Remember when childhood didn’t require Wi-Fi? When summers were scraped knees, not screens, and dinners weren’t preceded by a phone in every hand? A few of those old school traditions were strange, insane, and actually a little bit just right. But between growing up and glowing up, they vanished. These are the childhood traditions we took for granted back in the day — and yes, some of them are due for a revival.
Saturday Morning Cartoons Were Sacred
No streaming, no wait – if you did miss your show, well, tough luck. All kids learned the drill: bowl of cereal in front of them, watching the TV set at 7 a.m. sharp in the morning. Nowadays? Kids can binge anything they want, any time. Something about the magic of waiting? Gone with the wind!
Writing Letters to Pen Pals
Before DMs and snaps, we had pen pals. Actual letters. With actual stamps. That excitement of opening the mailbox? Unrivaled. You’d pour your 10-year-old self out to someone you’d never met in some other part of the country—or another country altogether—and wait weeks for a letter to come back. Crazy.
Riding in the Back of the Family Station Wagon
Seatbelts? Meh. You sat in the back seat, facing the opposite direction, laughing and making funny faces at people driving on the highway. More like roller coaster days when seatbelt legislation wasn’t there. Dangerous? Yeah. Fun? Absolutely.
Picking Up Stuff Just Because
Pogs. Stickers. Marbles. Troll dolls. You didn’t save it because it was worth something. You just saved shiny trash and loved it like money. Children today save fans, but we stockpiled something that would fit in the palm of your hand. And trade.
Home Birthday Parties with Homemade Cake
When there were no Instagram-perfect bounce house blowouts, parties used to be backyard games, jelly sandwiches, and a bumpy, irregularly rounded homemade cake topped with suspect icing. And you know what? We loved it. No theme, no party favors – just rowdy kids, sugar buzzes, and total chaos. Heaven.
Family Dinners Without Phones
Remember literally talking during dinner? Eye contact and full sentences, that is. Dinners were tiny-therapy sessions – or roast wars – and phones never appeared on the table. These days, it’s just everyone sitting in silence scrolling, sometimes grunting.
Renting a Movie Meant a Whole Event
Went to Blockbuster (or the high-street video shop) was a thing. You’d scan the shelves, battle with your brother, pick a VHS based solely on cover art, and even receive a bag of popcorn at the till. Now you browse through Netflix for three hours and still can’t make up your mind. Yes, commitment issues!
Summer Days Were Totally Unstructured
No booked-to-the-minute day camps. No study hall classes. Just you, the sun, your bike, and a relaxed sense of time. You left the house in the morning and came home when the street lights came on. Free and wild in heaven.
Writing in Slam Books
These were ’90s burn books. “Who’s cutest?” “Whom do you hate?” It had a dozen aggressive questions, and overnight, everyone knew who was “most annoying” and who had a crush on Kyle. It was mean, hateful, and written in full-scented gel pen. No one was immune — but everyone wanted in.
Making Friendship Bracelets (and Wearing Them Too)
We would tie the strings of embroidery for hours into such sacred bracelets. Every single one meant something, had power, and drama to them. To give or receive one was a big thing. Now, friendship is gauged in terms of likes, but we had strings to show our devotion.
Making Mix CDs (or Cassettes) for the People You Loved
Burning a CD was a labor of love. It took hours of selecting the exact right songs, Sharpie-doodled notebook cover art cover designs, and a title that was just some angsty thing like “Feelings Vol. 2.” Now it’s “here’s a Spotify link,” and for some bizarre reason, just isn’t the same.
Passing Notes in Class Like Secret Agents
Before texts, we wrote in origami folds. Thrill stunts, terror-mongering rumors. “Do you like me? Yes / No / Maybe.” And the drama of it all, when a teacher caught us out? Nothing less than gold.
School Book Fairs
You entered there for $5 and hopes as wide as life. The pencils? Out of the question. The posters? Trashy. But the ambiance? Spotless. That crinkly brochure and neon bookmarks were the best. And let’s not forget the spy pens.
Drinking From the Hose Like Fine Dining
There was a tradition of that scalding, metal-tasting garden hose water on a hot summer afternoon. No ceremony in the name of germs or filters – we’d just drink it like Evian, straight from the hose, around halftime game. Today? You’d get a side-eye and a pamphlet from a health inspector.
Getting the TV Guide and Planning Your Week
You’d flag the programs you wanted to see and defend that remote control as if your life depended on it. Seeing something “live” was what you did. You could not record it to view later. Miss it? You were out.
Having a Landline With a Cord That Reached the Next Room
Privacy meant answering the phone in the kitchen hallway and speaking in a hushed tone like a secret agent. You had under 30 minutes, and God have mercy on your soul if another line was picked up. Kids today will never know the stark fear of hearing someone yell, “Get off the phone!”
Playing Outside Without a GPS Tracker
Nobody knew where you were, and that was the beauty of it. You did what you wanted to do – played in the trees, constructed forts, and probably gotten into trouble with the sticks. Just walked in for dinner, and nobody lost their minds. Parents nowadays would have a heart attack.
16 Things People Owned in the ’70s That Are Worth Money Now
Here are 16 items that people casually owned during the ’70s and which are now downright goldmines. If you have any of them sitting about, it may be high time that you cashed out or kicked yourself.
16 Things People Owned in the ’70s That Are Worth Money Now
Sounds From the Past That No One Hears Anymore
We didn’t know it then, but some sounds were woven into the fabric of our daily life — loud, awkward, comforting, even annoying. And just like that, they disappeared. Here are the sounds that you likely haven’t heard in a very long time — but after you read them, your brain will supply the audio.
Sounds From the Past That No One Hears Anymore