 2010, a comeback? My Little Ponies were one of the most enchanting and colorful toys of the 1980s, and they’re plentiful (and sought after!) on the vintage market.
“Millennials are searching for My Little Ponies and toys that are reminiscent of childhood and the beauty of that wonderful, unplugged time period before technology,” says Amber Michelle, founder of The Magic Of Round Top, an online community for antiques and vintage lovers. “The world is craving the sweet simplicity.”
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
While Star Wars toys were the sweetheart of Gen X collectors, millennials gravitate toward something a bit more green. “We’re seeing prices start to rise on 1990s lines like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” Kayleigh says. She notes that these heroes in a half shell don’t need to be new in the box to boast value. Just having a few plastic memories of a childhood favorite—whether it’s Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, or Michelangelo—sitting on a desk is often all it takes for a millennial to be transported right back to those carefree days.
Polly Pocket Toys
Colorful, adorable, and of course, pocket-size, Polly Pocket toys contained tiny dolls within a tiny doll-size, clamshell-style house complete with minuscule accessories. Today, Kayleigh explains, “Polly Pocket is incredibly collectible, and complete sets can be difficult to find as often the small dolls and accessories succumbed to the vacuum cleaner.” She adds that the locket versions are also perennially popular, especially among the youngest collectors.
Lisa Frank Stationery
Lisa Frank was an icon for women of a certain age. The vibrant colors, the dolphins, the airbrushed aura. The technicolor stationery takes you right back to a carefree era where the day’s choice of animal-themed pencil eraser was the biggest decision to ponder. “Lisa Frank stationery is so achingly 1990s with its bright colors and iconic animal designs, and items like sealed stationery sets, Trapper Keepers, and bags can be worth $150 or more,” Kayleigh says.
Vintage Ikea
Millennials may not have been the first generation to buy Ikea, but those vintage Scandi pieces still elicit a certain nostalgia for them—and can even be worth a small fortune. They may have been too young to decorate college dorm rooms with Ikea in the ’80s, but they’ll try to find those vintage treasures, and Sally Schwartz, founder of the Randolph Street Market in Chicago, has an explanation. “Apparently, Ikea ran a targeted marketing campaign to this same demographic, emphasizing how well-made their products are to demonstrate that their ‘cheap-priced’ pieces aren’t a reflection of quality!” And it worked.
Analog Clocks
“For my grandparents, it was Stangl Bird Figurines and Shirley Temple dolls; millennials are interested in reliving the past, just before the advent of the internet, smartphones, and social media,” says Nora Curl, a fine art and antiques expert and accredited appraiser with JustAnswer. For the generation looking to return to analog life, it makes sense that analog clocks are a favorite vintage find. “They’re looking for vintage wall clocks that plug-in, run by battery, and wind-up pocket portable travel alarm clocks. The kinds that actually tick-tock with the first and second hands going around in a circle,” Nora says.
Swatch Watches
Part timepiece, part wearable art, Swatch watches, which entered the scene in 1983, developed a cult following, thanks to their clever marketing campaigns and colorful collections by world-renowned artists from Keith Haring to Kiki Picasso. These “second watches,” as they were marketed by the Swiss manufacturer, have a dedicated fan base among millennials looking to capture a bit of the fun of their childhood. The appeal is in both its retro colors and analog function. “Look for a Swatch watch, with its numbered circular face with moving hands,” Nora says. “Not a smart digital Apple Watch or Fitbit, but a watch or clock that makes you tell the time by processing the visual in your mind, rather than it telling you the time.”
Point-and-Shoot Cameras
While today we carry a camera in our pockets at all times, classic point-and-shoot cameras have a nostalgic appeal, especially for millennials who grew up getting their film developed at the local drugstore. Nora explains that their charm lies in the soft graininess of the photo quality as well as the slower, manual nature of the process. She says, “Film cameras are finite; you can only take 24 to 36 photos per roll of film, then you have to wait to develop the film and see how the photographs turned out. The process makes you slow down, appreciate the limitations, and embrace delayed gratification.”
