8 Things from the 90s That Need to Come Back ...

The 90s were the golden age of Nickelodeon cartoons. From their heartfelt and very kid-relatable cartoons like «Rugrats» and «Hey Arnold!», to the more wild and crazy ones like «Ren and Stimpy» and «Spongebob Squarepants,» Nickelodeon had a cartoon for everyone. Diverse characters, equally appealing to both boys and girls, and incredibly creative, every kid loved Nick Toons. Right now, Teen Nick is airing some of these cartoons on their «The 90’s is all That» block of programming (you can check it out online here) but we wish Nickelodeon would make new episodes and bring back their cartoons from the 90s!

En Vogue, TLC, Destiny’s Child, Xscape,702--women harmonizing together, baring their souls, supporting and backing each other up, all while looking gorgeous, was all the rage in the 90s. These girl groups showed us what sisterhood looked and sounded like. And we loved it all! How many of us hung out with our girlfriends, sang our hearts out, and thought we were girl R&B groups? We need girl R&B groups back to get us feeling all that sisterly love. Hopefully there won’t be any more break ups or «time apart» (We’re talking to YOU, Destiny’s Child).

Don’t roll your eyes. Remember how happy an entire group of people would get when this cheesy song came on? Everyone would find a spot next to another person and get their Macarena moves on! The steps were simple, the melody catchy, and the smiles endless. Of course, those of us who were really cool added our own style to the basic «dance» steps. We want the Macarena back to remind us all not to take ourselves so seriously!

Ok, maybe the fanny packs from the 90s were ugly. Alright, not maybe--they were hideous. But come on ladies-purses can be so annoying! Aren’t you sick of carrying everything on your shoulder? Of having to always worry about where you will place your purse from location to location as you move through your day? Recently fanny packs have had a little bit of a makeover so that they are much cuter and more reasonably sized to wear as you run your daily errands. In other words, they are now made out of a variety of fashionable materials and don’t look like you have a football as a stomach. Check these out or check out Etsy for some beautiful hand-made ones. We will not give up on a stylish
and comfortable alternative to purses! Bring back fanny packs!

There are a few game shows from the 90s that have survived (Wheel of Fortune, The Price is Right, and Jeopardy for example) but the 90s had a ton of game shows that were not just all kinds of goodness for adults, but for kids as well. The game shows of the 90s had no eating-gross-mystery-item factors, no dangerous stunts, and no humiliation as entertainment. They were just good ‘ol fashioned fun. Nickelodeon was famous for their many game shows which not only challenged kids mentally, but physically as well. Remember «Double Dare,» «Figure it Out,» or «Guts»? Or how about the more mainstream ones for the grown-ups like «American Gladiators,» «Win Ben Stein’s Money,» or «SuperMarket Sweep»? The point is the 90s were full of game shows that entertained people because they were FUN, not because of shock value. We want those types of game shows back!

When we think of this granddaddy of all water toys, we remember long summer days at the park running around like wild animals in an attempt to completely soak our friends and family. Super Soakers were the quintessential summer toy that gave you no other option than to get up and move! Whether you were chasing after someone or being chased, if there was a Super Soaker involved, you were surely running around in pure joy. We love the idea of a toy that combines exercise AND the opportunity to completely soak your friends and family! It’s time for the Super Soaker to make a comeback at summer parties-every year.

Remember this toy that forced you to get along with your sibling? Two people would stand across from each other, grab each end of two ropes, and send a ball across from one person to the other. If you were receiving the ball, you had to close the two ends of the rope together and then open them up once the ball reached your side to send the ball back. Eye hand coordination was a must, which meant if you were fighting with your friend or sibling and not working together, you couldn’t make the ball move. Zoom Ball forced kids not only to get along, but to use their hand eye coordination for something other than video games. On Amazon, you can buy this toy as a therapy tool for Autism (see? It’s an awesome product) but back in the 90s, it was just a toy that made you play nice. Who doesn’t want that for their kids? Bring it back!

The Internet was still growing in the 90s and became mainstream by 1999. But during most of the 90s, email was NOT the way we communicated. Remember when we used to have pen pals? And we would get greeting cards, post cards, invitations, even break up letters, in the mailbox? Nowadays most of what shows up in the mailbox are bills and flyers. We want to bring the intimate communication between people back into the mailbox! Yes, we get email is fast, easy, and cheap. But if you’re communicating something thoughtful or meaningful to someone else, it shouldn’t be any of those things, right? How big of a smile would you get on your face if you got a love letter in the mail instead of a text? Let’s start hand writing and mailing letters again when we are writing things that matter. We say, bring back letters in the mail!

So there you have it! Our list of 8 things from the 90s that we want to see make a comeback! We think we’ve made our case, but are there any you would add?