Tag Archives: collectibles

POGs Revival!

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Lately it seems that I see POGs popping up everywhere on social media.

Do you remember them?

For a brief, crazy intense moment in the ’90s, POGs and slammers were everywhere. If you grew up during that era, you might remember collecting the colorful cardboard discs, the thrill of slamming your favorite POG stack, and swapping the ones you didn’t want with friends on the playground.

During that frenzied time, I was involved in a business that not only produced POGs (milkcaps) as business promotional giveaways but created a line of them called The Safe Neighborhood Club, complete with an inserted educational booklet. Some of these designs were included in books about POGs.

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

For a time, POGS were even outlawed in a few school districts, that’s how popular they were.

The story of POGs began in Hawaii, where children used caps from Haleakala Dairy’s POG juice (passionfruit-orange-guava) to play a simple flipping game.

Alan Rypinski bought the POG trademark in 1993 and transformed it into a global brand. With the World POG Federation at the helm, POGs exploded into toy aisles and schoolyards, becoming an integral part of ’90s culture. POGman, the game’s cartoon mascot, became as recognizable as the discs themselves. He made millions during the craze but was out of the game when the bubble burst.

By 1997, the POG market had imploded. Oversaturation, school bans, and changing fads pushed the once-beloved game into obscurity. The discs that once sparked heated debates and trades among kids now sat forgotten.

Now, nearly three decades later, whispers of a POG revival are surfacing. Can a nostalgia-driven resurgence bring this playground staple back into the mainstream?

Why Revive POGs Now?

I can’t explain it, but POGs definitely ARE making a comeback, not just as a nostalgic collectible but also with a digital component and a focus on both physical and digital gaming. 

The World Pog Federation launched new physical sets and online games to engage a new generation of players. They are also exploring partnerships and collaborations to expand the POG brand. 

I’ll have to dig around in the garage ‘cos I know I still have a massive collection stored in binders and I can’t wait to show them to the Angels. Maybe they could start it up again at their school; wouldn’t that be awesome?

Further reading:
–Here’s a link to a cool article written just last month about the POG revival:
https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2025/04/dig-up-that-slammer-this-week-were-talking-pogs.html
–Another post from Hawaii: https://www.lanaitoday.com/news/another-chance-to-scoop

Angel Chat: High Energy and Squishmallows

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I haven’t done this in a while; here’s a compilation of random high energy Angel chat…read all the way through to learn about Squishies.

“Grandma, watch me brush my hair! Grandma, watch me, no, right now! Looklooklook!”

“Grandma did you put the picture I drew for you on the refrigerator?”

“Mom, I totally freaked Grandma out!”

“Grandma Princess Rosebud, I totally freaked you out, right?”

OMG she really did (and yes, they really call me Grandma Princess Rosebud). We were at the park and seemingly for no reason at all, she took off running and was headed OUT of the playground gate faster than I have EVER seen a four-year-old run. What I didn’t know was that she had spotted Dad and was breaking all land speed records to jump in his arms.

“You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“T, remember how I totally freaked Grandma out?”

As a reminder, this is a verbally precocious four-year-old and she was absolutely astonished at my “freaked out” reaction.

All I know for certain is that I guard those kids’ lives with a fierce laser-focused intensity, and I had no idea why she was running OUT and away, as that had never happened before. The kids stay close to me and I have my eyes on both of them at at all times. Their safety is my number one priority.

“Grandma, how long do I have to hold your hand to cross the street?”

“Until you’re ten, ‘cos that’s when Daddy stopped holding my hand, but if I ever say it’s super important to hold my hand, please agree to do it because it’s my job to keep you both safe, right?”

“Oh, okay.” (Insert teenagerish eye roll.)

“Grandma, look at this Pokemon card. Is it real or fake?” How about this one? How come you always can pick out the fakes?”
“I played chess with my friend.” “Why don’t you play chess Grandma?”

“Grandma, do you know what? You haven’t been very annoying for a few days.” “I just thought I’d tell you that.”

“Well, my little friend, thank you for sharing because now I will work extra hard to be annoying!”

“Grandma, did you send more puzzles? Really hard ones? How many pieces?”
“T, I sent you two Pokemon puzzles, one with 100 pieces and a really hard one with 300 pieces. Do you think you can handle it?”

“Yes, I can handle it, Grandma!”

“DAD, GRANDMA SENT ME A POKEMON PUZZLE WITH 300 PIECES!”

“How about ME, Grandma?”
“Your two puzzles each have 48 pieces, my smart little angel.”
“But that’s not hard enough!”
“When you’ve completed those a few times, we’ll see about moving up to the next level, OK?”

“Grandma, did you send us more Squishmallows?”

“Yes, I absolutely did. Don’t I always?”

Are you dialed in to the Squishmallow craze? You probably are if you’re a mom or grandma. It started a couple years ago when the kids received one of these very soft, very squishy stuffies and the addictive desire for more multiplied. It seems to have become a worldwide phenomenon. I admit I love them too and can’t stop collecting the new releases. If I had to count, I’ve probably bought the kids each about thirty-five, so that equals a grand total of SEVENTY Squishmallows. (Since they MUST have the same ones. I always buy TWO.)

I know, I know, I know it might seem excessive, but that’s what grandmas DO!

I just found these ADORABLE giant Halloween Squishmallows and yes, these will be presented soon…

Some stay here to be loved while others are held on the flight home. I send a new one pretty much every month which is the reason for the question.

They come in smaller sizes too, and brilliantly branched out into other merch — I’ve even gotten Angel Girl Squishmallow socks.

Pineapples, tigers, and dinosaurs, but I really love the enchanting unicorns, don’t you?