Toy Insider’s Chief Toy Officer Laurie Schacht invited Cityline to the Toy Insider’s Sweet Suite 2018 event to show off some of the hottest toys of the holiday season. 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: Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart, FYE
- Erupting from the Earth’s core, watery caves and fiery pits come Grumblies—be careful, don’t make them meltdown!
- If kids push them too far by poking, shaking, and flipping them on their heads, Grumblies will go into a rumbling seismic meltdown—and only kids can calm them down.
- Each Grumblie has over 40 sounds and reactions.
- The line comes with 4 unique themes with different designs, sounds and vibrations, including Tremor, Scorch, Bolt, and Hydro.
- Ages: 3+
- MSRP: $19.99
- Available: Walmart, Amazon, Target
FINGERLINGS LIGHT-UP UNICORNS (WOWWEE)
- The Fingerlings Light-Up Unicorns Mackenzie and Jo-Jo love to grab onto things… especially your fingers!
- These unique little pets have a special unicorn horn that lights up and cycles through a variety of magical colors!
- With iridescent sparkles on their arms and legs, they love to shimmer and shine! They also respond to you with special unicorn sounds in response to noise, motion & touch, and will let you know how they feel with their adorable, blinking eyes and head turns.
- You’ll get different reactions if you pet them, rock them to sleep, or hold them upside down. If you blow your unicorns a kiss, they will kiss you right back! You can also brush their soft manes and tails.
- Magical friendship at your fingertips!
- Age: 5+
- MSRP: $17.99 each
- Available: Amazon.com
- Canadian: CAD $24.99, Toys “R” Us
FLORA THE ANIMATED BUNNY (GUND)
- GUND is proud to present Flora – a sweet, smiling bunny with two different play modes. Press the left foot to play an interactive game of peek-a-boo, and the right to hear the song “Do Your Ears Hang Low” in a cute child’s voice.
- Ears move and flap during play.
- Surface-washable for easy cleaning. Three “AA” batteries included with purchase.
- Soft, huggable plush built to famous GUND quality standards.
- Complete the whole Flora collection with Activity Toy, Rattle, Soft Book, Silly Sounds Ball, and Lovey.
- Age: Newborn+
- MSRP: $39.99
VEX BATTLING BOXING ROBOTS (HEXBUG)
- These battling robots combine the gameplay of Rock em Sock em Robots with the balancing action of a Segway!
- With this fun, motorized building set, kids can build up their own robots that include a “smart-tech” self-stabilizing feature.
- Kids can drive and control it with the VEX Pilot mobile app, which enables updates to push automatically to the robot from your phone, ensuring you always have the most up to date robot.
- Compatible with the VEX IQ platform used by over 1 million students in classrooms and global competitions.
- Ages: 8+
- MSRP: $89.99 (single robot); $149.99 (two-pack)
- Available: Target, Amazon, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, hexbug.com
- Canada: CAD $116.99 (single) $194.99 (two-pack) at Amazon, Indigo, Toys “R” Us, Walmart
