New Kids On The Block Sleeping Bag - JCPenney Christmas Catalog - 1990

    This girl is one hardcore fan. She's laying by her New Kids On The Block sleeping bag (she can't see their faces as well when she's inside), reading her NKOTB article while her NKOTB poster and LP stay close at hand in case of emergency. I was one of the 2% of girls in the late 80's/early 90's who wasn't into the New Kids. People think I'm in denial when I say that, but it's true. I tried, believe me. Being the nerdy girl, I really didn't need anything else to make me different from everyone else. Still, I just couldn't get into them. My grandparents bought me a New Kids shirt one year for my birthday (I was a 10 year old girl, they figured it was a safe bet), and I wore it once, but I felt like such a fake that I never wore it out of the house again. I think that I was always afraid deep down that someone was going to start asking me questions, like what my favorite album was or other NKOTB-related stuff, and I'd be forced to admit my deception. But, I won't deny that the New Kids were one of the most marketable bands of the 90's. The 1990 catalog had no lack of merchandise for the pre-teen girl on your list. And, with a sleeping bag, you could drag them to your sleepover and be the envy of all your friends who thought the New Kids were wicked hot.

As a bonus, I found this Sabado Gigante game in the same catalog. I don't pretend to know a lot about Spanish-language television, but I had no idea that Sabado Gigante had been around so long, and I really didn't have any idea that they'd made a board game out of it. See? Catalogs are not only fun, they're educational.