Young_testers_make_their_picks_for_top_holiday_toys
NEW YORK - Fast moving, fast spinning and fast stacking toys will be a hit with children this holiday season if kids have anything to say about it.
On Tuesday, FamilyFun Magazine releases its 15th annual Toy of the Year awards, which feature toys that are chosen after thousands of hours of play by more than 1,300 kid testers.
Those making the top 10 list this year include the Spy Video radio-controlled car by Wild Planet; the Biggest Littlest Pet Shop by Hasbro Inc., which has pets spinning in a wind-up tower; and Speed Stacks StackPack by Jakks Pacific Inc.'s Play Along -- which involves stacking up and down Speed Stack cups as fast as possible.
The list comes ahead of the holiday shopping season, when toy makers typically launch an advertising blitz to make sure their wares wind up under the Christmas tree.
But FamilyFun says its list, which is published in its November issue, can help parents sort through the hype and find toys their children will like because kids are the ones responsible for compiling this list.
'What's always interesting is to see which one the kids pick,' said FamilyFun Magazine executive editor Mary Giles. 'As adults, we can never predict which toys kids are going to pick.'
In the past, the magazine's list has included hot sellers like Tickle Me Elmo and Bratz dolls.
This year, 146 manufacturers submitted 480 toys for testing. Of the group, 63 were chosen as finalists and tested by children ages three to 12 at 15 KinderCare and Children's World Learning Centers around the nation in July and August.
That meant toy FamilyFun could not test Mattel Inc.'s T.M.X. Elmo, which was not unveiled until September 19. The toy has been a quick seller since hitting store shelves, generating some early buzz for toy makers ahead of the holiday season.
FamilyFun came up the following list of its Top 10 must-have items.
1. Biggest Littlest Pet Shop by Hasbro;
2. Diego's Talking Rescue Center by Fisher-Price, a division of Mattel Inc. ;
3. Deal or No Deal Electronic Game by Irwin Toy;
4. Spy Video Car by Wild Planet;
5. Baby Alive by Hasbro;
6. Lil' Luvables Fluffy Factory by Spin Master;
7. Bead Blast by Perler Beads;
8. Speed Stacks StackPack by Play Along;
9. Star Wars Transformers: Millennium Falcon by Hasbro;
10. Bratz Cyber Style Laptop by privately held MGA Entertainment.
No comments:
Post a Comment