Looking for some new toys to get your kids ready to head back to school? Toy Insider Mom Laurie Schacht stopped by WGN in Chicago to talk about some great new toys to prepare kids to head back to class. 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 season, check out our Spring and Summer gift guide.
SQUEEZAMALS (BEVERLY HILLS TEDDY BEAR CO.)
- Squeezamals are super soft and ultra squishy, slow-rise, foam plush. Combining on-trend squish toys and soft, high quality, detailed plush, there is nothing else like this on the market. Once a Squeezamals is in your hand you will not want to put it down.
- There are over 36 cute characters to collect.. ranging from narwhals and unicorns to penguins and puppies.
- Each is sweetly scented.
- Squeezamals come in three sizes: Backpack clip at 2.25 inches, Core Squeezamals at 3.5 inches and Large Squeezamals at 8 inches.
- Ages: 3+
- MSRP: Backpack clip $3.99 / Core Squeezamals $6.99 / Large Squeezamals $14.99
- Available: Target, Walmart, specialty retailers
- ALEX is introducing a new creative collectible with Do Dats, a line of adorable characters you can make using lots of fun beads!
- Display them or wear them as bag charms, it’s easy and fun.
- You can customize them too, just mix and match as you collect them.
- With the patented no-knot system, anyone can Do Dat!
- Ages: 6+
- MSRP: $4.99 for Series 2 / $9.99 for box sets
- Available: Specialty stores
MOBILE VET W/ HANOVERIAN FOAL (SCHLEICH)
- All Schleich figures are lovingly hand-painted with detailed modelling and allow children to learn as they play.
- The vet is driving as fast as she can to the scene of an urgent emergency: a Hanoverian foal has been injured!
- She examines the animal with the mobile X-ray machine that she transported in the car’s spacious boot. To make sure the foal gets better again quickly, she gives it an injection with medicine from her medical bag and then records her diagnosis on her laptop.
- All the Schleich figures are lovingly hand-painted with detailed modelling and allow kids to learn while they play.
- Ages: 3+
- MSRP: $36.99
- Available: Amazon, Target
NICKELODEON CHALKBOARD SLIME KIT (CRA-Z-ART)
- Make your own slime with this Nickelodeon chalkboard slime kit!
- The slime can be painted on with the included paints over and over again, like a chalkboard! Once your drawing is complete and you’re ready to start anew, roll up the slime and the colors disappear going back to the original chalkboard slime creation!
- This kit includes everything you need for ooey gooey, stretch, squishy fun!
- Ages: 6+
- MSRP: $9.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Michael’s, Walmart
NICKELODEON LIGHT UP SLIME KIT (CRA-Z-ART)
- This Slime kit makes slime that uses light to shine and sparkle!
- Comes complete with everything you need to make slime and a LED light to make it glow!
- Ages: 6+
- MSRP: $9.99
- Available: Walmart, specialty stores
NICKELODEON MAKE YOUR OWN ULTIMATE UNICORN SLIME (CRA-Z-ART)
- This slime kit combines two very popular trends: slime making and unicorns!
- Make several varieties of multicolored unicorn-themed slime with this all-inclusive kit! Nick Unicorn Slime
- Ages: 6+
- MSRP: $9.99
- Available: Michaels, Walmart
- Tiny tools—BIG Science! How small is the tiniest ball of slime you can make? Find out with this adorable miniature science lab that features precision lab instruments in a custom case.
- Mix up chemistry experiments in itty-bitty beakers. Peer at tiny specimens through the teeny-tiny magnifier. Weigh chocolate chips or a Cheerio on the tiny balance scale.
- The wonderfully small size makes it perfect for sleepovers or on-the-go science exploration adventures.
- The science activity book features 20 experiments that teach kids about acids and bases, CO2 production, microscopy, chemical reactions, polymers, non-Newtonian fluids, and more!
- Ages: 8-14
- MSRP: $19.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Walmart
THE POWERPUFF GIRLS BUILDING SETS (LEGO)
- LEGO building sets inspired by Cartoon Network’s animated series The Powerpuff Girls.
- Fans can build, create and save the day with their three favorite superheroes – Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles.
- Two different sets will be available this fall. With the Bubbles’ Playground Showdown set (144-piece), The Powerpuff Girls defend the Townsville playground from Princess Morbucks, and in the Mojo Jojo Strikes set (228-piece), Mojo Jojo is trying to steal Townsville’s diamonds!
- Ages: 6-12
- MSRP: $19.99 for Bubbles set, $29.99 for Mojo Jojo set
- Available: Amazon, Target, Walmart in August 2018
VEX ROBOTICS SWITCH GRIP (HEXBUG)
- Assemble an imaginative blaster with the VEX Robotics SwitchGrip Launcher.
- Fill your loader with ammo and perform the launcher’s signature pumping action to send projectile balls flying over 30+ feet!
- Includes 100+ snap-together pieces and seven balls.
- 100+ snap together pieces.
- STEM based construction, promotes basic engineering skills.
- Ages: 14+
- MSRP: $19.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Hexbug.com
VEX ROBOTICS CROSSFIRE AIRPLANE LAUNCHER (HEXBUG)
- Send paper planes soaring through the air with the VEX Robotics Crossfire Airplane Launcher.
- This STEM kit promotes basic engineering skills through the process of simple snap-together assembly.
- Pump the handle and watch as your paper plane astonishingly soars over 30+ feet!
- 35+ snap together pieces, 6 planes included.
- Ages: 14+
- MSRP: $19.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Hexbug.com
- The Arcade1Up brings back some of the most iconic arcade games ever created in a classic and redesigned form. It is the perfect way to relive retro moments or experience them for the first time!
- Arcade1Up is easy to assemble and stands four feet tall.
- Available in four exciting versions, the cabinets include three to four classic games on each. All the machines feature original artwork for all-time iconic gameplay such as Street Fighter II Champion Edition, Asteroids, Centipede and Rampage.
- Each Arcade1Up has full-color, hi-resolution 17-inch screens, and sounds that truly immerse you into the gaming world, alongside a joystick and control buttons.
- Ages: 7+
- MSRP: $399
- Available: All major retailers
