Want the inside scoop on what the year’s hottest holiday toys will be? Toy Insider Mom Laurie Schacht stopped by stopped by NBC’s The Today Show to reveal the some of the items on this year’s Toy Insider Hot 20, Top Tech 12, and Stem 10 lists.For more on the items featured in this segment, check out the product notes below, and for the complete rundown of the best toys of the holiday season, be sure to check our complete Toy Insider Holiday Gift Guide.
- Arcade1Up game cabinets look, feel and play just like the classic arcade games you remember.
- These 3:4 scale Arcade Cabinets let you play seated or standing (Gaming Stool and/or Riser add-on available).
- The classic upright cabinet design has authentic arcade controls and gameplay, such as joysticks, trackballs, buttons, and sounds.
- The 17-inch screen features multiplayer controls and no quarters are required for play.
- Ages: 7+
- MSRP: $399
- Available: Oct. 16, All major retailers
AIR HOGS SUPERNOVA (SPIN MASTER)
- Step into the future with the Air Hogs Supernova. Kids can control Supernova with the power of their hands!
- Kids can master more than 30 moves and nine Super Tricks, perfecting maneuvers that range from simple to complex.
- Equipped with an intelligent on-board system, this drone has five motion sensitive sensors and an interactive LED light core that responds and reacts to your movements.
- With a few waves of your hands, different combinations of gestures will let users perform amazing tricks.
- Ages: 8+
- MSRP: $39.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, and Walmart
LEGO BATMAN APP-CONNECTED BATMOBILE (LEGO)
- Speed to Gotham City crime scenes with the motorized LEGO DC Super Heroes App-Controlled Batmobile.
- This cool vehicle features two motors powered by a Bluetooth-controlled battery hub, an opening minifigure cockpit, four-wheel drive, and two dual-stud shooters.
- Kids can download the app to control the vehicle from their smartphone or tablet.
- This set also includes a new Batman minifigure.
- Ages: 8+
- MSRP: $99.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Walmart, and shop.lego.com
VEX BATTLING BOXING ROBOTS (HEXBUG)
- Kids can build battling robots with this motorized STEM construction kit.
- The kit comes with one Mock Rocker Bot, a Boxing Bot with more than 380 snap-together pieces.
- Once kids build and assemble their own robots, these smart-tech self-stabilizing boxers are ready for a match.
- The robots feature a smart-tech self-stabilizing feature that uses a gyroscope and an accelerometer.
- After building them, kids can drive and control the bots using the free VEX Pilot mobile app. The app can be used to control the robot’s every action, from deciding when to left punch, right punch, or double jab.
- The Bluetooth app send push notifications from the robot to devices, ensuring kids will always have the most up to date robot.
- VEX Battling Boxing Robots are compatible with the VEX IQ platform.
- Ages: 8+
- MSRP: $89.99 (single) and $149.99 (two-pack)
- Available: Target, Amazon, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and HEXBUG.com
- Hot new surprise dolls that combine fun, fashion and lots and lots of gorgeous colorful hair!
- Noah and her girl squad have “Big Hair Don’t Care” attitudes and love to share their passions with the world via the Hairdorables channel on YouTube.
- Each doll is based on one of the 12 iconic girls from the Hairdorables videos, and these BFFs live up to the “Hairdorables” name with a variety of unique luxe hairstyles in vibrant colors!
- Just pull, peel, and reveal 11 surprise accessories and fashions that unwrap the unique personality, style, and talent of the Hairdorables girl hidden inside!
- There are 36 Hairdorables dolls to collect in Series 1, including 2 rare and 1 ultra-rare, for mix-and-match outfits and endless styling possibilities.
- Ages: 3+
- MSRP $12.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Walmart
- Boxy Girls love shopping online for anything fashion—shoes, clothes, bags, makeup, jewelry, and more! They can’t wait to receive their online orders in packages shipped right to the door! Unbox the packages with Boxy Girls to discover tons of fashion surprises.
- Each Boxy Girl comes with four packages to unbox. Unbox shoes, bags, makeup, and more!
- Plus, get more package to unbox with the Boxy Girls Fashion Pack. The fashion pack features six packages of fashion surprises to unbox. Each package looks just like a real shipping box, it even includes a shipping label.
- Experience the excitement as kids tear open the shipping tape to open the package, inside you’ll find your fashion surprises wrapped delicately in tissue paper and packing material. Plus, you’ll find stickers and thank you notes inside.
- Boxy Girls are 8 inches tall and feature five points of articulation.
- Ages: 6+
- MSRP: Doll Set $14.99, Fashion Pack $9.99
- Available: Walmart
- Treasure X combines classic “you dig it” play with the trends of collectable action figures and “extreme” unboxing.
- With 10 levels of discovery, opening every Treasure X package is an adventure! Every Treasure X pack includes a treasure map, X-Marks coin, X-Cavator digging tool, a buildable figure embedded in “stone,” and a treasure chest.
- Kids can find “bronze” treasure, “silver” treasure, a booby prize, or REAL gold-plated treasure!
- Ages: 4+
- MSRP: $9.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Walmart
RYAN’S WORLD GIANT MYSTERY EGG (BONKERS TOYS)
- Now kids can be just like Ryan when they unbox their Giant Mystery Egg. No two are the same!
- Features an exclusive lights and sounds vehicle, ultra-rare figures, special goo and putty, a limited-edition squishy, plush, and more.
- What will kids find inside their epic egg?
- Ages: 3+
- MSRP: $39.99 – $49.99
- Available: Walmart
FISHER-PRICE THINK & LEARN ROCKTOPUS (MATTEL)
- Features 15 unique instruments across five different genres of music, enabling a truly hands-on physical approach to learning as preschoolers mix (and remix) their own musical creations.
- Kids are in control of their very own compositions by adding or subtracting instruments, changing the tempo, and layering in fun sound effects.
- Features three interactive play modes: Math, Music, and Game.
- Ages: 3+
- MSRP: $59.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Walmart
CRAYOLA COLOR CHEMISTRY LAB SET (CRAYOLA)
- With 50 different colorful experiments designed by real Crayola scientists, this lab set teaches kids the magic of science, math, and art through color.
- From an erupting volcano to glow worms and slime, kids can embark on experiments using core Crayola products and household items, stretching their imaginations while enhancing STEM skills.
- Includes everything kids need to conduct 15 experiments right out of the box, or to continue creativity, kids can use the included illustrative guide to conduct experiments again and again using household items.
- Age: 7+
- MSRP: $24.99
- Available: Amazon, Walmart, Crayola.com
VOICE ORIGINALS: WHEN IN ROME (SENSIBLE OBJECT)
- Voice Originals is the first family board game to connect Amazon’s Alexa device (sold separately) for a voice-enhanced gaming experience.
- To play, simply set up the board, fire up the associated Alexa Skill, and you’re ready to go! Alexa teaches you how to play, keeps score, and immerses you in the world of the game.
- When in Rome, the first title in the Voice Originals series, is a travel trivia game like none other. Turn on the smart speaker, choose a home city and then travel the world on Alexa Air!
- As players visit new places, they’ll meet 20 real locals recorded from cities around the world who will ask questions about local customs, culture, street food, and more. Getting the answers right and nabbing elusive souvenirs earns players Explorer Points along the way.
- With Voice Originals, Alexa acts as the tour guide, the scorekeeper, and narrates the entire gaming experience.
- Instead of you asking Alexa the questions, the role is reversed and she now asks you a variety of trivia and multiple choice questions.
- Ages: 13+
- MSRP: $29.99
- Available: Amazon
