My Favorites From the NY Toy Fair

Last week I hit NYC to attend the American International Toy Fair to scope out some of the coming year’s most fun and innovative toys and games.  It’s an EXPLOSION of playthings featuring both the big companies like Nerf, Lego, Mattel, Hasbro, Spinmaster, and Razor, as well as the smaller toy makers aiming to be the next big thing.

I also visited The Today Show  to share some of the “up and comers” exhibiting at the fair this year. Such fun.

So without further adieu, here are a few of my favorite new ways to play for the coming year.

 I’ll be including a few of these and many others in upcoming TV segments, so stay tuned!

First up, some of Razor’s new ride-on toys starting with their Zombie Kix Scooter.  Over-sized zombie hands attached to a sturdy kick scooter, equals big monster fun. Razor is known for their high-quality products and they always have the latest in ride-on technology.

They’ve also got new ride-ons coming out for wee ones like this “Twisti Toddler ride-on coming out this Spring, long board versions for the skate board rats in your family, and even kick scooters with a "rifting” action.  Kids love the spinning motion this creates.  And so do grow-ups.

I also got a private tour of the LEGO booth, and was really impressed with their focus on developing building sets for preschoolers and girls this year.

Their Juniors sets for 4-6 year olds are chunky and easy to manipulate, and get kids building on their own at an early age.

I also adore their new Mixels characters.  With 3 “series” or levels of silly characters, the collections allows kids to independently create at their particular developmental level, while enjoying open-ended, imaginary play within the Mixel world.  Super fun and great for those fine motor skills.

The last one I’ll share in this post is the new engineering toy from Goldie Blox.  Goldie Blox was the toy darling of 2013 and they are continuing their line with the new “dunk tank” machine this year.

 I got to meet and chat with its founder and chief inventor, Debbie Sterling, and she expressed how excited  her team is to bring simple engineering into the lives of little girls.

As to not playfully overwhelm you all, I’m breaking this Toy Fair re-cap into two posts…so check back tomorrow when I’ll share more of what I found.

Here’s to being “well-played” in 2014!

M