Childhood nostalgia is different for all of us.
But whether you grew up in a small town, a city, a suburb, or out in the country, there are things that bring the old memories flooding back.
Let’s see what makes the childhood nostalgia come flooding back for folks on AskReddit.
1. Summer!
“That feeling of limitless freedom on the first day of summer vacation.
That feeling of dreaded anticipation on the last day of summer vacation.”
2. Booyah!
“Sleepover nights where we all rode our bikes to blockbuster and then to the local servo to get slushies and snacks to have with the movies.
I usually had more fun going to blockbuster then actually watching the movie.”
3. Get cookin’!
“Easy bake oven…and that other one that made like monster gummy candies I can’t remember what it’s called.”
4. What a guy.
“Watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
There was something so special about the intro where he would sing Won’t You Be My Neighbor while he changed his jacket and shoes. I
loved every second of it, and would watch in utter content and fascination each time as if I’d never before seen him zip his cardigan up and back down to the right spot and change his shoes with the little toss of a shoe from one hand to the other.”
5. You better believe it!
“In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground.
Today, still wanted by the government they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them….maybe you can hire The A-Team.”
6. It’s your turn.
“When I was a kid, in order to watch Dukes of Hazzard you needed to hold the antenna a certain way.
Me and my brother would trade off holding the antenna between commercial breaks.”
7. See ya later.
“Going out with friends and my parents couldn’t get ahold of me until I got home.
Back when there were no cell phones.”
8. That was a great place.
“Toys R Us holds such a special place in my memory.
As an adult, I know that it was just another large corporation toy store.. But as a kid.. That place was a d**n wonderland. Some of my earliest memories are of that place and so many things come to mind when I think Toys R Us: Shopping for Sega Genesis games, buying Pokémon cards, going through all the different boys aisles with Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers and then the girl side with Polly Pockets and dolls.
It was so huge as a kid and there was so much. I remember very eagerly awaiting the Big Toy Book every single Christmas and circling everything I wanted.
And of course, the best thing of all…. Every 90s kid’s fantasy: The Toys R Us Toy Run!!! 5 minutes to grab WHATEVER you wanted. It was the kids equivalent of “What would I do if I won the lottery”. I daydreamed about going crazy at the N64 games and bikes.
Sigh. I miss Toys R Us.”
9. Yes!
“Book fairs.
The distinctive newspaper-y feel of those catalogues, the smell of them. Heaven.
I would agonize over what books to get, lying on my living room floor, circling my options in different colored gel pens, narrowing it down to 2-4 from a dozen in an intense battle royale between slightly blurry one-line summaries.
I know my mom’s secret now. She would’ve bought me the whole catalogue. But she made me make my choices so that I really valued the books. I’d read them all immediately, reading all night if I had to, hiding in a tent under my covers with a flashlight I stole from the kitchen. I thought I was getting away with something.
As an adult I notice, now, that the flashlight never ran out of batteries.”
10. There they are!
“Seeing a bunch of bikes at your friends house knowing that’s where everyone was.
I mean it’s easier now with phones and all that, but the thrill of the hunt was wild.”
11. I’ll be there.
“Mom: Your friend’s on the phone.
*hands over the phone*
Friend: Do you wanna come over and swim?
You: *looks at pre-packed bag of swim stuff* Lemme ask my mom.”
12. The good times.
“Pretending to be asleep in the car after a long car ride so your parents would carry you inside and up to bed.
I still can remember peeking through my closed eyelids and thinking that I was fooling them- but looking back they totally knew and probably also were cherishing those fleeting moments of tenderness.”
What brings back childhood nostalgia for you?
Let us know in the comments.
We look forward to it!
