What will be the must-have gifts for kids this holiday season? Toy Insider Mom Laurie Schacht stopped by Good Day LA to show off some of the year’s hottest toys. For more on the products featured in this segment, check out the notes below, and be sure to view our complete holiday gift guide.
Barbie Hello Dreamhouse (Mattel)
- Go high-tech with the world’s first smart dollhouse – Barbie Hello Dreamhouse! This two-story home has innovative features designed for a modern girl and reflective of the next wave of innovation in the home.
- Floor sensors recognize where Barbie and her friends are in the house. Embedded speech recognition allows you to control elements of the house, including the slide and elevator. An accompanying app allows further customization.
- Through a combination of voice commands and embedded switches, kids can imagine, customize, and control their house play.
- Ages: 3+
- MSRP: $299.99
- Available: Toys “R” Us
Disney Princess Carriage (Dynacraft)
- A celebrated fairy tale comes to life with the 24-Volt Disney Princess Carriage! Once a pumpkin, this elegant coach is ready to whisk your little princess off to the ball or to her next big adventure.
- The beautiful pink carriage is thoughtfully designed with graphics of her favorite Disney Princesses, gold accents, working doors and ornate interior details.
- The spacious coach is large enough to bring along a friend, and features a detachable “wear & share” tiara, heart-shaped steering wheel and luxurious curtains.
- Girls will love the magical light-up wand and enchanting fairy tale sounds.
- Ages: 3-8
- MSRP: $398
- Available: Walmart
Talk-to-Me Mikey- Kids can have hours of fun conversing with Michelangelo, the most fun-loving and energetic of all the turtles.
- One of the most intelligent Turtle toys ever, Talk-to-Me Mikey recognizes a child’s questions and responds in hundreds of unique ways in less than a second.
- The highly interactive Turtle features movement and position sensors to react hilariously based on how a child moves Mikey.
- Known for being the Turtle brother with the most enthusiasm, Mikey even sings songs and plays games with kids.
- Ages: 4+
- MSRP: $39.99
- Available: Toys R Us
Cabbage Patch Kids Baby So Real (Wicked Cool Toys)
- CPK Baby So Real allows you to enjoy one of the most magical and interactive experiences in the history of the baby doll category. These life-like babies combine traditional play patterns with groundbreaking technology
- Baby So Real’s interactive sweet baby sounds and random reactions are designed to surprise and delight.
- With your touch, Baby So Real comes to life with beautifully animated LCD eyes that open, close and look around.
- Loaded with realistic features that encourage interactive nurturing play, Baby So Real has sensors for peek-a-boo and tickle play, feeding from a special bottle, burping, diaper changing, and rocking to sleep.
- If your baby should develop a fever, you can calm those red cheeks by administering TLC from a magical spoon. Just like the original Cabbage Patch Kids, Baby So Real is soft and cuddly with removable clothes.
- Ages: 3+
- MSRP: $99.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Toys “R” Us, Walmart
Corgi and French Bulldog Puppets (Folkmanis) 
- Show and tell is one of the most exciting experiences at school, and now kids can use these incredible puppets to share their stories
- The Corgi and French Bulldog are two adorable pups, and kids can use them to share their tales of summer.
- Puppets also encourage interaction between kids, strengthening key social-emotional skills necessary for school.
- They also encourage expressive action, helping kids gain confidence in their ability to positively affect their
- Ages: 3+
- MSRP: $55.99 (Corgi), $29.99 (Frenchie)
- Available: Amazon, Folkmanis.com
Pie Face Showdown Game (Hasbro)
- For the first time, players go head-to-head and face off in the epic Pie Face Showdown Game!
- Each player places their head through the mask and races to see who can hit their button the fastest in tug-of-war style.
- Push the button down faster to move the loaded arm closer to the opponent.
- Players must move quickly or someone will end up with a whipped cream or a wet sponge in the face!
- Ages: 5+
- MSRP: $24.99
- Available: amazon, Target, Toys “R” Us, Walmart
- Illuminate the night with the Firetek Zyclone Zing-Ring Blaster!
- Load the Flyer on the hand-held launcher, pull back, twist and watch the Flyer light up the night, traveling up to 100 feet!
- The Zing-Ring Flyers are constructed of soft, durable foam for a safe spin and cool catches with amazing accuracy.
- This incredible blaster brings amazing fun with a twist!
- Ages: 6+
- MSRP: $29.99
- Available: Target
Real Cooking Ultimate Baking Starter Set (Skyrocket Toys)
- The Ultimate Baking Starter Set includes real cooking tools and two perfectly proportioned mixes to make eight scrumptious Sprinkle Surprise Cupcakes and eight tasty Tuxedo Cupcakes, complete with edible toppings and decorations.
- The set contains kid-friendly equipment, including two mixing bowls with an interchangeable suction base to keep it stable, a unique egg cracker that allows kids to crack eggs without the mess, and a silicone mini cupcake baking sheet.
- Perfectly-sized cooking utensils include three measuring scoops, one scraper, one whisk, sixteen cupcake liners and four pastry bags with coupler tip to expertly frost cupcakes with a swirl.
- Ages: 6+
- MSRP: $29.99
- Available: Target, Toys “R” Us
- CHiP (Canine Home Intelligent Pet) is the ultimate AI Robotic Dog.
- CHiP recognizes its master and responds to commands using the included SmartBand, a sleek, rechargeable wearable controller. CHiP also responds to
- hand gestures and voice commands.
- CHiP plays fetch and fun games with his SmartBall, interacting in all the ways a real dog would… Roll his ball and he’ll bring it back to you, or play soccer with him. Pick up his front legs and he’ll dance with you. Rub your nose against his and he’ll nuzzle right back.
- After a day of endless fun, CHiP knows it’s time to head to its special SmartBed and recharge. With a 360-degree system of play that’s physical, digital and tactile, plus an intuitive, evolving app, CHiP is a welcome addition to today’s connected home and fun for all ages.
- Ages: 8+
- MSRP: $199.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Toys “R” Us
Lionel Mega Tracks Corkscrew Chaos Master Set (Lionel)
- Lionel is expanding beyond model trains with the introduction of Mega Tracks, a revolutionary rail system where kids can use their imagination to design and build their own race courses.
- The Mega Tracks Corkscrew includes 20 feet of TwisTrack, 55 construction pieces to build customized track layouts (including track clamps and connectors), a Rail Racer vehicle and charger, and a handheld RC controller.
- Ages: 8+
- MSRP: $99.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Toys “R” Us, Walmart
Nerf Rebelle Flipside Bow (Hasbro)
- Take aim and launch into action-packed fun with this bow! Kids can go on fast-paced adventures and join with friends in competitive play.
- The Flipside bow has two 5-dart drums that flip around for 10-dart fast blasting.
- Kids can pull the string back and release it to send a dart flying through the air up to 80 feet. Fire five darts from one drum, pull the flip-trigger to rotate the second drum into position, and launch five more darts!
- Ages: 8+
- MSRP: $24.99
- Available: Target, Amazon, Walmart, Kmart
Nintendo MarioKart 8 Quadcopter (Carrera of America)
- Mario has his own quadrocopter with anti-gravity mode!
- Based on MarioKart 8, it features a six-axle gyro system for flight stability, a protective cage for the rotors, and 2.4 GHz technology for up to seven minutes of flight.
- It has beginner and advanced modes, and a rechargeable battery.
- Ages: 9+
- MSRP: $79.00
- Available: Amazon, Toys “R” Us
