The Most Nostalgic Gifts For Every Person On Your List

Nothing filled me with joy more as a kid than my Game Boy, and ModRetro has created the ultimate blast-from-the-past gift with the Chromatic. Compatible with all Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges, Chromatic is pure dopamine in handheld game form. It charges either with a USB cord or batteries (bless) and the Chromatic also comes with some original Chromatic games, along with old favorites like Tetris. It’s honestly just such a great gift and perfect for the person who wants to spend less time on their phone.

If you grew up loving Pokémon and your kid is into them now, this Pokémon Trainer board game is such a fun one to play together. There are two modes of difficulty on the board so it can grow with you as you begin to learn the clues. The game master will call out clues, and the person who guesses which Pokémon it’s hinting at first scores the points.

Hey, you guys! LEGO never misses, and The Goonies LEGO set is such a great gift for any Goonies fan. The detail is absolutely incredible, with over 2,900 pieces and 12 minifigures. It’s intended for LEGO fans aged 18 and up, but it could also be an amazing family project to work on.

My mom friends and I all want to get our kids these Tin Can phones so they can call each other and their grandparents without screens, just like in ye olden days. Can’t you feel the curly phone cord twirling around your index finger right now? Plus, they’re so cute and colorful, this is a “toy” I’d actually love to see around my house. Tin Can users can call each other for free, or it’s $9.99 a month to call other kinds of phones (but they can only dial contacts you’ve pre-approved — yay safety).

There are few things more delightful than The Sims, so why not gift (with actual dollars, not Simoleons) your favorite Sims fan The Sims board game? For players ages 12 and up, you can jump right into the neighborhood and create a whole journey, with aspirations, iconic Sims characters, and more. This is perfect for a nostalgic family game night, and the artwork on the game itself will make you feel like a 15-year-old staying up late on the computer again.

If you want screen-free, whole-family fun, Twangled looks like the way to go. Everyone’s hands will be occupied by giant rubber bands, and you kick the spinner with your foot to progressively tie yourself into a massive knot. Then, you’ll have to work together to untangle your human bowtie.

My 4-year-old, my nieces (who are 5, 6, and 12), and I have all enjoyed playing with this sticker maker. You get to choose the size, cute animal backing, and confetti filler. It’s a great option for families with kids in a wide range of ages. The mechanics of sticker making are just complex enough to require their full attention, but easy enough to get the hang of in one or two tries. I love that it’s totally analog and requires zero batteries.

Gifting someone you love an American Girl doll is nostalgic enough, but if you gift the Girl of the Year 2026 Raquel Reyes? Well, you’re promising an added bonus of nostalgia. Raquel’s great-great-grandmother is none other than Samantha Parkington. Even Raquel’s dress is reminiscent of Samantha Parkington’s original look, and Raquel’s story includes a sweet dive into her family tree, giving you all the vintage vibes.

You remember G-SHOCK watches? Well they’re back, and cooler than ever. With a retro analog watchface and fun bright colors, the G-SHOCK “Cool Eyes” Cool Watch is going to make you feel like you stepped right back in time. Built for sports and outdoor activities, this is a great gift for the live-fast-and-hard person in your life.

Thanks to the live-action Lilo & Stitch movie, Stitch is totally back this holiday season. But you can give him even more of a nostalgic air by gifting the Stretch Armstrong version of Stitch. I vividly remember my little brother receiving his Stretch Armstrong on a perfect ‘90s Christmas morning, and knowing I can give my own nephew one of these — and we can pull it down the hall to see how far it actually goes before one of us gets smacked in the face — is kind of the best.

Every cool girl I knew in the ‘90s had one of those twisty hair things that added jewels and gems and put their hair into perfect little twists, and now you can have some of that nostalgia back with the Make It Real: Snap ‘N Glam Hair Styling Set. With 100 different bead clips, from butterflies and gems to flowers, kids can mix and match and easily add them to their own hair.

Pretty books are always a win, but the Rifle Paper Co. In Bloom book collection is the perfect nostalgic gift for the Big Bow Girls in your life. Featuring Heidi, A Little Princess, Little Women, and Anne of Green Gables, each features a gorgeous cover and design that will make you want to crawl into a cozy cottage and relive your bookworm childhood.

My little brother had millions of those tiny Tech Deck skateboards in the ‘90s, and I love the brand’s revived version with the Tech Deck Shred N’ Blast Skateboard. For sk8rs ages 6 and up, this toy can send your skateboard into tricks up to six feet high, and the ramp itself can be mixed into other Tech Deck accessories and playsets.

The way my entire body responded to seeing that Pillow Pals are back — I’ll never have the words to fully explain. Pillow Pals were huge in the ‘80s and featured several different varieties, but I was always partial to Window Rattler, the plush both my sister and I (and D.J. Tanner on Full House) snuggled with.

The minute I saw these Suite Spaces collections, I thought about the old American Girl Mini Rooms, where you could buy all the pieces to create your own little space. The Suite Spaces collection is a lot like that, featuring living room packs, bedroom packs, bathroom packs, and more. Each pack comes with everything you need to create your own little miniature room of your dreams, and then all of them can stack together to make your very own dollhouse.

I still have my BABY Born doll from when I was a kid, and oh how I fell in love with her the Christmas I opened her under the tree. I remember mixing the little packets of food — all that gritty orange stuff — to feed her and feeling like I had hit the lottery. Give back some of that joy with the new BABY Born Princess Collection. While this little one doesn’t eat any food, she does come with a bottle and the perfect princess outfit. Her eyes close when you lay her down, and it really feels like a callback to simple baby dolls and how much we all loved them. (Also, it’s BABY Born, so it’ll last forever.)

Great Scott! Back to the Future is a classic for a reason — it’s one of the best movies ever made — and is now forever immortalized in another classic, retro brand: Polly Pocket. These two fandoms combining is beyond good, and whether the Back to the Future fan in your life played with Polly Pockets or not, this is an ultimate nostalgia gift.

This is literally the only thing my 40-year-old husband (who never knows what he wants for a gift) has asked for this Christmas, so you know Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection is going to be a smash hit. Not only does this edition include the arcade versions of Mortal Kombat, but it also includes the Sega and Super NES system versions, along with some rare Game Boy editions and more. It’s so fun for anyone who grew up getting video games under the tree, and it’s going to be a major walk down memory lane on Christmas morning.

Vintage sneakers have been a thing for a while, but the new Stranger Things x Nike collection takes it to an entirely new level with the new Nike Dunk Low ‘Phantom’ pair. These look exactly like the ones worn in Stranger Things, down to the “dirty” and used vibe, and are a must for any retro sneakerheads or fans of the ‘80s.

I can still vividly remember the commercial for the Don’t Wake Daddy board game, and I’m thrilled the game is still around. While Dad has had a bit of an upgrade — I do miss his sleeping cap — this is a great gift for the game enthusiasts in your family, or even to gift a sibling who remembers playing it with you.

Truly, there was nothing like circling every American Girl item in the catalogue for your Christmas wish list, but now the brand is even making it so your littlest American Girls can fall in love with both the dolls and their sweet stories. The My First Addy Doll & Board Book set features Addy Walker, the historical American Girl who grew up in 1964 Philadelphia, as a plush and cuddly doll with her own board book version of her Meet Addy story. It’s a must if you have a little one in your life who needs to be introduced to American Girl, or if you know someone who would just appreciate a little squeeze from a soft friend.

Everybody had a Rubik’s Cube at some point, right? Whether you ever figured it out or not doesn’t matter, but the updated Rubik’s Pulse Cube is a fun, updated version of everyone’s favorite brain teaser. This one lights up, pulsing to a timer so that you can try and solve the puzzle before the lights go out. It’s super fun and a great gift for anybody who has ever given a little twist on a Rubik’s Cube.

I know, you can hear the theme song already. So many grew up with Jem and the Holograms on TV, so why not bring back some of that joy and nostalgia with the Jem and the Holograms fashion doll? Whether you’re going to keep it for your own personal shelf collection or want it to play with your kids, this is such a fun gift.

There was nothing better than seeing a bicycle under the Christmas tree, and I am forever looking for that magical high. Retrospec has a ton of fun things that give similar vibes, but nothing hits it quite as well as the Beaumont City Bike. No e-bike stuff here, just a classic, 7-speed bicycle that’s built to last. With the rear rack, you can even have some storage for taking along whatever you need on the ride.

I love playing trivia with family and friends, but so many trivia options feel a little too heavy. Brass Monkey’s Poorly Explained Movies - Holiday Edition is so ridiculously fun. It’s just a great guessing game, but the clues are things like “an orphan sings to a woman taking a shower,” and the answer is Elf. So fun to play in a group, and so fun to realize everybody else thinks about movies just like you do.

I grew up with professional wrestling, so every new WWE playset makes me want to jump right back into watching some pay-per-view and falling for all those character storylines. The Mattel WWE Money in the Bank playset comes with everything needed to reenact some iconic WWE moments. (It would also look great just displayed on a shelf.)

There have been a lot of Rainbow Brite variations and merch over the years, but I’m so obsessed with this classic, incredibly retro Rainbow Brite 12” plush doll. Created just like the doll from the ‘80s, the body is plush with a vinyl head and yellow yarn hair. It has no frills or fuss — just like the perfect Rainbow Brite doll.