05 Sep 2021

Over the weekend, I found a gold mine of what quite literally defined and shaped my childhood. From nagging my parents every weekend to persuading my dad to get Macca's after school (worked every time) I uncovered a whole lot of Happy Meal toys that I thought had been chucked in a bin after growing up (that never happened so maybe I should say... as I got older) and the majority of them are still in pristine and mint condition!

Anyway, it's been a whirlwind of nostalgia and serotonin all rolled into one and I've come to the conclusion that I'll never have to buy toys for my future kids (BPA free who?) so let's have a geeze at what I found and how they rank on the Bianca scale.

18. Saddle Club - 2005

I don't have much to say about this one - I just remember getting it and I was a bit...sad. But I've just realised you can move the legs around? Pretty cool I guess. It also came with stickers according to some pictures I found on Google. Also, what a show. Moving on.

17. Barbie Pose-Me Pets - 2004

I'm sure this was just one of those releases because Barbie dropped one of it's random movies that never saw the light of day after the year it was released but nevertheless, this one is cute. And you can ALSO move it's legs around too! What toys do that nowadays, huh?

16. Brother Bear - 2003

I don't even know what Brother Bear is but old mate here is trying to tell us something. I vividly remember this sitting in my group of "favourite" toys.

15. Lord of the Rings - unconfirmed year

I genuinely have no idea where these are from. They don't say McDonald's on them so I'm assuming Red Rooster (god forbid), KFC or Hungry Jacks. Anyway, I've got double ups so I'm assuming my dad was ordering me kids meals just to collect them. I'm only ranking them higher because it looks like I scored the whole set. They all have a slider at the back where you can move them across and their swords (or...wands, idk) move up and down.

14. Chicken Run - 2000

2000? Jeez, I was like one or two. I doubt I was shoving cheeseburgers down my throat at that age but I loved this one as I got older. By the way, this is from Hungry Jacks but I'm counting it in, sue me. It has a winding string at the back, pull it and it shakes. IT STILL WORKS. Pretty rad.

13. Mr Men + Little Miss - 2004

I am still obsessed with these Roger Hargreaves characters - got all the books, lunch boxes and everything so I was hoping that I had this whole set. These will do though!

12. Zizzle iZ electronic musical toy - 2005

Even when we were younger, we knew these things were weird af. They played music when you hit that button in the middle (it used to drive my parents insane), it's nose would light up to the beat and you can move around it's ears and legs. Only the red one still works. I showed it to my dad and he ran away.

11. The Incredibles - 2004

Jack-Jack is the reason as to why I watched The Incredibles growing up. By the way, not sure what's on his nose. I probably drew on it as a five year old. But you wind a button on his back and he jumps up and down, like how he would in the movie. It still sorta works, you can tell he's on his last legs though.

10. Sesame Street - 2002 and 2003

I'm upset because I remember having the complete collection of BOTH releases here but we'll settle with what we've got. Not anything interesting here, just an Oscar the Grouch key thing and a plush of Bert. Brings heaps of memories back.

9. Kim Possible - 2003

Now we're pulling 'em nostalgia strings. Both toys were hectic and did things like skate around or fling up jetpack wings. Highly rated due to the highly rated show. Call me, beep me, if you wanna reach me.

8. Cars - 2006

I never watched Cars so I'm surprised I have half the set (sad I missed Lightning McQueen... cachow) but these are cool. Pull 'em back and they zoom forward!

7. Neopets - 2005

I don't even know what Neopets exactly are - I remember it being a computer game? That's about it but otherwise, still extremely cute.

6. Sega Games - 2003

I remember having all of these games so I'm sure my sister kept the rest but still, these were bloody advanced back in the day. It was a screen that lit up and you play the built-in game. It doesn't work sadly but I'm sure I can restore it! Keen.

5. Winnie The Pooh Slinkies - 2005

I took this photo on the weekend and didn't keep them because my sister begged for them but take note of the slinkies at the back - THEY WERE SO CUTE. No matter what age, Winnie the Pooh will always be the GOAT of movies and toys.

4. Care Bears - 2004 + 2005

This is the whole set + the lone pleb keyring on the right. The little objects in their hand were like a sniff and smell and I swear by this - they STILL HAVE A SCENT. I probably shouldn't be smelling toys that are essentially 20-years-old but I couldn't help myself. The cutest set that I am extremely proud of.

3. The Dog - 2004

I like to imagine this is the whole set because there were so many of them but how cute are these? I'm pretty sure they came with little plastic kennels but I could be wrong. Serotonin levels are through the rough with these bad boys!

2. Strawberry Shortcake Lip Balm - 2006

I didn't smell these ones because idk, fumes? Lip balm sitting in plastic for 16 years? I do remember the artificial berry and orange smells though and they were the BEST. I did have the entire set, probably used the other ones though. These were best and nobody can tell me otherwise.

1. Music You Can Dance To Radios - 2006

If you don't remember these, you're not a late 90's kid. Turn on 'em at the back, press the button on the top and it'll play a snippet of their songs. The Veronicas had the classic hit song "Forever" on theirs (mine still works) and the Girls Aloud one ...no bloody idea because it doesn't work. The Veronicas one does and that's all that matters. Here's a vid of The Veronicas talking about this iconic toy. I feel like it's disrespectful to call this a toy - it's in my history books for sure.

That's all I've got so far until I open another box (hoping to come across my Finding Nemo collection), whenever I move house or want to be reminded of my awesome childhood in another 20 years time. If you've still got some of these laying around, go and find 'em for the ultimate nostalgic trip!