Toys. The Holidays. It’s what every parent is thinking about right now! As a writer, I get to attend a few different shows over the holiday season. One of my favorites is the Time to Play Toy Showcase. It’s got all my favorite toy brands in one location, and I get to really play with lots of items to see what strikes my interest. Really, we’re all big kids at heart! Toys make any day just a little brighter!!! A whole hall filled with toys in New York City makes me beam with sunshine! Plus, being able to share my Top 5 toys from the Time to Play fall showcase is kind of fab-u-lous!
My number one TOP PICK for this holiday season for the little ones is Doc McStuffins EVERYTHING. Doc McStuffins is still going strong, and Just Play has a ton of great items for the kids: Magic Talkin’ Doc and Friends Doll, Make Me Better Sets, Doctor’s Bag Set, However, the toy that caught my eye right from Just Play was the Doc McStuffins Get Better Checkup Center.
Doc’s friend Lambie comes with this center, and there are lights, sounds, and a super cute x-ray machine slide! The part that will send kids over the top? The ELECTRONIC Big Book of Boo Boos. Oh, and every kid loves stickers, right? It comes with bandage stickers that dispense through the clinic door. It’s kind of a pure heaven for Doc fans. It’s for ages 3 years and up, but I would imagine kids any older than 6 might find it a bit boring after 20 minutes….it’s definitely for the younger side. Or an adult who has youngsters and pretends it’s for the kids, and sits and plays with it by herself. Personally, I would know nothing about such silliness…..
Moving on to my number two pick. It’s more “girl geared.” However, everyone loves a snow globe. Moose Toys came out with a fantastic “make your own” snow globe kit. It doesn’t have “snow,” but it has something much better…….GLITTER! The Glitzi Globes kits are fantastic. Kids can make their own globes, it’s not difficult, nor is it overly messy. WHY? Because the glitter that is placed in the globes comes in a little glitter cube that won’t dissolve until your child adds water to it. Or, fills the globe and then drops the glitter globe into the water. There’s a variety of kits, and some of them actually have globes that can be worn. I’m excited for my kids to try this one out! None of the kits are too expensive, either. The most you’ll pay is $18.00 for the biggest one. Affordable, creative, and glitter – TRIFECTA for girls, and I’ve got one that is all about the glitz!
Let’s give the boys a little something on this list, shall we? My number three pick is, of course, from HexBug. They’ve got the most awesome, inexpensive item out there. It’s a HexBug Aquabot smart fish, with a fish bowl! Well, you can get just the fish, which come in Clown Fish shape, as well as Shark shape. Plus a boatload of colors! However, if you want to splurge a little bit, spend about $15.00, you can get a fish with it’s very own bowl. Fill the fish bowl with water, plop the fish in the water and it swims. A little robot fish swims in the water!!!! Plus, for the parents, the little fish stop after a certain time, so there is no need to worry about the batteries giving out! Just rustle them around in the water, and they start again. Is it me? Am I the only one impressed by this technology?
Okay, back to the girls. Well, in our house this is a show loved by both my kids, and I’m sure my son would probably love my number four pick: JAKKS Pacific‘s Sofia the First Talking Clover Plush. As you can imagine it’s totally soft, and cuddly, just as any plush should be. When you press the tummy the doll says more than 8 phrases from the show in the voice of the character on the show. It also comes with a magical lesson card you can use in the Talking Magical Amulet, which is not included. Just the card, you have to buy the amulet separately!
Finally, my number 5 pick is beyond cool. I didn’t want to seem all “eager beaver” and put it at the top of the list. I wanted to play it cool, because I’m a writer, and it’s just silly to get this excited over a toy. BUT OH MY HOLY HECK. I’m in love with JAKKS Pacific‘s EZ PRO DJ™. If you’ve got a kid like mine that loves music, plus an iPad, or Android driven device, you’ll want to get this. It’s pure genius. It’s simple to learn to use, and my favorite part is it will automatically beat match songs.
The APP is free, but you’ll need the EZ PRO DJ device because it’s got the turntables and sound board all in one device! It’s insanely cool, plus it can be connected to external speakers. Assign a song to each turntable, use your crossfader to blend them together and then add samples, create loops – the darn thing even lets you scratch.
PURE Awesome.
As all good lists go, you always have to have a couple of alternates. This year, it’s Crayola that’s bringing me excitement! They’ve got a Marker Maker, and Melt & Mold Factory. The Marker Maker, as the name states, allows kids to make their own markers. Crazy, and so cool. The Melt & Mold Factory allows kids to melt down crayon pieces, then mold them into awesome stuff. My favorite of all the awesome stuff you can create? The Bling Rings. What can I say, I’m a jewelry whore!
So there you have it…..all the toys that sung to me on my trip to the #TimetoPlay Toy Showcase in good old #NewYorkCity – what will you be putting in your kids’ hands this holiday season?
