Computer consoles
The Game Boy. The PlayStation. The SEGA Mega Drive. Suddenly, we never needed to talk to our parents ever again. Except to ask them for one of these for Christmas.
Computer games
Which you played on the aforementioned computer consoles. Super Mario Bros, Lemmings, Goldeneye, TETRIS, Pokémon, Kirby's Dream Land, Sonic The Hedgehog.... and more. Oh, so many more.
The Spice Girls
They burst onto the scene in 1996 - and our lives were (viva) forever changed. Was it their catchy songs? Their mini-dresses? Or their conveniently pigeonholed personality types?
The Crystal Maze
In which Richard O'Brien (and later Ed Tudor-Pole) presided over teams of adventurers attempting "devious and fiendish games"... with varying degrees of success. If O'Brien didn't give you chills, the theme music would.
Pogs
Yes, the game of cardboard discs originated in Hawaii in the 1920s - but in the 1990s it really came into its commercialised, addictive own. In fact, Pogs were so popular, some schools banned them. Boooo!
Beverly Hills 90210
An hour of telly during which British schoolchildren could dream that they lived in Los Angeles, hung out on the beach every day and looked THIS good in Ray-Bans.
Home And Away
Of course, British schoolchildren didn't just dream of beaches in America. There was Australia, too. Altogether now: "You know we belong togeeeeetherrrr...."
Great hair accessories
Scrunchies, Alice bands, bandanas, butterfly clips and, yes, headbands worn like Casualty's Emma Bird on the left there. The 1990s were THE decade for covering up/tying back/sticking stuff in your hair.
WWF
Suddenly, wrestling was a WHOLE lot more exciting. In fact, scrap that. Telly was. LIFE was.
Noel's House Party
And its star. By which we do, of course, mean Mr Blobby. Which leads us nicely to...
Novelty pop singles
...Mr Blobby performing his Christmas number one. And his wasn't the only assault on music in the 1990s - oh, no. Who can forget Macarena, Cotton Eye Joe, Three Lions, Barbie Girl, Teletubbies Say 'Eh-oh!' and Mambo No.5, to name but six? Sadly, none of us can.
Personal CD players
Suddenly, you could listen to novelty pop singles anywhere!
Power Rangers
From Mighty Morphin Power Rangers right through to Power Rangers Lost Galaxy. Boys and their toys, indeed.
Edd the Duck
What Gordon the Gopher had been to Philip Schofield, so Edd the Duck was to Andi Peters and Andy Crane. A silly, squeaking, utter delight. Edd, that is. Not Andi/Andy.
Super Soakers
Suddenly, the question 'Do you want a water fight?' was a LOT more interesting. Fairy Liquid bottles be damned - this was the real, Schwarzenegger-style deal.
Live And Kicking
The replacement for Going Live! kept the tradition of Saturday morning, live studio kids' telly alive (and kicking) thanks to the likes of Andi Peters, Emma Forbes, Trevor And Simon and - here presenting their first show - Zoe Ball and Jamie Theakston. Aww!
The Simpsons
The Simpsons first aired on Sky One (and pretty much saved it) in 1990, moving to the BBC in 1996. British TV viewers had never seen the like of it. (But then, neither had American ones.)
Combat trousers
As worn by every man, woman and child. But mostly: All Saints.
Take That
The Beatles/One Direction of the 1990s. Which was your favourite? (Ours was Mark. Of course. We're only human.)
The Brit Awards
The '90s were the Brits heyday: Jarvis Cocker vs Michael Jackson, Chumbawamba vs John Prescott, Geri Halliwell in a Union Jack dress. Here are M People accepting a Brit Award in 1994 wearing red AIDS ribbons. It doesn't get more '90s than that.
Art Attack
What Tony Hart was to '80s kids, so Neil Buchanan was to children of the '90s. Art Attack was one of the longest-running programmes on CiTV - and not just because of Buchanan's fine line in red Art Attack sweaters.
Chokers
If they were good enough for Princess Diana, they were good enough for the rest of us. Pearls were a popular choice - see Di here - but as any self-respecting '90s girl knows, black velvet was also more than acceptable.
PJ & Duncan
From Byker Grove to getting ready to rhumble - before Ant and Dec's TV presenting days, they were kid stars with a fine line in floppy hair, baseball caps and huge, huge clothing.
Virtual pets
From the original Tamagotchis to the £5 knock-offs from the local market, no kid's pocket was complete in the 1990s if it didn't contain (a dead) one of these.
The Big Breakfast
At last! A silly alternative to all the sensible breakfast TV shows. TBB made stars of Chris Evans and Gaby Roslin and featured the late, great Paula Yates. Here's a clip from Evans's last show: he left to make Don't Forget Your Toothbrush. And after that...
TFI Friday
The theme from Man In A Suitcase. Reef singing 'It's Your Letters'. Will. Wiiiiiiiiiill! Who cares if it was for adults? Friday night telly had never been such teenagery fun.
Bum bags
Or as our American cousins called them: fanny packs. Everyone had one - even Mr Motivator here (posing with Cindy Crawford in an attempt to beat our M People-at-the-Brits picture for the title of Most '90s Photo Ever).
Blur
The Nineties were the decade of Britpop. And nobody quite epitomised Britpop like Blur. Well, except for...
Oasis
So pick a team: were you a Blur or Oasis fan? You couldn't be both. Not in the '90s. Not unless you wanted to get into a fight over anoraks, or something.
Friends
The One Which Closes The '90s Slideshow. Yes, they were older than us. And they were American. But they made us aspire to an adult life filled with wisecracks, coffee shops and Jennifer Aniston hairstyles. Could they BE more influential?
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