The toy shelves are looking a little familiar lately. Yes, many old favorites have made their way back, some slightly updated, some almost exactly how we remember them. Companies are banking on nostalgia & are pulling in a whole new crowd of kids. Here are ten childhood toys that are coming back. Which one would you like to pick up again?
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Furby
Furbies, those wide-eyed chatterboxes, are back. Hasbro brought Furby out of retirement in mid-2023 and released new versions that can respond to voice commands & light up in weirdly cute ways. You don’t even need a phone app to use these. Instead, you just need batteries & a lot of patience.
Tamagotchi Connection
Bandai decided to bring back Tamagotchi Connection in 2024 with a model that’s rather close to the early-2000s original. Of course, there’s the usual feeding & cleanup, along with the infrared social side that made them feel so advanced back then. The re-release kicked off in Japan. Later, Bandai rolled these versions, as well as updated models, to big U.S. retailers.
Polly Pocket
Yes, Mattel never fully put Polly Pocket away. But they’ve really leaned into it recently. The company released a new compact to celebrate its 80th anniversary, and also a fashion collab with GCDS. The sets still have that tiny-world magic & fun appeal, just with shinier packaging.
Beyblade X
The Beyblade franchise did more than simply return, as it also made great improvements. Beyblade X started in Japan, then made its way to North America in late 2024. They come with stadiums built for extra speed & the tops essentially fly apart when you battle hard enough. As such, the toy has apparently been selling rather well.
Pound Puppies
Pound Puppies were another toy that took a breather. Over the last few years, Basic Fun has steadily shipped out new waves, with big plush pups & the tiny Newborns too. They also come in those old-school kennel boxes. But best of all, the lineup keeps expanding with new breeds, so there’s a reason for old-time fans to continue collecting.
Littlest Pet Shop
In 2024, Hasbro quietly rolled out a full Littlest Pet Shop reboot that was complete with redesigned figures & playsets. These toys also had a new digital side to them. However, the core is still little animals with big eyes, with spring & fall launches hitting stores across different regions rather quickly.
Stretch Armstrong
Yes, you read that right. Stretch Armstrong is limbering up for a comeback, as Basic Fun confirmed that new versions of the stretchable hero would come in autumn 2025. Of course, they’re still sticking with the classic stretchy gimmick. But the lineup includes a bunch of different figures & retail pushes to bring him back into the spotlight.
Monster High
While Monster High slipped away for a bit, it recently popped back up. And with a lot going on at once. In 2022, Mattel kicked things off again by rereleasing the original dolls, then quickly followed with new Gen 3 characters on shelves. Nickelodeon aired both an animated show & a live-action movie that same year.
Lite-Brite
Even toys from the 1960s, like the Lite-Brite, are making a comeback, although with a serious upgrade. The company has released “Super Bright HD” boards, as well as themed versions tied to Barbie. The LEDs are brighter & the boards are bigger. But the basic idea, though, is still exactly the same, as well as the sheer fun you can have with them.
POGs
POGs have returned, yet probably not in the way you’d expect. The World POG Federation announced it would do a full relaunch of the brand as NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and a WEB3 game. This features digital versions of the original POGs & exclusive ones, too.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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