GenX Question of the Day 5/15/26: Be a Toys ‘r Us Kid

Posted by HotelDiva@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 23 comments

Do you remember begging your parents for a GI Joe, Star Wars Figure, or Barbie when you were at the toy store?

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Norse_By_North_West@reddit

Hell, I begged just to go to toys r us. I don't think I ever bought anything there as a kid. The window shopping was great though.

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PeriwinkleWonder@reddit

No way. We got the, "Now, when we are in the store don't ask for anything and DO NOT EMBARRASS ME!" speech before we went into stores.

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This. I was however allowed to look all I wanted as long as I didn't beg/didn't touch. I was also given a pen and notebook to make a wish list. I had fun making the lists and Santa was always very generous though my parents never bought me a thing 😉

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CorrectCondition9458@reddit

I remember the toy promotion where you got like 5 minutes to grab as much merchandise as possible. We would wander for hours making plans for our route if we won.

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Chibi-Skyler@reddit

I bought my Game Boy there. Mom kept "borrowing" it and finally went back so she could buy her own. She and I would link up for 2-Player Tetris. She used to SLAUGHTER me in Vs matches.

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Fluffymanolo@reddit

Nope, didn't have one near. I also have a feeling my parents wouldn't have taken me if there was one. Closest thing I got was to circle the stuff I wanted in the Christmas Sears catalog, aka "The Wish Book"

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Gera1976@reddit

It’s crazy kids don’t have stores like this anymore. My family and i were talking toys r us when we were younger and my 6yr old nephew looked at us like we were lying to him. We had to show him pics

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destiny_kane48@reddit

I still have my Toys r Us credit card as a memento. I didn't get to go in one often as a kid maybe twice my entire childhood. But when I had a kid, we'd take him to Toys R US and buy stuff after his heart appointments. His dad and I may have also picked up a few things for ourselves. Mostly action figures. 😅

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Necessary_Giraffe_66@reddit

Yes loved Kaybee too

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WmKaden@reddit

Random factoid: the Toys R Us jingle was created by an advertising executive named James Patterson, who later gained fame as the writer of the Alex Cross mystery series and is now the most prolific author alive.

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Solid_Association_49@reddit

Only every time!

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Melodic_Caramel1777@reddit

I wanted anything Barbie - doll, clothes, car, etc. No Toys ‘r’ Us where I lived until I was in high school, my toy sources were the mall toy stores and Kmart.

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ONROSREPUS@reddit

It was Kmart and Pamida of me. No ToyRus close. usually begging usually not getting a thing. Hence the reason I started hustlen when I was young. If I wanted it I had to buy it.

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SackBadger2024@reddit

Hell yeah, allowance day was enough for 1 star wars figure.

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81632371@reddit

When I was a kid, the toy store was a dark little mom and pop store that was a warren of little rooms and corners filled with treasures. It is now a gas station.

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Hot_Rock@reddit

I never knew what a toys r us was until I was in my 30s. We had a place called Blantons Toy House. What used to be a small house actually crammed to the rafters with toys. You could walk all the way around. I still remember the floor creaking. They had the old matchbox display cabinet and that’s where I tormented my dad by not being able to settle on just one car because that’s all I was allowed. He took me almost every Saturday morning just him and me.

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