As kids many of us made wishlists of the toys or games we wanted for major holidays or birthdays.
As adults we still make wishlists sometimes, but there's a societal expectation we'll only list practical or mature or responsible things.
But what if we still want that Lego Millennium Falcon or Barbie's Dream House?
Redditor devious_egg asked:
"Adults, what is something you'd love receiving as a gift but no one even considers giving you because you're an adult?"
Dinosaurs
"I'd like some of them pills that turn into dino-sponges when you put them in water."
- mpapillon12333
"Also the mini dinos you put in water and they would grow 100x their size over night."
- goblingirl
"How about the oatmeal with the eggs that hatch into little jelly dinosaurs?"
"I got some for 'my kids' a couple years ago and I—I mean they—enjoyed them very much."
- Fallwalking
GiphyThe Thrill of the Hunt
"So I'm 34 now and no longer with this girl but for my 32nd birthday my girlfriend at the time did a scavenger hunt around the house with little gifts for each step and a weekend away as the final gift."
"Definitely one of my cooler birthdays as an adult."
- Teejaymac
"I'm doing this for my anniversary coming up!! I'm having so much fun making the clues and the gift is one of those Steven Singer gold dipped roses, which I only just found out my wife always wanted."
- abrokenelevator
"My husband did this for my 30th, but went all out. Security at work gave me a card when I left the office."
"It had a short poem that led me to the day spa we went to before our wedding and I got a massage. After the massage they gave me another card and a small gift."
"I went to a couple of other places where I picked up various small gifts from him. After that, I ended up at a restaurant where my husband and friends were having a couple of drinks and waiting for me."
"We hung out for a bit, then headed off to a second restaurant where we had reservations. I got gifts at each of these places too. (The gifts were all like $10 things, he wasn't going all out spending too much.)"
"To top the night off, we headed to a third location to drink too much. Finally, tipsy me was carted home where I got a final card that directed me to a pair of diamond earrings."
"People, when I say this birthday was epic... I mean, it was crazy amazing. It was beyond thoughtful and so romantic in the way he did it."
- terminator_chic
Arts & Crafts
"12 pack of Play-doh, the ultimate 150 crayola crayon set—the one with the sharpener and some drawing paper. I turn into an eight year old!"
- Forsaken_Republic_98
"Totally just ordered the gigantic Crayola box (I wanna say it was atleast 164 colors) and when my husband asked why I said it's for our daughter....who is 19 months, and just discovered crayons and coloring books a couple weeks ago ....he laughed when I confessed they were for me because I am SO EXCITED that she is starting to color and I cannot cannot cannot wait until we can sit and color next week when they get here 🤣"
- Legitimate-Ad1784
"I'm 37 and in grad school and my mom still gets me a big box of crayons every year at the start of classes. I love it."
- wildlybriefeagle
Giphy"My mother gave me a coloring book and fresh crayons every Christmas until one year when I was about 13 she didn't. I mentioned that I was disappointed, though I laughed it off, but she noted it and the next year there they were."
"She continued doing this until she died, when I was 30. I would still like a new coloring book and fresh crayons every Christmas."
"In fact, if I mention this to my son or daughter I know one of them (especially my daughter) will remember it and do it (I'm 49 now and the past two years my kids have had jobs and bought me stuff and I'm always just blown away by their generosity."
"It's the first time in my life since mom died that anyone buys me anything, which has been fine. But not gonna lie, it warms my heart so so much. They give such thoughtful gifts.)"
"But yeah, I love the smell of a fresh box of Crayolas. Such nostalgia."
- NibblesMcGiblet
Reading is Fundamental
"A few Nancy Drew books. My parents didn’t have money for books. The small Catholic school library offered books on saints, US presidents and their wives. The public library wasn’t in walking distance."
"I lied when Susan Sample, a classmate, accused me of befriending her for the “sleuth’s” books."
"55 years later, I’ll fess up; yes, I preferred my time with Nancy more than you."
- gladysk
"This is why I support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. You sign up and get two free kid’s books a month for your kid to enjoy. It rules."
- PM_ME_KITTEN_TOESIES
"Check out the Nancy Drew PC games on Steam! They're adventure point and clicks with tons of mini games, and the originals only take 4-6 hours and are $3-6 USD. They also inevitably go on sale every major Steam sale."
- IggySorcha
"I’ve downloaded Nancy Drew eaudio books from the library. I was stunned to learn that Laura Linney narrates."
- gladysk
Lego is for Everyone
"At 18 my parents would laugh if I asked for Legos—they never bought them for me unless I asked and stopped buying them for me when I was nine because I was 'too old'."
"When I play with my siblings' Legos I get brutally mocked but I honestly think that Legos are ageless and super great not just as a toy but as a hobby in general."
- Future-Parsnip4597
"The box does say up to age 99. Your parents just don’t get it."
- A_70s_Virgo
"It kind of sucks that you're not allowed to play with them once you turn 100 though."
- No-Garlic-1739
Giphy"I got a call from a friend, she said it's a birthday and we should all come over. I got the date/time and event correct, but not whose birthday it was, although I was confident it was for a kid. Why else would she say, bring the whole family?"
"We show up and I'm frankly concerned by by all the craft beer with bows and balloons on it. I set our gift bag down and we join the party. Shortly after, her husband shouts with joy and wants to know who got him the big Lego set."
"Well, that was me, and, uh.... You're welcome."
"So, my answer is Legos. Adults want Legos."
- CanYouBeHelped
Hide!
"Not a gift, but would someone play hide n seek with me please?"
- tbama11
"Let’s do it in Ikea!"
- Low_Loss9934
"I’m in! Pick me, pick me!"
- TwoIdleHands
"Honestly, I wonder if you could book an Ikea for a specialty sleepover—like, food court opened for dinner then ice cream, hide and seek, scavenger hunt? Serious missed opportunity on their marketing department if not."
- Crackinggood
"This has happened before! An IKEA in Denmark got snowed in and 20-30 people had to stay the night. They got to watch movies and eat cinnamon buns and slept in the showroom beds."
"If this happened to me, I’d make a fort with a big pile of stuffed animals in the kid’s section."
- PM_ME_KITTEN_TOESIES
Mini Worlds
"An original Polly Pocket! They were so well made and I just love how perfectly miniature everything was."
- cnfmom
"For Christmas one year, my brother and I got the "boy" version of Polly Pocket: Mighty Max Skull Mountain, it was awesome! My sister got a bunch of Polly Pocket and Littlest Pet Shop toys that I probably played with just as much as Mighty Max."
- tavok_
GiphyGlow-Up
"Legit anything that glows in the dark. I think it’s so fun but since I’m grown I get basic non-glowy stuff."
- I-like-bagels15
"Growing up my brother had glow in the dark stars and moons stuck to the ceiling of his room. I was always jealous of them and I think it would be the coolest thing to have my own little galaxy in my room now."
- acecayde
"I'm 39 and have my walls covered in glow in the dark stars. They make me happy and I don't care what anyone else thinks."
- moonbunnychan
"I have a canopy bed because I always wanted one as a kid, but it's a really modern looking steel tube one that looks pretty chic. I have a mesh canopy over the top with plastic glow stars scattered on it. They tend to gather in the middle after a few weeks so I smack the mesh to scatter them randomly again."
"I also put glow stars in the glass dome under my kitchen light. When I shut off the light the stars are all charged up and glow for a while!"
- bondagenurse
"Anything glow in the dark is still super exciting to me. I've got a glow in the dark phone case at the moment (actually helps me find it at night), silly putty, nail polish, a Tshirt and a little glowy tree spirit from Princess Monoke that sits on my nightstand. In the past I've had glow in the dark stars, stickers, tempera paint and a glow in the dark moon calendar."
‐ lightbulbfragment
*pew* *pew*
"A full laser tag set with at least four guns."
- DrByNight
"…and a fog machine!"
- TexBlack
"Plus strobe lights and black lights and a stick stereo system to pump some techno beats to shoot lasers to."
- SobiTheRobot
GiphyLava Fun
"I would love a new Lava Lamp."
"Decades ago I lost mine in a natural disaster which is me doing what I usually do which is drop my lava lamp onto the ground."
"By far the most difficult clean up I’ve ever encountered."
- Billsonite66
Nerf Herders
"Nerf guns. Not gonna lie, I’m probably to old for this stuff, but I love screwing around with my friends and just having a great time flinging foam."
- Save-The-Defaults
"Nerf guns or just some toys in general now that i’m older newer toys have come out and weren’t around when i was a kid they honestly look fun sometimes."
- SelectionQuick9153
Wet and Wild Fun
"A Super Soaker with the LATEST Super Soaker technology!"
"My birthday is in August, northern hemisphere, so I would put it to use straight away."
- hangriest
"I'd much rather have a fight with dope-a** water guns than with Nerf guns because there is no clean up with water guns and finding all the darts after a nerf battle really f'king sucks."
- Jordaneer
GiphyIs there a reason we need to stop enjoying certain things when we get older?
There isn't, really, so do the things you love no matter what other people think.
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Curious to hear examples of these, Redditor lilac_cup asked:
"Which tv series has aged like milk?"
The handling of these controversial TV story lines seem so careless in retrospect.
Addressing Child Abuse
"The very first episode of Hill Street Blues has two cops breaking up a domestic disturbance caused by a woman finding her man f'king her 15yo daughter. The man is told not to be sh**ty, the woman is told to put out more and the child is told not to be so tempting. Then the cops leave, patting themselves on the back for a job well done."
– kifferella
The Teacher's Secret Relationship
"Pretty Little Liars. I think even at the time, the teacher dating his 16 year old student storyline was considered creepy, but in 2022 it’s honestly unbelievable that was ever portrayed in any kind of positive light. Also that her parents didn’t immediately just report him to the police."
– ColdFIREBaker
Forbidden Attraction
"Not the whole series but Ally McBeal. In one episode Ally found out her bf is bi and her reason breaking up with him was she afraid that one day her bf would be attracted to their son."
– thrussie
These reality shows would never fly in a "woke" world.
Racist Cringe
"There was a reality show on Fox called 'Black. White.' Where they put a white family in blackface and a black family in whiteface."
"Just reading about it, it turns out the white family wasn't even a real family. They were unrelated actors."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black._White.
– MichaelJAwesome
Extreme Makeover
"Extreme makeover. I remember watching this show as a kid and being like oh wow they’re fixing all these ugly people with plastic surgery and making them happy. I just think that caused a whole generation to think they could change their body with money. Show lasted like 4 seasons. Couldn’t imagine that show today."
– thenightshifters
Teen Exploitation
"Secret life of an American teenager."
"Just what…."
– carlirodriguez8
A Critique
"My god this show was terrible. My wife’s sister was into it and we ended up watching a lot of it when we were dating. I think they tried to make the banter like Gilmore Girls, but it ended up being the characters repeating their current plots and arcs over and over. I don’t remember the characters at all, but the main character was such a horrible person, and the audience is supposed to root for her."
"The main things I remember about it were the religious girl claiming she killed her dad by having sex with her boyfriend, and apparently you go to Bologna to get bjs."
– MachFighterG
So-Called Expert
"You Are What You Eat."
"Host Gillian McKeith (or to use her full medical title, Gillian McKeith) was an absolute quack with an online medical qualification from a Mickey Mouse university. She pretended to be a scientist by being recorded standing around in a lab wearing a white coat, spouted unscientific nonsense that anyone who had done a GCSE in science could see through, and was obsessed with getting people to shit in Tupperware boxes."
"It got cancelled after the final series when you had to have her move in with you. In the last few years she popped up again as a prominent anti-vaxxer once COVID vaccines became available."
– MattBD
These pageant shows glorifying good looks and talent would never be greenlit today.
Performing Pressure
"Dance moms- used to be entertaining, now all I can see is the psychological effects it must’ve had on those girls."
– KE789
"Americas Next Top Model has to be #1."
"From all the behind the scenes sh*t that went on in production to what the show actually shows. It’s all just horrendous."
– Nickster1619
From Ugly To Beautiful
"The Swan, was 2 women who are considered 'ugly ducklings' participating in a pageant against each other after undergoing a three-month transformative process aka having heaps of plastic surgery."
– twozedzed
Psychological Downer
"Right?! How were they allowed to do so many procedures in such a short time while completely isolating these women from their families? Making them diet and exercise while healing from a tummy tuck, breast implants, and veneers?! The 'therapy' sessions were a joke and were just for show while these poor women with low self esteem were preyed upon for entertainment. Just out of a safety and medical prospective…wow."
– Snoo-8746
Judging The Reflection
"Didn't they also not allow the contestants/patients to have mirrors the whole time so they were surprised when they saw themselves? Psychologically having massive changes like that and it being sudden is extremely bad for your brain, you can end up rejecting the reflection because it's not 'you.'"
– Delouest
As audiences evolve, so does the writing and development of all forms of entertainment.
But because the changes are gradual, it is jarring when looking back and noticing how offensive and isolating some of these shows can be.
Times sure have changed in the world of entertainment–mostly for the better.
Curious to hear experiences from strangers online, Redditor WallStreetDoesntBet asked:
"People who moved out of the parent’s house before 30, how?"
Most people can't afford to live on their own.
Roommate Is Key
"yeah this exactly. I've never lived by myself, was roommates until I got a serious girlfriend and now fiance. There's exactly 0% chance of me being in the same position I'm in financially if I had been paying full rent all those years."
– lick_me_where_I_fart
Not A Care In The World
"I was 17, we had 4 of us in a ghetto 2bd apt (bunkbeds) we had a beer bong on a lanyard screwed to the ceiling. We'd have keggers, party's every weekend and always had randoms crashing on the floor. Could barely afford to feed myself and pay bills but still not a worry in the world and it was the best time of my life."
– ApprehensiveAd6006
One inconvenience shared by many was the sacrifice of a good, home-cooked meal.
Change Of Scenery
"Just needed a little R&R."
"Roommates and Ramen."
– SudoPuff
The "Wild" Years
"This, lol. I was kicked out at 16 and after couch-surfing for a few months I moved into a studio apartment with 4 other people."
"When I say we were poor, I mean poor - most of us didn’t have jobs. I lived off the worst of the worst food. Knockoff ramen. Dollar store canned veg. Rice and terrible year old pasta."
"It was a wild few years."
– Vetiversailles
Rice For Life
"Or rice. I lived off rice for a full year. Fancied it up by adding some salsa, and then extra fancy by also adding ranch dressing."
"Those were hard times."
– Ok_Opinion_
Having work definitely makes things easier.
Saving Up To Leave
"Started working while I was in school. Got out as soon as I could."
– ReallyIdleBones
Not Much Fanfare
"Yep, moved out for college in 2006. Came back for the summer in 2007, but thereafter I got an internship so I just stayed in the city. Got a job at the same place after I graduated."
"It was never some big moment for me (my parents are fine, just annoying), just a natural progression for me."
– Zerole00
Building A Life
"At 18. Worked in construction. Lived on a couch with 6 buddies in one house paying for college. Bought cheap land during the recession. Then built my own house."
– ReubenZWeiner
Not moving out by choice seemed to be a common shared experience.
High Turnover Rate
"Got kicked out at 14. Finished high school sleeping on friends couches while serving tables. Had a ton of roommates for the next 10 years. At any given time I was living with like 3 or 4 people, it was never boring haha"
– herriotact
Different Parenting
"I am hearing that so many people are actually kicked out in the really young age is well."
"But i am not getting that why parents are so tough because in my country they try to keep them under their wings."
– wowoao
Tough Love
"My friends parents were going to kick him out immediately after he graduated high school simply because 'That's what their parents did when they were his age.' His Dad fully expected him to go out at 18 and buy a house because 'he was able to.'"
"Then his Dad got pissed when my friend did not buy a house and went to live with his uncle instead. Even after his uncle broke down the whole 'Your mortgage is $2200/month with taxes and you expect your son, who works part time at $7.25 an hour to afford a mortgage? With no credit history?'"
"Some parents do it out of tough love. Some parents do it because they shouldn't have had children. Some parents still think the world is the same as it was in the 70s-80s and think minimum wage part time employees can thrive."
– bangersnmash13
Placed Expectations
"My parents didn't kick me out, but there was definitely an expectation for me to be moved out and financially independent at 18. My mother walked into a job as a radio DJ at the age of 18 and then became a journalist with only a high school education a few years later (early 1970s), so she had this expectation that I could do the same. The thought of me being able to do anything like that in the 2000s was laughable."
– pie12345678
I moved out of my parents' house because I booked my first professional gig on a cruise ship.
It couldn't have worked out better. I was paid to perform on board in the shows while my rent was already taken care of since I lived and worked on the ship.
I packed one suitcase and traveled the world doing what I loved for about two years. It was the best way to transition into an exciting new chapter in my adolescent life.
What's your moving out story?