It's said that nostalgia is a drug, but, as we all know here in flu season, sometimes you need some drugs just to make it through the day. While the millennial generation has been dealt a pretty bleak hand (economics, environment, etc.), at least the pop culture of their childhood was pretty rad. That's something, right? (Right?!) Help the millennials in your life at least momentarily return to the blissful ignorance of their youths with these nostalgic gifts.
STAR WARS ACTION FIGURES
Any mildly nerdy kid who wandered through toy aisles in the '90s probably recalls gazing at Kenner Star Wars action figures. Maybe you'd occasionally get to buy one or two, but there were always more that were capitalistically (and maybe physically) out of reach. Well at Never Enough Toys — which also boasts an array of GI Joes, Transformers and comic book action figures — you can rebuild someone's dream collection. While one might assume these in-the-box toys would be pricey collectibles, the basic line of Kenner Star Wars figures cost just $9 each! May the Force Ghost of Christmas Past be with you, shopper! $9 • Never Enough Toys • 907 W. Boone Ave. • never-enough-toys.square.site
VINTAGE SPORTS CARD
Any Washingtonian millennial sports fan worth his salt has fond memories of Ken Griffey Jr. mashing balls in the Kingdome, Shawn Kemp posterizing fools for the Sonics, or the glory days of the Legion of Boom. So maybe a vintage sports card would be a grand slam gift? Spokane Valley Sportscards has an array of classic cards across sports. While inventory varies, when I visited they had everything from the first card with Randy Johnson in an M's jersey ($10) to a signed Russell Wilson jersey rookie card ($150) to a choice '99 Griffey ($21). (If you're card gifting for a different type of fan, SVS also had holographic Charizards for $175-$400.) Prices and stock vary • Spokane Valley Sportscards • 9404 E. Sprague Ave. • facebook.com/sv.sportscards509
VINYL REISSUES
The music industry loves good anniversary nostalgia. Coeur d'Alene's premiere record store, The Long Ear, leans into this with an array of box sets and reissues for rock music fans. Just a sampling of the millennial-friendly offerings during my recent trip included anniversary box sets of The Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robot ($100) and Nirvana's Nevermind ($259.95) and anniversary reissues of Green Day's American Idiot ($40) and Modest Mouse's Good News for People Who Love Bad News ($42). If rock isn't your giftee's genre, the Long Ear also had a 20th anniversary reissue of MF Doom's Mm..Food for rapheads ($37) and a copy of ...Baby One More Time by Britney Spears for pop princesses ($28). (Oh, and so many CDs.) Prices and stock vary • The Long Ear • 1620 N. Government Way, Coeur d'Alene • facebook.com/thelongear
OLD NINTENDO 64 GAMES
Yes, there are remakes, virtual consoles and emulators that allow folks to play the video games of their childhood on modern platforms. But there's something more satisfying about blowing the dust out of a cartridge and firing up the real thing. Game World boasts an array of old school games from across console generations, but there's a certain nostalgic attachment for millennials to the Nintendo 64's then-revolutionary blocky 3D graphics. While various games can be had cheaper, $40 can get you many of the system's classic titles like Super Mario 64, Super Smash Bros. and Pokémon Stadium. $40 (stock varies) • Game World • 8701 N. Division St. and 5725 E. Sprague Ave. • shopgameworld.com
