Polaroid Photo Sessions
Parents used Polaroid cameras to snap pics of their kids and have them print out instantly. Now, cellphone cameras have totally replaced the Polaroid.
Weekend Video Store Trips
Families piled into the car to browse shelves at Blockbuster or a local rental shop, arguing over movies. Which 80s classic did they want? Back to the Future? The Goonies?
Roller Rinks
Kids would pull on uncomfortable skates and go around under the lights with either their parents or other kids.
Board Game Marathons
Long evenings of Monopoly, Life, or Trivial Pursuit stretched on for hours, with arguments over rules (though not very serious ones) being common.
Family Arcade Trips
Saturday afternoons disappeared into Pac-Man, Galaga, or pinball machines. All you needed for fun was a handful of quarters!
TV Theme Song Sing-Alongs
Everyone gathered around the TV, belting out theme songs from shows like “Cheers” or “The A-Team” without shame or regard for musical talent.
Mall Walking
Groups of kids and parents strolled through malls just to browse, people-watch, and maybe share a pretzel without buying much of anything.
Home Movie Nights With Projectors
Families rich enough to afford them dragged out the film projector when guests were over, watching grainy vacation footage on the living room wall.
Bowling Nights
After school and work, some parents would take their kids to the bowling alley. Everyone of that era remembers the wacky designs of the carpet.
Atari Tournaments
Enthusiastic kids would play Pong, Frogger, or Space Invaders battles on bulky consoles hooked to wood-paneled TVs.
Roadside Picnic Stops
Family road trips included pulling over at rest stops for homemade sandwiches and drinks in a cooler. You just don’t get these as much anymore.
Water Balloon Battles
Summertime meant filling dozens of balloons in the sink, then unleashing chaos in the backyard until every kid was soaked. It was so fun!
Going to the Fair
Visiting a fair was totally different in the 80s. For a start, you could win a real live goldfish that you’d then have to look after!
Mix Tape Parties
Everyone contributed cassettes of their favorite songs, blasting them through boombox speakers while hanging out together. Yes, it was technically illegal, but no-one cared.
Piling Into One Car for Drive-Ins
Families crammed blankets, popcorn, and pillows into the station wagon for a double feature under the stars at the drive-in.
Laser Tag Arenas
Neon-lit battle zones gave kids (and sometimes parents) a chance to chase each other with glowing blasters. Sadly, this has totally declined as a leisure activity.
Neighborhood Kickball Games
You and your friends would make teams and play kickball until sunset. Sometimes parents joined in, too!
Paddleboat Rentals at Parks
Families rented clunky paddleboats at lake attractions, struggling to steer straight while laughing and splashing around.
Watching Music Videos Together
When MTV was still new, families sat together just to catch the latest Michael Jackson or Madonna video.
Making Homemade Ice Cream
Once upon a time, people made their own ice cream and it was a family activity. These days, they just buy boring ice cream from the store.
Duck Hunt on Nintendo
Families gathered around to take turns pointing the plastic zapper at the TV. Nintendo still exists, and the Duck Hunt characters show up in other games, but the spirit of the original is gone.
Bike Rides With No Helmets
Whole families rode together, going as fast as possible with no protective gear, just wind in their hair. It’s probably a good thing this one went away, riding without a helmet is dangerous.
Looking at Family Photos
Going through vacation photos used to be an event that the whole family could enjoy. Now, they’d just get put up on Facebook.
Weekend Flea Market Browsing
Families wandered rows of stalls, digging through antiques and random weird stuff. The kids would complain, but often they secretly enjoyed it.
Campfire Sing-Alongs
When the weather was nice, families would go out in the yard at night and roast marshmallows around a campfire.
Mini Golf Outings
Mini golf was a fun family activity (though you had to be careful about giving really young kids golf clubs) that sadly declined over the years.
Drive-Through Safari Parks
Families slowly rolled through fields, pointing out giraffes and zebras outside the car window. Watch out for the monkeys! They would do unsavory things to your car.
Making Prank Phone Calls
Kids dialed random numbers with silly jokes while parents half-pretended not to know. But with cell phones, prank calls have gone the way of the dodo.
Collecting Trading Cards Together
Baseball or Garbage Pail Kids cards were swapped, traded, and proudly displayed in binders. The parents would buy the binders, of course.
Clowning Around With Camcorders
Families staged silly “home movies” with new VHS camcorders, complete with charmingly bad acting from the kids.
Fireworks Shows
Sometimes, families would visit neighborhood firework shows with lax safety standards. Kids were allowed to hold dangerous sparklers, even.
Saturday Morning Cartoon Binges
Kids and parents woke up early to watch hours of cartoons together, with sugary cereal bowls in hand.
Collecting Fast-Food Toys Together
McDonald’s Happy Meal toys were hot collectibles, and families sometimes made special trips just to snag the latest set.
Sledding Marathons in Winter
When it snowed, families grabbed plastic sleds or trash-can lids and spent hours racing down snowy hills without helmets.
Decorating Homemade Kites and Flying Them
Parents helped kids build kites with paper and sticks, then everyone ran through parks hoping they’d catch the wind.
