Laurie Schacht, Chief Toy Officer, of The Toy Insider gives us a list of the hottest toys of the 2019 holiday season. Each Monday in November, Schacht will introduce us to a new category of toys.
Last week, Schacht unveiled the holiday hit "splurge toys"
This week we are talking about holiday hits under $25.
On Nov. 18, Schacht will unveil holiday hits in the tactile category and then the following week, we're talking the hot toys kids can't get enough of.
HOLIDAY HITS UNDER $25:
JIXELZ 700- AND 1,500-PIECE SET by Fat Brain Toys
● Classic puzzle fun becomes an adventure in pixelated creativity!
● Each set comes with either 700 or 1,500 vibrant, precision-cut micro jigsaw pieces.
● Follow the instructions to transform the tiny pixel puzzle pieces into vibrant designs.
● Build a cat and a dog, a mermaid and a unicorn, or sea creatures!
● Or why not get creative and invent your own designs or why not collect them all, combine them all, and build something HUGE?
● All Jixels hold together strong — no ironing needed! — and they fit together easily without any frustration.
● Let your big ideas shine bright with Jixels!
● Ages: 6+
● MSRP: $9.95-16.96
● Available: Amazon, fatbraintoys.com
Y’ART MASTERPIECE & Y’ART CORE by Kahootz
● A WHOLE NEW WAY to create amazing textile art with the ease of coloring!
● Y’Art is a brand new arts & crafts activity.
● It’s MESS FREE coloring with yarn!
● Yarn magically CLINGS to the Grip-N-Stick Y’Artboard.
● Totally OOPS-PROOF! Lift the yarn from the Y’Artboard if you make a mistake and reposition it any time.
● Thread the Y’Art pen and color the numbered areas with yarn with the Y’Art pen.
● Create amazing textures and patterns that look like brush strokes on a canvas.
● Frame your Y’Artwork when it’s done (frame on back of box).
● Available in Pug Puppy, Unicorn, Flamingo, Llama and Narwhal designs.
● Masterpiece is available in Starry Night, with the core SKUs available as Puppy, Unicorn, Llama, Narwhal, and Flamingo designs.
● Age: 8+
● MSRP: $14.99
● Available: Amazon, Specialty retailers
CRY BABIES MAGIC TEARS by IMC Toys
● Cry Babies Magic Tears are the cutest mini collectibles!
● Available in blind bottle houses and dressed in unique animal onesies, they come with eight fun accessories, including a sippy bottle, a bow, a pacifier, a chair, personalized blanket, and two surprise accessories unique to each doll.
● Each bottle house will also include a sticker sheet to decorate your Cry Babies bottle house.
● These cute characters from the Cry Babies Magic Tears animated series are not your average collectibles.
● They cry real tears when you fill them with water and squeeze their tummies.
● Collect all 12 magical characters with one rare character.
● Ages: 3+
● MSRP: $9.99
● Available: Amazon, Target, Walmart
HEIST by University Games
● Play as one team with one mission: work to pull off the heist of the century in five minutes flat.
● Choose your character: Hacker, Lookout, Moneyman, or Demolitions Expert.
● Think fast and follow the instructions carefully: one false move might trip the alarm!
● 5 progressive levels of difficulty keep players guessing.
● Age: 7+
● MSRP: $24.99
● Available: universitygames.com, Amazon
FOODIE SURPRISE by Redwood Ventures
● RedwoodVentures’ Foodie Surprise brings to life a world of magical food creations that you can discover display and of course (yum!) eat!
● Each mystery food cart has multiple sweet reveals and all the supplies needed to make the cutest treats imaginable, plus dozens of adorable collectible characters made to “hide ‘n sneak” your creations to school!
● Open the mini mystery food cart and reveal surprise ingredients and supplies to make your own EDIBLE candy, including mixing trays, spoons, display cases and more.
● Assemble your snacks, pack them in the super cute, themed “to go” keychain container, and take them anywhere!
● Food carts come in a variety of themes, such as sushi, pizza, ice cream, and more!
● Ages: 6+
● MSRP: $9.99
● Available: Target, Walmart
BLUME by Skyrocket
● Kids watch their dolls bloom right before their eyes.
● When they add a few drops of water onto the “seeds,” they will watch as their Blume doll starts to grow out of her flower pot.
● The doll’s unique hairstyle will emerge as it blooms.
● Kids can collect 22 dolls from the first collection, which includes "adorable," "rare," "super rare," and one "mystical" doll.
● Each doll has 10 surprises hidden inside each pot including an out-of-this-world hairstyle, cute accessories, mix-and-match outfits, mini friends, sticker books, and more.
● Age: 5+
● MSRP: $9.99
● Available: All major retailers
● PRODUCTION NOTE: it takes 5-10 seconds to bloom.
MELTDOWN by Playmonster
● Stack cubes on the platform (balancing on the goop!) without them falling off. Be careful!
● The putty causes gradual shifting and moving, so keep that in mind when placing your cubes!
● Rolling the die will tell you how many cubes to put on during your turn.
● Any that fall off on your turn now become yours. The first player to get all of their cubes piled on is the winner.
● Meltdown is a light strategy game that is different game every time you play!
● Age: 7+
● MSRP: $14.99-$17.99
● Available: Target, Amazon, Barnes & Noble
SHIMMER STARS by KD Kids
● Shimmer Stars are your fabulous furry friends who love to make everything shimmer and glitter -- including you!
● Add sparkle to your world with the Shimmer Wand by using it to decorate your Shimmer Star’s silky fur with tons of sparkly shimmers, then shimmerize your own hair to match. Together We Shimmer!
● The Shimmer Wand stores 200+ shimmers in different shapes and colors neatly inside the star. Shimmerizing is simple: select a shimmer and place it on the star, use the Shimmer Wand to pick it up and press the button to turn a boring patch of fur or hair into something shimmerific!
● Shimmers work on all hair types, attach easily and comb right out – no glue or mess! Shimmers are also reusable, so you can change up your look at any time.
● Shimmer Stars also include fun wear & share fashion accessories: your pet’s tutu becomes a scrunchie, the collar can be worn as a bracelet and the hair bow can be shared. A headband with matching ears completes your look!
● The set includes a Shimmer Stars pet, the Shimmer Wand tool, a headband with matching ears, three wear & share fashion accessories, a Glitter Comb and 200+ Shimmers. Choose from a unicorn, panda, cat or dog.
● Age: 4+
● MSRP: $19.99
● Available: Target
