A Prize Package from The Retro Network

As an '80s kid, I enjoy the occasional reminder of my youth. A cassette tape. A sporty yellow Walkman. A flashing "12:00" time stamp on the front of a VCR. An old Scholastic book. An issue of Highlights magazine. A rinky-dink battery-operated handheld video game of some sort. 

 

So when I came across a YouTube channel last year called The Retro Network that seemed to share all of these things and more, I started watching some videos and subscribed.

 

And when the channel ran a giveaway a couple of months ago, I figured I'd enter. It was easy enough. I just had to like the video, be a subscriber, and leave a comment that included a specific hashtag.

 

Well, as you can tell by the title of this blog post, I won the giveaway!

 

Have a look at the variety within the prize package that made it to my front door last month:

 

 

 

 

First up, a couple of branded stickers. Thrift Store Horde is a monthly series on the channel where the hosts—Jason, Kevin, and Adam—take turns showing off their recent hauls from local thrift stores, antique malls, and goodwill shops. It's always a combination of cool, wacky, funny, bizarre, and rare.

 

 

 

 

Next up, a collection of wax packs. But not just any wax packs. The giveaway was the culmination of a video series on the channel called "Grossest Cards Ever", and boy are these wax packs ever examples of that. Baseball's Grossouts, Trash Can Trolls, Grossville High, and so on. (Not shown in the photo is a more recent pack from a set called "Pukey-mon".) I haven't opened any of the packs yet, and I think I might keep the grossness sealed for a while.

 

 

 

And here are the two big stars of the wax pack portion of the prize: Original Garbage Pail Kids stickers! 3rd series and 6th series. I'm definitely keeping these sealed. They provide an instant dose of nostalgia for me.

 

 

 

Next up, more grossness. A brand-new copy of Monopoly—the Garbage Pail Kids version! I had no idea this existed.

 

 

 

Here's a shot of the back. Instead of keeping this for myself, I might be sending it to my young niece and nephew—as long as their mom and dad allow it. They've already got a dinosaur version of the game called Dino-opoly, as well as a fishing version called Fishin-opoly. Can they handle a third, gross version? Not sure. But if they do, I know they'll ask me to play it with them.

 

Next up is the big, awesome, totally rad, not gross portion of the prize package.

 

 

 

A Trapper Keeper! This is one of the reissues that have come out fairly recently, and it sure does bring back memories. In elementary school I had a Trapper Keeper with a red Lamborghini Countach on the front. I'd say the design on this new one is just about as cool.  

 

 

 

Here's a better look at the car from the back of the binder. I'm not sure how I'm going to utilize this yet, but I do have a small collection of Garbage Pail Kids stickers from my youth, and they're already in nine-pocket pages. Maybe I'll transfer them to this binder.

 

But first I'll have to clear out what's inside, because this brand-new Trapper Keeper wasn't empty. 

 

 

An original-style Trapper Keeper folder!

 

 

 

 

 With more surprises inside. That Superman comic is from the early '80s.

 

 

 

Followed by yet another folder with even more surprises. The Indiana Jones comic is also from the early '80s. As for Jackie Chan Adventures, that was an animated series that aired for a few years in the early 2000s. I enjoyed it—especially Jackie's uncle, who was referred to only as "Uncle".

And finally, there was one more surprise at the back of the Keeper.  

 

 

 

 

 

A Garfield book! I've already had some fun flipping through this one, and it might be headed over to my niece after I've finished. I think she might like the humor and the illustrations.

 

 

And that just about does it. Big thank you to Jason, Kevin, and Adam for running the giveaway. I'm overwhelmed by the generosity.

 

If any of you have enjoyed the nostalgic vibes you've found here, I hope you'll stop by TRN TV and give them some support.

 

In the meantime, what's your favorite portion of the prize package? Share in the comment section, and thank you for reading, as always.