Yes, I know my.nintendo.com is still a thing. I also know that it mostly sucks, offering meager discounts on select digital games (most of which are overpriced to start with or never see normal sale pricing take effect) and free 3DS themes.
But I'm talking about the real Club Nintendo that used to send out cool physical swag. Statues, little trophies, posters, bags and cases for your games, hats and shirts, controllers... the list goes on. In the heyday of Club Nintendo you'd even be given free once-a-year gifts that were surprisingly awesome, if you have managed to accumulate enough points by registering the games you'd bought.
I found a site that documents a bunch of the prizes that had been available:
https://www.mariowiki.com/Club_Nintendo_(rewards_program)
Looking back now, there are a handful of things I wish that I had ordered. The Super Mario Accessory Box would've been awesome, or the terrycloth towel collection, or even some of the posters. Still, it was a good source of nice stuff.
My favorite items (that I still own and use today) include:
#1: 2-D Mario Reversible Pouches - These little pouches are really nice, and convenient for a whole bunch of storage/travel purposes; they've seen frequent and non-stop use since getting them!
#2: Nintendo 3DS Game Card Case - Invaluable! The many different custom covers are nice, and having several of these at home lets me store all the empty DS/3DS game cases in one location while still having a convenient way to carry all my games with me. Love them.
#3: Mario & Friends Pin Badge Collection - Although it's mostly just decoration, I still really like this "elite status gift"... people complained at the time, but the buttons are timely and nicely packaged for display while not being used. Big thumbs from me!
#4: Starman Messenger Bag - Honestly, the size and quality of this gift didn't overwhelm, but it's split time between being hung as decoration and actually being used to move stuff around, and is still kind of neat.
Were people here gaming at that point? Did you get your own swag from Club Nintendo before it got shuttered and replace with the current all-digital alternative? I'm curious to hear if anyone has fond memories - or maybe regrets about some of the limited availability items they missed.