The 80's Shop - All 80s, All the Time

Children of the 80s: The Movies We Wanted To Watch, But Our Parents Wouldn't Let Us

 

Remember how you'd go to school one day and all the kids would be huddled around this one kid. This one kid - who always seemed to be the same kid - had just seen that movie. You know, that movie that none of us were allowed to see. Which, of course, made us want to see it that. much. more.

We wanted to see these movies for the exact reason we shouldn't see them. We knew they were either "naughty" or scary and that made the wee children of the 80s eyes fill with stars. They called out to us from the posters at the theater or the box at the rental store.

It should be noted that just because our parents wouldn't let us see these movies didn't mean we didn't. Kids are sneaky and resourceful.

• Porky's 
  
• Nightmare on Elm Street 
  
• Risky Business 
  

• Children of the Corn 
  
• Critters 
  
• Fast Times at Ridgemont High 
  
• Hardbodies 
  

In the 80s - The Places We Shopped

Every generation mourns the death of the places they once frequented in their youth. For the depression era generation, those places were the mom and pop shops that once surrounded their town square. For Baby Boomers - well, while they probably mourn Woolworth's with us, they also mourn the downtown shopping experience that gave way as indoor malls began to take over.

These are the places that are disappearing or have already disappeared which we tip our 40 to. Yup.

Woolworth

Photo by roadsidepictures [Flickr]

Woolworth's has been around a long time and is actually still around in Europe. However, in America, Woolworth only remains as a ghost of shopping excursions past. Initially, Woolworth was found only in downtown areas where you might stop in for a snack at the lunch counter.

Growing up in the 80s, we actually had one downtown and then we had one in the mall.

Yup. The mall. That staple of 80s culture.

Like the one downtown, the one in the mall also had a lunch counter and as we normally found ourselves in the mall more often than downtown, it was this one that was most frequented. There, we bought a number of things. I remember Halloween and Christmas always being an exciting time at Woolworth's because there were lines of costumes in boxes. Those nifty plastic costumes with the somewhat scary, eyeless masks.

We bought all kinds of things at Woolworth's.

Photo by Sakurako Kitsa [Flickr]

The things we bought at Woolworth's varied, but they ranged from:

• Jelly bracelets
• Garbage Pail Kids
• Wacky Packs
• Costumes with mask in the box
• Cheap lipgloss
• Stickers, stickers and more stickers