Want to grab the year’s hottest holiday toys before they fly off retailers’ shelves? Toy Insider Senior Editor Ali Mierzejewski stopped by Good Day Columbus to talk about the most in-demand toys of the holiday season. For more on the items featured in this segment, check out the product notes below, and for our complete rundown of the best gifts for the holidays, check out our complete holiday gift guide.
- Get ready for some laughs! Farty Franny is an interactive game that’s silly and suspenseful. The game comes with an adorable Franny the cow figurine that sits in the center of the spinner. Each player takes turns spinning the spinner and following the command on which they land. If they land on the tail icon, the player must lift Franny’s tail – she might just moo, but she might fart, too! If she farts, the player takes a fly. The player with the least number of flies at the end wins.
- Two to four players. 15-minute gameplay.
- Ages: 4+
- MSRP: $19.99
- Available: Toys “R” Us
LUVABELLA/LUVABEAU (SPIN MASTER)
- Luvabella is a loveable, life-like baby doll that comes in a variety of girl and boy doll options in different ethnicities.
- Children can care, nurture and play with Luvabella and Luvabeau using the doll’s interactive accessories and pacifier.
- From feeding time with her spoon, play time with her Lamby, to nap time with her bottle, Luvabella will respond with natural reactions. Kids can watch her laugh, blink, purse her lips, and more. The more kids play and care for Luvabella, the more she learns, just like a real baby sibling.
- Luvabella affectionately responds to love, just like a real baby with real baby surprises for kids to discover. Tickle her tummy or toes and she will giggle in delight, cover her eyes and she will play a game of peek-a-boo, feed her with her spoon and she’ll begin to chew and learn new food words.
- Ages: 3+
- MSRP: $99.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Toys “R” Us, Walmart
FURREAL ROARIN’ TYLER, THE PLAYFUL TIGER (HASBRO)
- Kids can bring home an adorable baby tiger to love, play with, and care for as their own.
- Make a noise or give a loud jungle roar and Tyler will roar back in response.
- Kids can enjoy playtime with him using his play chicken.
- Tyler features more than 100 sound and motion combinations with sensors on his forehead, back, and muzzle allowing him to respond to touch in fun ways.
- Kids can pull him up close to snuggle thanks to his posable back legs, or nuzzle his cheek and he’ll respond with expressive eyes, sounds and tail movements.
- Ages: 4+
- MSRP: $129.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Toys “R” Us, Walmart, www.hasbrotoyshop.com
SHOPKINS SHOPPIES SUPER MALL (MOOSE TOYS)
- Shoppies and their Shopkins friends can now ride the elevator lift and discover three levels of fun at the Shopkins Shoppies Mall.
- Kids can join their Shoppies and Shopkins for a movie, feeding their passion for style and fashion, and take a seat for some treats in the food court.
- They can also swipe and shop with the VIP card checkout to make their Shopkins drop. The Super Mall includes a Food Court, Fashion Boutique, Beauty Parlor, and Smart-Phone Cinema.
- Ages: 5+
- MSRP: $79.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Toys “R” Us, Walmart
LIGHTSEEKERS STARTER KIT (TOMY INTERNATIONAL)
- Lightseekers is an action adventure role playing game built for mobile devices that fuses together fantasy and reality, integrating video games and smart action figures with the latest in artificial intelligence, augmented reality, interactive trading cards, and more.
- The powerful mini-computer, known as the FusionCore, is embedded within each action figure and is the “brains” behind the smart connected toys. This completely eliminates the need for cumbersome NFC portals, allowing two-way communication between TOMY’s 7” collector-quality, articulated smart action figures and the robust action adventure role play game.
- Players can take their experience to another level, adding physical accessories to their figures and scanning trading cards with the Lightseekers game app to customize their gameplay and give them special in-game abilities.
- Add smart action figures with interchangeable weapons you can level-up.
- Connect motion-controlled flight packs that turn your figure into a game controller.
- Ages: 8+
- MSRP: $69.99
- Available: Toys “R” Us
PLAYMOBIL PHARAOH’S PYRAMID (PLAYMOBIL)
- Unlock ancient secrets and mysteries inside Pharaoh’s Pyramid. The playset features five chambers with hidden precious treasures protected by tricky puzzles and sneaky traps.
- Discover the room filled with jewels and golden riches or climb the stairs to enter the tomb chamber complete with mummy. Just watch out for the booby trap waiting to drop you below!
- Remove the pyramid walls to discover even more ways to play. You can sneak through the revolving door but be careful, there might some skeletons or spiders hiding in the shadows.
- Set includes three figures, tomb, mummy, two skeletons, treasures, spiders, fire pots, hieroglyphics, and many other accessories.
- Ages: 6+
- MSRP: $69.99
- Available: Amazon, Toys R Us, playmobil.us
- Laser X is the ultimate high-tech game of tag! Blasters feature pinpoint accuracy up to 200 feet – day or night – and invisible infrared beams can go through windows and bounce off walls and mirrors to hit opponents.
- Advanced sensors know when players are blasting, being hit, running or hiding, and an interactive voice “coach” uses this intel to offer tips and tricks throughout the game.
- Headphones (not included) can be plugged into the receiver vest, so players can listen to a stereo soundtrack while they play. This makes it feels like they’re inside a video game – or starring in an action movie!
- All Laser X sets work together so games can include an unlimited number of players. Play one-on-one, in teams, or set your blaster to “rogue” and it’s every man for himself!
- Blasters were designed to NOT look like handguns or rifles and to make futuristic sounds, not the sounds of gunfire.
- Ages: 6+
- MSRP: $49.99
- Available: Target, Toys “R” Us
