Last week Time to Play Magazine shared the hot toys for 2011 at a New York City press event where they unveiled the year’s Most Wanted List. Here’s video from the event where professional toy testers Jim Silver, Chris Byrne, and Shannon Eis share their 19 picks.
Besides the 19 hot toys of the year, there were 40 brands at Time to Play showcasing new products for all ages this holiday season from companies like Mattel, Crayola, Hasbro, Tomy, Uncle Milton, Oregon Scientific, MEGA Brands, Hexbug, Playmobil, Schleich, Razor and more!
While it was delightful to see favorites I’ve had the privilege of already reviewing (such as Technosource’s 20Q and LeapFrog’s LeapPad Explorer), I also love being privy to sharing my thoughts on new products and trends with you. Here are my thoughts on emerging trends for the 2011 holiday toy season:
A New Spin on Classics
Remember playing games like Simon, Scrabble Jr., and Uno and as a kid? The classics are being re-invented with a new twist to appeal to a different generation of kids but still incorporate elements to make them reminiscent of old school favorites.
- Technosource revamped the Tetris of my college days into a 4 person freestanding table top game called Tetris Link. Each player gets a set of colored Tetris tiles (in the same shapes as the computerized version) and has to drop them into slots to score points. This multiplayer game will be a huge hit because it is a game that relies on visual, spatial, and reasoning skills and is something the whole family can play. Retails for $19.99.
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| Tetris Link lets you unplug and play the new tabletop version |
- The round Simon of yesteryear is now in cube form- 4 cubes to be exact! Simon still flashes hence the new name Simon Flash ($24.99). I can’t wait to bust this one out of the package to try it with the kids this weekend. Chances are if it’s similar to the old version, I’ll love it just the same!
- Iconic Hello Kitty turned 50 earlier this spring and Tomy has introduced Megabloks Hello Kitty House ($34.99) and building sets in all price ranges (starting at $4.99) to allow new fans to create her world.
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| MEGA Brands Hello Kitty House |
- Move over Scrabble Junior! The newest Scrabble is called Scrabble Scoop! Players scoop letter tiles from a large bowl and use their letters to form words making this a fantastically fun, yet educational, game for early elementary kids as they work on word building skills. Retails for $24.99
- MEGA Brands has transformed puzzle building by incorporating a 3D element with the traditional 2D puzzle in their Breakthrough puzzle concept. Easy, moderate, and advanced puzzles feature favorite characters like Cars ($19.99) and can be framed when finished or broken apart for the challenge of completing again.
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| MEGA Brands’ Breakthrough Puzzle |
All About Collectibles
Kids love collectibles because they can never get enough. Back in the day, I loved Garbage Pail Kids cards, scratch and sniff stickers, and Smurf figurines. Be on the lookout for new products like Ickeez Stickeez that are perfectly priced stocking stuffers as single or triple packs and The Trash Pack, squishy little collectibles with a garbage theme available exclusively from Toys R Us, and more Squinkies to add to the existing collection.
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| Collectible Ickee Stikeez affordably priced stocking stuffers |
If you’re looking for bigger collectibles, Hexbugs are our personal favorite and figurine maker Schleich has also brought back their line of Smurfs that now come in sets to correspond with the movie. Individual Smurfs (and Gargamel!) are also available on Amazon.
Tablets For Kids and Other Tech Toys
As far as tech toys go, my pick for the holiday season is the LeapFrog LeapPad ($99) but I was also introduced to VTech’s Innotab ($79.99). Both tablets made Time to Play’s 2011 holiday toy list.
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| LeapFrog’s LeapPad and new Solar System materials to accompany the Tag Reader |
- Young movie makers and sports enthusiasts will also love Oregon Scientific’s All Terrain Video Camera that can be mounted almost anywhere to capture the most extreme sports in high definition thanks to its rugged waterproof casing.
- Silverlit showcased touch screen remote control vehicles and helicopters that are controlled by a remote control or by an iPhone app that uses accelerometer technology.
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| Silverlit featured touch screen remote controlled vehicles |
- Bossa Nova Robotics, an offshoot of Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute, demonstrated Mechatars, ready-for-battle remote controlled robots that use similar technology and motion as military grade drones. Cute and cuddly Skylee showed how she can interact with her owner, making her a fun interactive robot toy.
Incorporating Toys Into Electronic Game Play
There used to be a division between toys and electronic game play but not anymore. Technology is incorporates toys into play in new and innovative ways.
- Skylanders Spyro Adventure involves physical game pieces that become part of video game play ($59.99 and up on Xbox, Wii, Play Station platforms) when placed on special platform.
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| Skylanders |
- Disney’s Cars Appmates work with an iPad app, Place Mater or any of the other 3 available characters on the iPad’s surface and the scenery will change as the cars move along. Coming in October.
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| Disney Cars Appmates coming in October |
- Crayola Color Studio HD allows kids to use a special pen ($26) and a free iPad app to color on the iPad. Scraps of My Geek Life’s Michele McGraw recently purchased Crayola Color Studio for her family. Read her review here.
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| Crayola Color Studio’s HD stylus allows kids to color on the iPad |
What are the toys that are already on your kids’ holiday wish lists? Anything above catch your eye like it did mine at Time to Play?
I attended Time to Play as press but paid for my own travel costs to attend. All opinions are my own. Amazon affiliate links are included.
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Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
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