Sigh. You wake up, stare at your calendar, and realise your day is filled with bills, chores, and tasks you absolutely did not sign up for when you were eight years old. Somewhere between growing up and “adulting,” the magic dimmed a little. The good news? You can reclaim it — and you absolutely should.
Let’s rewind and relive the days when life felt lighter, brighter, and a whole lot sillier.
- You will probably get a pile of bills shoved through your mailbox.
- You probably have household chores to do.
- You probably have 101 demands on your day, most of them adult and boring!
If only you could go back to those halcyon days of childhood. If only you could laugh and smile like you used to. If only you could escape for just a few hours to do the activities you used to enjoy.
Rewatch the films that shaped your childhood
The quickest way to teleport back in time? Queue up the movies that once glued your eyes to the screen.
If you grew up in the eighties, it’s time for ET, The Goonies, or Labyrinth with David Bowie’s iconic hair doing the most. If you’re a nineties kid, shuffle on Home Alone, Matilda, Jumanji, or Richie Rich. Even better, grab your favourite sweets — sherbet fountains, love hearts, jelly tots — and make a whole nostalgic movie night.
Streaming makes it easy. Netflix, YouTube and Disney+ all have classic sections worth rummaging through. (If you need inspo, try “best movies to watch this Christmas” or “most nostalgic films ever made” there’s always something hiding there.)
Play the video games that defined a generation
Nothing triggers pure joy like the bleeps and bloops of retro gaming.
Were you a Sonic the Hedgehog speedster? Are you a fan of Super Mario? Are you a puzzle-solver in the Tomb Raider universe? Maybe you spent entire days trying to beat your cousins at GoldenEye on the N64.
Old consoles can be found in secondhand shops, but revamped versions like the PS1 Classic, SNES Mini or Mega Drive Mini make it even easier. If you want the full arcade experience, some online stores sell refurbished Pac-Man and Space Invaders cabinets perfect if your inner child had a long-standing dream of owning one.
You might want to revisit your favourite childhood destinations.
Perhaps your parents took you somewhere on holiday as a child. Take your own kids or go solo, and rewalk familiar paths and see those sights you remember so well. Bring your family photos and compare them then and now.
Do those places still look the same? Is your name still graffitied on that wall you used your new Magic Marker on? And if you’re still living in your hometown, go to the places you regularly hung out at as a child.
When it’s quiet in the park, hit the swings and the slides and have some fun. Climb a tree or roll down a hill. Revisit your old school and ask for a tour. (Admittedly, maybe it’s not one of your favourite childhood places.) And go back to your old neighbourhoods, and walk the streets of your childhood, where you played games with friends and played Knock-a-Door run at your neighbour’s houses (or was that just us?).
Throw yourself back into the activities you loved
Your childhood encompassed more than just your travels — it was shaped by your activities.
So… do those things again.
- Dig out your old board games (Monopoly feuds hit harder as adults).
- Play hide and seek with your friends’ kids—or your adult friends; no judgement.
- Make banana sandwiches, fizzy Vimto, or chocolate spread on crackers.
- Build a blanket fort with fairy lights and call it “stress management”.
- Do arts and crafts the way you did when life wasn’t full of emails.
- Buy a colouring book and let your brain switch off for half an hour.
This stuff works. It lowers stress, boosts dopamine, and reminds you that joy doesn’t have to be complicated.
Embrace the toys and trends that shaped your era
Every decade had its “thing.” Remember yours?
- Furbies that screamed in the night.
- Play with toys like Tamagotchis, which would die if you blinked.
- Beanie Babies you were convinced would make you rich.
- Pokémon cards were swapped in playgrounds, like sacred artefacts.
- Polly Pocket refers to the original tiny dolls that posed a choking hazard.
- Jelly shoes. Slap bracelets. Mood rings. Need we continue?
You can still buy nearly all of them online. Put a childhood treasure on your desk, bedside table, or coffee machine to remind you that life doesn’t have to be serious.
Make a nostalgic playlist
Music is the fastest memory trigger. Put together a playlist filled with the songs you blasted on your Walkman or burnt onto CDs you decorated with glitter pens.
Think:
- Spice Girls
- Backstreet Boys
- Britney Spears (early era!)
- Destiny’s Child
- Blink-182
- S Club 7
- Avril Lavigne
Play it when you’re cleaning. Play it when you’re cooking. Play it when you need an instant serotonin hit.
Bring back the snacks you forgot you loved
Every childhood diet had a star:
Push Pops, Fruit Winders, Chupa Chups, Pop-Tarts, Lucky Charms, Angel Delight, Wagon Wheels… all still available.
Have a “throwback snacks night,” where you and your friends bring the sweets you grew up with. Zero sophistication. Maximum happiness.
Capture your inner child — and keep them close
Life gets heavy, but you don’t have to. Whether you’re revisiting a favourite destination, binging a stack of eighties movies, or eating a sandwich your adult self shouldn’t enjoy, you’re reconnecting with a lighter version of yourself — the one that didn’t worry so much.
That version is still in there. They just need a nudge.
So climb the hill. Roll down it. Play the game. Rewatch the film. Laugh at something silly.
You’re allowed to stop being a grown-up sometimes.
In fact… you probably need it.
