The holidays are just around the corner, and if you’re starting to think about the perfect gift for the 80s fanatic in your life, look no further. Your friends, family and loved ones will open up a big box of nostalgia this holiday season with these ten totally tubular gift ideas.
Retro Cell Phone Handset
Do you know someone who longs for the long, curly phone cord from the kitchen of their youth? This is the gift for them! A kitchy, fun old school handset that plugs right into your smart phone – let the memories ring back– all for less than ten bucks! Warning, you may be inspired to prank call someone or twirl the cord into knots as you talk for hours to that cute boy from Algebra class. Totally Buy It Here.
Pac-Man Connect and Play
No 80s gift guide is complete without Pac-Man! Bring the arcade into your living room with this cool pixilated controller that plugs directly into your television. This joystick packs twelve classic games including Galaga, Dig Dug, Galaxian and of course, Pac-Man. The cord even stores inside the controller so you can display the awesome Pac-Man joystick for all to admire. Get Your Game On Here.
Scene It? 80s Deluxe Edition
Give the gift of trivia and invite yourself over for game night! This radical interactive DVD game will test your knowledge of the 80s with movie clips, music, news and sports of the decade. Take a totally tubular trip down memory lane with questions ranging from Flashdance to Pop Rocks, from big hair to Pac-Man to parachute pants. Buy Scene It Here.
Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre: The Complete Collection
Who else remembers this classic show from HBO back in the day? Enjoy 26 of the most popular fairy tales of all time acted out by some of the biggest stars: Christopher Reeve, Matthew Broderick, Robin Williams and so many more. Besides classics like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood, this DVD will introduce you to lesser known fairy tales such as The Princess Who Had Never Laughed, The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers and my favorite of all time, The Nightingale starring the one and only Mick Jagger. Buy Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre.
TV Guide Spotlight – Totally 80s Toons
Here is the perfect gift for your friend who still gets up early on Saturday morning longing for the Saturday morning cartoons of their youth. Twenty episodes of cartoons like Heathcliff, Care Bears, The Littles and Dennis the Menace all for less than ten dollars? Grab a bowl of Apple Jacks and settle in for a screen full of sugary sweet nostalgia. Give the gift of Saturday morning in the 80s.
Christmas Vacation Glass Moose Mug
For the Griswold-lover in your life, here’s the perfect gift — a moose mug just like the one Cousin Eddie and Clark drink from in the 80s classic movie Christmas Vacation. Now you can sip your eggnog from this festive glass goblet while you have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny f***ing Kaye. Merry Christmas! Buy your very own moose mugs here.
Ray-Ban Wayfarer Sunglasses
Because some things never go out of style, these classic Ray-Bans are the perfect gift for anyone! They come in a variety of great colors, but if you really want to channel Tom Cruise in Risky Business or Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan you’ll stick to the classic black frames that everyone was wearing back in the 80s. Buy Classic Wayfarers Here.
Moleskine Audio Cassette Notebook
I own this, and I LOVE it. Everywhere I go, I get compliments on it. The moleskin is soft and durable and there’s an elastic ribbon to keep it closed while it floats around in your bag. But the design is what makes this notebook super awesome – it looks just like an early 80s handheld cassette recorder, the ones where you’d make recordings of you and your friends telling jokes or record music off of the radio by holding it up to a speaker and pushing play and record at the same time. Get the 80s Moleskine!
MACHO MAN T-Shirt
Sure we all had a case of Hulkamania in the 1980s, but if you were into the WWF back in the day, surely you also had a special place in your heart for Randy Savage, The Macho Man. Featuring his image inside a pair of his trademark sunglasses, this t-shirt is the perfect gift for anyone who remembers the glory days of wrestling. Buy a Macho Man tee for your macho man!
Underoos
Underoos are back! If you can track down a set of these for the 80s lover on your list, you will truly be a Wonder Woman, because I think even Santa himself is having trouble keeping them in stock. Sold at Hot Topic, the store is currently selling seven sets that include He-Man, Superman, Captain America and yes, the ones I owned as a kid, Wonder Woman. Not surprisingly, there were none left on the shelf at the mall the other day when I went looking for them, but it appears you can still get them on Hot Topic’s website. And check out the sweet retro packaging, so great! Buy Underoos at Hot Topic.
See you at the mall!