Growing up in the 1980s and 90s, I remember the joy of receiving presents for Christmas. Whether it was a new bicycle or the latest video game, these presents brought me endless hours of entertainment.

For this holiday season, I decided to indulge in a different present from my youth that I have very fond memories of; collecting sports card.

I recently went on a mini-spending spree in the hopes of re-connecting with a part of my childhood while re-acquiring a few old treasured sports cards along the way. This spending spree included unopened wax boxes of 1987 Topps, Donruss and Fleer baseball cards, 1989 and 1990 Topps baseball, as well as 1989 and 1998 Topps football boxes.

When I opened these packs of vintage sports cards that are over 20 and 30 years old, it was almost like going back into a time machine and catching up with my old friends from the past. In the baseball boxes, I found notables like Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Thomas and Barry Bonds. In the football boxes, Thurman Thomas, Jerry Rice and Barry Sanders were among the stars of yesteryear to send me holiday greetings.

For those unfamiliar with the sports card hobby, collecting rookie cards is a major source of excitement because it serves as a debut card of an individual player. If that rookie card features a player who goes onto superstardom, then the card is likely to be worth more money depending on its overall condition.

Like any massive box break, there were a few ups and downs. In the ’87 Fleer baseball box for example, I did pull two Bo Jackson rookie cards, as well as two Barry Larkin rookies. However, when it came to the highly sought after Bonds rookie, I came up empty in that box. The ’87 Topps and Donruss boxes each contained a Bonds rookie card, but those cards are consolation prizes in my opinion as the hobby’s most valued Bonds rookie is in the ’87 Fleer set.

On the bright side, my ’89 Donruss baseball box yielded two Griffey Jr. rookies, two Randy Johnson rookies, as well as Gary Sheffield and Curt Schilling rookies. As for my ’89 Topps football box, it contained what appeared to be a very well conditioned Michael Irvin rookie. However, after further inspection, I found a very large gum stain on the reverse side of the card. For those unfamiliar, packs of sports trading cards once contained pieces of chewing gum in them. This practice, mostly associated with Topps, lasted all the way up until the early 1990s.

Perhaps the most hilarious moment of the entire experience was when I tried to eat one stick of gum from the ’89 Topps football box. Being that the gum is nearly as old as me, it was as hard as a rock, and quickly dissolved once I started chewing. There was also a distinct cardboard taste in the tiny morsel, and I am happy to report I did not get sick after trying the gum.

All joking aside, my interest in sports collectibles has officially been rekindled. However, making money off of these cards is the furthest thing from my mind. Instead, the sheer excitement of busting open a pack is payment enough for me. In closing, I implore all of you to rediscover some old activity or hobby you once loved, the rewards of doing so may be life changing.