Nostalgic Christmas Toys for 70s and 80s Kids

Gareth J. Hargreaves • August 16, 2026 19:15

If you were born at some point between the 1970s and the 1980s, congratulations: you’re officially on the road to becoming a classic. For now, though, I’d rather call us nearly-new. Youth hasn’t completely left our bodies, but the first little signs of wear and tear are starting to show.

Don’t pretend you don’t know what I mean. The thinning “bonnet” hair, transmission issues (knees), and the first aches in the chassis. We can still laugh about it because, so far, none of it is terribly serious. Truth be told, with a bit of maintenance, most of these niggles go away - except baldness, I’m afraid.

But today I propose we park the quirks of adulthood for a moment. Remember when we were kids? The pure buzz of Christmas? The toy adverts, the build-up to the festive season, the Christmas holidays that somehow lasted more than two weeks (!) and still felt too short - little did we know what was coming.

That whole mix of memories, plus the realities of grown-up life, has sent me back to the Christmases of more than 25 years ago - the ones that revolved around the hope of unwrapping something from this list.

Tell the kids to keep it down, and come with me on a nostalgic trip to a time when smartphones, Wi‑Fi and the internet belonged firmly in science fiction.

1. Analog simulators

We’ve talked about this brilliant simulator before. The fun was “driving” a car drawn and fixed onto a panel while the road rolled past behind it. As you drove, you could switch the headlights on, honk the horn, indicate, and change speed using the gear lever.

There were several versions, but one of the most coveted was the Tomy Racing Cockpit.

2. Micro Machines

Another toy we’ve mentioned here before. The huge range of models of every type - with the standout feature being their tiny size - is a true childhood classic for any petrolhead.

You definitely remember these. Sadly, we couldn’t track down the Portuguese version.

3. Remote-controlled cars

Battery-powered, rechargeable, petrol, or even wired - you had at least one. If you didn’t, there’s a chance you were the result of an unwanted pregnancy.

Up until the mid-1990s, Nikko set the standard in the big retailers - and in my house. Then Tyco turned up with cars that were a bit more flashy, but they never won me over. As for petrol models, I still haven’t got round to buying one…

4. Matchbox, Hotwheels, Bburago, Corgi toys…

That timeless staple every kid has begged for in the supermarket, driving their parents mad and leaving them deeply embarrassed when the answer is no.

The first two - Matchbox and Hotwheels - were the little “bonus” you might get for no particular reason on a routine supermarket trip. Then there were those 30-car bundles from the Chinese shops, where the wheels sometimes refused to turn. Their end was usually a sad one.

5. Racing tracks

Tracks still exist today, like slotcars, but they’re far more advanced. In my day, it was a simple figure-of-eight, barely more than a metre long. You built it from sections that clipped together to make the electrical contact, and then the cars would run thanks to the magnetism created - with one controller per car.

Back then, our biggest drama was persuading our parents to buy more “fat batteries”, because these tracks chewed through them at an unbelievable pace.

6. LEGO

This was one of the defining toys of my childhood. The freedom it gave you was absolute, and once I’d built the first kits, I started modifying them. Police cars with cannons on the roof, boats that could fly, underwater motorbikes, and so on.

I still have a few sets - do you?

7. Playmobil

Those of you who already have kids at home, tell me this: do they still play with these? Because if they do, there’s still hope for humanity.

Like LEGO, it was one of the most common toys among my group of friends. Even so, we split into two camps: the ones who preferred Playmobil with cars, and the “others” who went for castles, cowboys and pirate ships.

The plastic was top quality, practically unbreakable. So many hours of play with an ambulance just like this one.

8. The first consoles

I’m from the era when something called the “Clube SEGA” existed. Consoles were taking their first steps towards going mainstream, and in Portugal the queen of consoles was the Mega Drive. It cost 50 contos - for anyone who doesn’t know how to convert that, it’s 250 euros. A console that came with a simulator, Fórmula 1. Realistic? Not really. But we didn’t care.

Then came the Sega Saturn and the Sony Playstation, and the programme “Templo dos Jogos”, and… Gran Turismo. I know I could go even further back and talk about the Spectrum, but I don’t want to feel quite that old.