"I'd Rather Buy Toys Than Spend Money on Drinks"... Adults Open Their Wallets for Childhood Memories

U.S. Adults Open Their Wallets for Childhood Nostalgia
Finding Small Comforts in Toys... A Form of Self-Care

Adults are opening their wallets to collect the toys and dolls they enjoyed in childhood.

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On October 20, U.S. business magazine Fortune highlighted the “kidult” culture of indulging in childhood hobbies by buying toys, games and other items. “Kidult” combines “kid” and “adult.”

In a survey of 2,158 adults by U.S. polling firm The Harris Poll, 57% of Generation Z (those born from the late 1990s to the early 2010s) and millennials (those born from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s) said they had bought blind boxes or mystery boxes.

Libby Rodney, chief strategy officer at The Harris Poll, compared mystery boxes to slot machines, saying, “The process of opening a box to see which toy you get is fun in itself.”

Childhood memories are a key driver of toy purchases. In The Harris Poll survey, 87% of millennials said they feel more affinity for a brand when it reminds them of their childhood. In a survey conducted by printing company Quad, 68% of respondents said they collect at least one type of physical collectible, such as toys, figurines or trading cards. Childhood nostalgia was the most common reason for collecting, cited by 46% of respondents.

The U.S. toy market is also growing. According to market research firm Circana, 55% of toy sales in the United States in the first half of 2026 came from households made up solely of adults. Toy purchases by these households were up 16% year over year through June.

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Collecting toys has become a way to find joy in everyday life. In The Harris Poll survey, 52% of Americans said kidulting was one way they take care of themselves. The share rose to 66% among Generation Z and millennials. Among these generations, 53% said they would rather enjoy childhood hobbies such as collecting or assembling toys than go out for drinks.

Rodney said the trend reflects a desire to break away from excessive work and a performance-driven culture. More people are seeking to escape the pressure to do everything efficiently and achieve results, she said. “In the past, adults enjoying toys were sometimes seen as ridiculous, but now it’s being accepted as a natural part of the culture.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.