Irrespective of when and how it was obtained (and in what manner it was obtained), what are your personal favorite or most valuable 1980’s piece/s of memorabilia you have and please elaborate on why do you admire or treasure it, or what makes it reasonably special or unique to you ?    Please keep in mind anything mentioned doesn't have to relate to just things that are entertainment related.

If in case this topic has been discussed before on either this forum (with people giving their reasons why) or elsewhere, please give a link if possible.
 

I'd say my Panasonic "ghetto-blaster" that I bought back in 1982 for almost $200 (you can probably buy an equivalent piece of electronics at Wal-Mart today for less than $40).  This metallic silver behemoth had a radio and cassette deck integrated into one unit, and took 8 "D" cell batteries.  I used it to record hundreds of hours of classic 80's music onto Maxell cassette tapes (sadly, all but 3 of these tapes have been lost or eaten over the years).  This stereo served me all the way through my college years, until I got a job and could afford a "real" stereo system.  Even though the tape deck has long since died, I can't bring myself to throw it away;  getting rid of it would be like throwing away an important piece of my youth.  I did actually have a practical use for it recently -- when Hurricane Rita knocked out the power at my house, I popped in some batteries, and the radio still worked!  I used it to listen to news updates, as well as 80's music on Houston's 106.9, "The Point".

8) This a REALLY hard question..as I have a whole bunch of stuff I treasure from the 80s..I have all of my concert ticket stubs..from the 70s..80s..and..90s..Laminated and in a pic albumn..They are all great..I remember...all of..( Well..HEEHEE.MOST..)...of the concerts..some I know I was there..evidence in pictures..but have no memory..lol..THEY said I had a good time... :o I also have just about all of my T-Shirts...Some are so very worn I am thinking of making a quilt out of them..I know I posted this in an earlier thread..I have all my dolls from the 70s and 80s..GI Joe..Barbies..Farrah Doll..Holly Hobbie..ETC..ETC...I have some other clothes too from the 80s..some Parachute pants..Jeans...( Jordache..Girbaud..Guess..)..What I wish I STILL had was.. my BoomBox...My 13in RED TV that I first saw MTV on..( first video I saw was John Cougar Mellencamp..Hurts So Good..)..My Pioneer Stereo...And of course all my ALBUMNS!!!

I have this box of mementos from when I was in high school in the late 80's, mostly from my senior year, 1988-89 - it includes my senior yearbook (you look at most of the pictures now, and it's a sea of big 80's hair), a copy of the final school newspaper for my senior year (which had the senior wills printed in it) , programs printed up from my graduation ceremony, my old report cards and honors, and my graduation cap and tassel.  I still like to look at these things every now and then and relive some fond memories.  :)

My Battlezone and Tempest arcade machines :)

8)  Just thought of the BEST thing I have from the 80s...My highschool yearbook...I went to school with my husband...I was 14 when he was 18...about to graduate...We went on one date..I left out of the house and lied about where I was going...He came and got me..( I was 5'10 and very mature at 14..LOL..) We just drove around and drank a few pony beers...anyway..that was it..he graduated and I didnt see him again until a blind date YEARS later...I showed him my yearbook...He got " Friendliest"...circled his own PIC and wrote OOOHHH...LOL!!!!!!!!! Instant love..YADAYADAYADA...been together ever since..I showed my daughter the yearbook and she laughed her butt off...She said..Dang dad sure had long hair!!

My photo albums, they definitely remind me of innocent times in the 80's, mostly just these because our family didn't have a lot of money to purchase a lot of electronics and I was born in 1981. My albums contain photos of my baptism, my trips to Disneyland, my preschool experience, elementary school awards, visiting relatives from Mexico coming to my house and the birth of my younger brother. Yep, I would definitely say my albums would have to be the best memorabilia I have.

8)  Just thought of the BEST thing I have from the 80s...My highschool yearbook...I went to school with my husband...I was 14 when he was 18...about to graduate...We went on one date..I left out of the house and lied about where I was going...He came and got me..( I was 5'10 and very mature at 14..LOL..) We just drove around and drank a few pony beers...anyway..that was it..he graduated and I didnt see him again until a blind date YEARS later...I showed him my yearbook...He got " Friendliest"...circled his own PIC and wrote OOOHHH...LOL!!!!!!!!! Instant love..YADAYADAYADA...been together ever since..I showed my daughter the yearbook and she laughed her butt off...She said..Dang dad sure had long hair!!


That's interesting you ended up being setup on a blind date with someone you had dated in high school, albeit briefly.  Would your 14 year old self have predicted that you would end up marrying him?  I've always been curious about how much people really change between their childhood/teenage personailities, and their adult ones.

It's always embarassing when your kids find pictures of you from earlier stags of your life.  I would tihnk that it might also cause some discipline problems ("Dad had long hair when he was my age, so why can't I?").  I guess I'll find out when my kids are old enough to look through my yearbooks (hmmm....perhaps I should hide them before that moment occurs  ;)

That's interesting you ended up being setup on a blind date with someone you had dated in high school, albeit briefly.  Would your 14 year old self have predicted that you would end up marrying him?  I've always been curious about how much people really change between their childhood/teenage personailities, and their adult ones.

It's always embarassing when your kids find pictures of you from earlier stags of your life.  I would tihnk that it might also cause some discipline problems ("Dad had long hair when he was my age, so why can't I?").   I guess I'll find out when my kids are old enough to look through my yearbooks (hmmm....perhaps I should hide them before that moment occurs   ;)
  LOL..at 14 I didnt ever think I would see him after Grad.  much less marry him..but Alas...Thank God!!...Yes...personalities change much..I think that at that time if we had pursued a relationship..it would have NEVER lasted..I think it was ment to be that we cross paths later in life when we had both expierienced other things and PPLE...and were ready to begin the REAL thing..much as we prob had thought what we were in before was... but... now it is..Did I lose you??...LOL...Yep...the hair thing is funny...my husband was great with the boys tho...he always told them..I dont care if you grow your hair out or shave your head...its how you project yourself as a person..Do good in school..be respectful to your fellow human beings ...and stay out of drugs...NO tattoos...until you are of age and if you do think about it because they will be with you for the rest of your life..( my husband has Several Tats..)...My daughter had the same speach...well grounded kids...LOl..anyway..yes..ALL my yearbooks are Precious to me ;D

  LOL..at 14 I didnt ever think I would see him after Grad.  much less marry him..but Alas...Thank God!!...Yes...personalities change much..I think that at that time if we had pursued a relationship..it would have NEVER lasted..I think it was ment to be that we cross paths later in life when we had both expierienced other things and PPLE...and were ready to begin the REAL thing..much as we prob had thought what we were in before was... but... now it is..Did I lose you??...LOL...Yep...the hair thing is funny...my husband was great with the boys tho...he always told them..I dont care if you grow your hair out or shave your head...its how you project yourself as a person..Do good in school..be respectful to your fellow human beings ...and stay out of drugs...NO tattoos...until you are of age and if you do think about it because they will be with you for the rest of your life..( my husband has Several Tats..)...My daughter had the same speach...well grounded kids...LOl..anyway..yes..ALL my yearbooks are Precious to me ;D


That's neat that the two of you met again, so many years after you went out for the first time.  I like the parenting technique you mentioned.  Very true, it is so much more important how you treat yourself and other people, as compared to how you dress or style your hair.  I'll TRY to remember this when my daughters get to be teenagers (though I may have to draw the line if they try emulating the Britney Spears look!)

My Battlezone and Tempest arcade machines :)


Did you have these actual arcade games back in the 80's?  If so, then my teenage self is quite envious.  I can remember enjoying both of these games as well.  The one arcade game I wish I actually owned today is "Xenophobe", which came out back in 1987 or so.  It was one of the first multi-player games.  Though the intention of the game was for the 3 players to fight cooperatively aganist the aliens, my friends and I figured out how to lob grenades at one another, steal each other's weapons, etc.  Eventualy, the aliens became a mere nuisance, and we would focus on tormenting each other.  The most satisfactory way to inflict pain on another player was to punch them next to an elevator shaft, then take their gas gun as they fell weaponless into a room full of aliens, and died.  God, I loved this game! 

Garbage Pail Kids
Sweet Valley High books
Babbysitters club books
Nancy Drew books

80's cassette tapes (my very first one was Madonna-Like a virgin)

cabbage patch kid (my grandma had to buy it off the road from some man selling them, Toys r us was all out!)

My notes from elementary and junior high from boys and friends

Oh and my Nintendo and games

Did you have these actual arcade games back in the 80's?  If so, then my teenage self is quite envious.  I can remember enjoying both of these games as well.  The one arcade game I wish I actually owned today is "Xenophobe", which came out back in 1987 or so.  It was one of the first multi-player games.  Though the intention of the game was for the 3 players to fight cooperatively aganist the aliens, my friends and I figured out how to lob grenades at one another, steal each other's weapons, etc.  Eventualy, the aliens became a mere nuisance, and we would focus on tormenting each other.  The most satisfactory way to inflict pain on another player was to punch them next to an elevator shaft, then take their gas gun as they fell weaponless into a room full of aliens, and died.  God, I loved this game! 
8)  Tempest.....LOVE IT!!!!

Gotta be my Atari 7800.  After all these years, it still works  :o

I have a pretty extensive collection of toys and trinkets from the 70s and 80s.  Alot of it has been bought within the last five years though.

The one thing that I have from the 80s that I still have today is a Star Wars figure.  It is a Bespin Luke Skywalker.  It was the first figure from the Empire Strikes Back line that I was given in 1980.  It has been everywhere with me from New York to Georgia to a stint in the Army to my current home.  He is now encased in a plastic bubble and prominanty displayed among the toy collection in my office at work.

I have a pretty extensive collection of toys and trinkets from the 70s and 80s.  Alot of it has been bought within the last five years though.

The one thing that I have from the 80s that I still have today is a Star Wars figure.  It is a Bespin Luke Skywalker.  It was the first figure from the Empire Strikes Back line that I was given in 1980.  It has been everywhere with me from New York to Georgia to a stint in the Army to my current home.  He is now encased in a plastic bubble and prominanty displayed among the toy collection in my office at work.


I also had the Bespin Luke Skywalker.  I think that he was crushed in the vise my dad kept on the garage, during my Star Wars figure - "endurance testing" phase (basically subjecting various figures to extreme heat and pressure to see which ones would survive the best).  That's cool that you still have yours, after so many years.  Someday, I need to raid my mom's attic, and "rescue" the ones that are still intact.

P.S. -- Like your avatar!

8)  Alright..someone beat this...LOL...Really..I went to my mom and dads this weekend...I have my ticket stub from the theatre...when I went to see Star Wars...I wrapped it in Glad wrap back then...All in one bag...I have the People Magazine..and sev others..from.. what was it..77??...Guess Im disqualified then...but i did save all related to star Wars...I found the bag...the liitle stub..and A number of mags..Also in the bag was my stub from the First " Indiana Jones"..movie..I am a total PackRat...I have Mags from 70s that you wouldnt believe... ::)

I still have letters from my first girlfriend stashed somwehwere.  Now you may, "So?  that's not '80s specific."  Well, you haven't seen these letters.  They are '80s specific.  She was the grandmother of every kitschy college girl who now populate the local Starbucks.  Even the stationery--imagne that...stationery---is a very '80s design.  It's more of a frilly heart-and-unicorn girl '80s, If I recall, than a software-design cool '80s style.

:)

8)  Alright..someone beat this...LOL...Really..I went to my mom and dads this weekend...I have my ticket stub from the theatre...when I went to see Star Wars...I wrapped it in Glad wrap back then...All in one bag...I have the People Magazine..and sev others..from.. what was it..77??...Guess Im disqualified then...but i did save all related to star Wars...I found the bag...the liitle stub..and A number of mags..Also in the bag was my stub from the First " Indiana Jones"..movie..I am a total PackRat...I have Mags from 70s that you wouldnt believe... ::)


Wow!  And I thought I was a big Star Wars fan back then!  Though if any ticket stubs deserved to be "enshrined", then SW and Indiana Jones would certainly qualify.  Are you sure that you didn't have a Harrison Ford fetish?  ;)

Alot of my old comic books and stuffed animals from when I was a kid.  :-[   I am a packrat, I tend to save almost everything...  ::)