Toy Fair is the nation’s largest toy trade show. Every February, buyers from just about every toy store, and journalists from just about every media outlet, descend on the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York to see what’s new.
Every year, I learn some new things from my two days exploring toys and games made by more the more than 1,100 companies who exhibit at Toy Fair. Here’s what I learned this year.
Customization is IN! Kids want toys and games that they can make uniquely their own. For 2014, Mattel will invite kids to customize Barbie, Hot Wheels or to glam a Ghoul from Monster High however they may wish. Vivitar’s, family-friendly Camelio tablet is designed to be customized with “personality packs” for each member of the family with licensed themes including Thomas the Train, Monster High, Hello Kitty and others.
Creativity can come in a can! As part of Faber-Castell’s commitment to helping defeat the nation’s creativity crisis and to remind kids that anything is possible, they offer Creativity Cans each of which contain a variety of simple, colorful materials like pipe cleaners, feathers, googly eyes and more, to encourage kids to imagine and create.
Puzzles can be round! A Broader View has a line of American-made round puzzles that are oriented so that everyone gets “the best seat around the puzzle.” With beautiful images of animals, city skylines and underwater images, plus a price of just $15, these round puzzles are perfect for a family to work on together.
Snifty still makes pens entirely in the US! Their pens and pencil toppers smell fantastic with a variety of scents encapsulated in their proprietary, eco-friendly plastic. Strawberry, cotton candy, coffee, bubble gum, watermelon and lots more. Their fundraising division lets you customize pens or pencils for your kid’s school or club fundraising efforts.
There is a better way for kids to build tents in the living room other than by using every pillow in the house! Crazy Forts from Everest Toys. Picture over-sized, plastic Tinker-toys -- toggles and rods that join together to create a variety of play spaces -- just add bed sheets. Coming soon, Crazy Forts with rods that bend, increasing the range of structures that can be built. At $60, consider it an investment in days of indoor creative fun.
The rubber duckie has come of age! For duckies at Kid O, as with their entire line, design is key and their products are independently tested and are made without PVC, PBA, Phthalates or Lead. We are mad for their Floating Ducks in yellow, teal and purple.
Finally, helmets don’t have to be black … or even blue or red! They can be pandas, cats and leopards, bears and puppies. New Trickster Helmets from Pillow Pets are adjustable and approved for bikes, scooters and skateboards. And they are really cute.
