The boomer generation grew up with some of the most iconic and beloved toys of all time – so much so that some of these playthings are just as popular today as they were in the 60s. These toys not only provided endless hours of fun but also shaped the childhoods of entire generations. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and explore 10 nostalgic toys that boomers were absolutely obsessed with!
G.I. Joe: America’s Movable Fighting Man

In 1964, Hasbro came up with something very new and exciting for kids — toys that emulated the American armed forces. At the time, the accepted view was that “dolls” were for girls so G.I. Joe could not just be a “doll” or a toy and thus the term “action figure” was born.
Hasbro made a whole range of realistic-looking 12-inch action figures representing the American Army, navy, and Marine, including the Air Force. And as Stanley Weston, the original creator of what would be called G.I. Joe guessed, the action figures did bring a fortune to Hasbro.
Easy-Bake Oven

Kenner launched the Easy Bake Oven in 1963– a miniature of the real thing that you could find in the streets of New York that vendors used to bake pretzels. The toy used two 100-watt incandescent light bulbs as a heat source to do all the baking, and it even came with 12 different baking mixes and pans!
Every child who wanted to help out in the kitchen now had an oven of their own, only smaller – you could make tiny cakes, cookies, pretzels, pizzas, and even brownies, all without setting the house on fire. By ’97, this beloved oven had acquired legendary status, having sold 16 million pieces — it even got inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2006.
Etch A Sketch

If anything shouts nostalgia, it’s the Etch A Sketch. This iconic piece of craftsmanship which has sold over a million units worldwide is what some might call the original iPad. First invented in the late 50s by toy maker and inventor André Cassagnes this mechanical drawing toy was only made available to the American toy market in 1960.
Etch A Sketch allowed you to draw anything that you could fit in the frame by the action of twisting two white knobs located in the bottom corners of the toy’s red frame. The fact that this simple yet fascinating toy worked much like a plotter was novel and appealing to both children and adults alike. You could spend hours on end just doodling away with it, without the mess that paper and ink typically brought along.
Barbie

No list of iconic boomer toys would be complete without talking about Barbie. First introduced by Mattel in 1959, Barbie, is arguably the most famous toy in the world, so it’s no surprise that the doll gradually became a cultural phenomenon.
When someone thinks ‘Barbie’, they think pink, fun, and free, but Barbie was much more than that for little girls growing up around the toy —, whilst sipping on tea, in their pink tea cups Barbie with over 200 careers to her name allowed young girls to imagine themselves as skilled doctors, fashion models, scientists, and then some.
Hot Wheels

Introduced by Mattel in 1968, Hot Wheels debuted with a lineup of 16 vehicles known as the “Sweet Sixteen” — miniature versions of luxury cars that kids got to play with and dreamed of one day owning.
You could create your own track with loops and hoops extending from your living room to the bedroom, complete with collectible stickers and flashy cars. These replica vehicles featured sleek designs, fast wheels, and eye-catching paint jobs, making them an instant hit among kids. They also made us into Hot Wheels aficionados, just waiting for the next toy to add to our collection.
Five decades later, these cars remain just as popular now as when they first appeared, branching out to more than just toy cars.
Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots

Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots is a two-player action mechanical toy designed by Marvin Glass and Associates and distributed by Marx. It came out in the year 1964 just when boxing was one of the biggest sources of entertainment around.
The game is designed to look like a boxing ring with two plastic figures hitting each other. They are controlled by two people on either side pushing buttons rapidly, and whoever is first to knock off the other plastic figure’s head wins. Nothing beats fun like knocking your opponent out for hours on end, and that is why Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots still remains a hit. Mattel releasing its own version of the game in the 2000s is proof of that.
Lite-Brite

Lite-Brite first appeared in 1967 when Marvin Glass and Associates, a toy design company, licensed it to Hasbro. The retro toy features a black square screen on which you pin down pieces of colored pegs, creating designs and letting them come to life with a light, literally.
A bulb at the back of the screen lets the light flow through the pegs illuminating the entire design, now imagine doing all of this late into the night with your siblings or friends with the fresh smell of heated plastic permeating the air –ah childhood back in the day!
Spirograph

The Spirograph was geometry done right – it was fun and did not involve tears. Although variations of the Spirograph before it was known as such first appeared in the 1820s, it was engineer and inventor, Denys Fisher who came up with the definitive Spirograph between 1962 and ’64.
This geometric drawing toy uses a set of plastic gears and a pen to guide it along and; just about anyone could create intricate and mesmerizing spiral designs also known as hypotrochoids and epitrochoids, and you didn’t have to be a genius to play around with it.
Aside from fostering an appreciation of geometrical patterns, the Spirograph provided a creative outlet for kids, helped them develop their fine motor skills, and of course, relieved them from boredom when it was time to get back into the house.
Chatty Cathy

In 1960, Mattel introduced Chatty Cathy to the world. You would have had a chance to play with the pull-string doll only if you were around in the 60s because Mattel stopped manufacturing it in 1965.
As the name suggests, Cathy was chatty – with a pull of a string, this doll could speak a total of 18 different phrases, (it was initially 11 phrases) creating a level of interactivity that was groundbreaking for that time. The doll’s speech mechanism consisted of a phonograph record in its stomach, activated by a metal coil wound around a pulley. Unsurprisingly, Chatty Cathy was a cherished companion for countless children.
Creepy Crawlers

Released in 1964, Creepy Crawlers were part of Mattel’s Thingmaker set, an activity toy that many kids in the 60s grew up and were obsessed with. Imagine having the power and authority to create something as interesting as bugs. And why go after the live ones if we can make one at home?
All you had to do was pour the special “Plasti-Goop” liquid into the metal molds provided and place it inside the tiny hot-plate oven, wait for a few minutes, and you now have an array of bugs at your disposal! Although there are different themed sets of the Thingmaker set available today, the original Creepy Crawlers that featured 9 molds are our favorite, never mind the fact that we almost got second-degree burns from playing with this toy.