My Top Favorite Toys from Toy Fair 2011 Part I

by Lori Cunningham

As you could see from my post, “The New York Toy Fair in Pictures,” there was a lot going on in the Western Hemisphere’s biggest Toy Fair.  The Javit’s Convention Center in Manhattan is huge and much of it contained the Toy Fair.  I’m used to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and it is even bigger, so I was very surprised when after 4 days, I still didn’t get to see everything at the Toy Fair.

I worked played “hard” each day to visit as many booths as possible.  I met some really nice game inventors in the  Educational Insights’  booth who hand signed their games and gave them to me to try with my kids.  There was a simple game called The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game that I thought was rather simplistic, but my 5 year old son just loves it.  Another one entitled Ticks, Tacks, & Toes was hilarious and allowed my 2 kids and I to play tic tac toe against each other at once.

As I mentioned in my last post, “The New York Toy Fair in Pictures,” I couldn’t just pick my top 5 or 10 toys.   So, I narrowed it down to my top 19.  I broke down the toy categories into Non-tech Toys, Fun Tech Friends Toys, Tech Games & Interaction, and Tech Toys.  The toys in the Tech Toys category are typically boy toys (techy cars and blocks) but I know a lot of girls that would love them too.  In this article, I will cover the Non-tech Toys and the Fun Tech Friends. 

On with the show!

Non-Tech Toys

SKY BALL – the SKY BALL is a small, slightly bigger than you hand, ball.  It looks, well, rather ordinary.  It comes in many colors and decorations.  Many are see-thru, some are not.  But looks can be deceiving!  This ordinary ball can pack a punch and zoom up to 75 feet in the air after bouncing it on the ground.  I tried it, it works!  The ball is filled with helium.  The helium and the special material the ball is made of is what gives it it’s power.   The harder you bounce it on the ground, the higher it soars!  It bounces 5 times higher than a basketball.   SKY BALL gave me some balls to take home and my kids and I have been having a blast with them.   These balls really go high.   Retail price is $8.50-$9.50 dependent up the style you choose.  And most likely once you start looking for these balls, you’ll find them everywhere.  We even found some at our local grocery store once we returned from our trip to NYC.

Pumponator – right away I was enamored by this product.  The Pumponator is a fantastic idea that makes it easier for kids to blow up their own balloons by pumping air into the chamber.  Just press a button and the balloon fills right up.  The Pumponator even comes with a booklet that shows how to make some popular balloon animals like a dog, sword, or swan.  Even better though, the Pumponator also can be filled with water so kids can make their own water balloons, without being tied down to a water hose.  Very cool.  The Pumponator retails for $19.99 and can be found online as well as Toys R Us.  Love it, love it, love it!

Hot Wheels Wall Tracks – I currently have a fascination for toys that can be played on walls.  After all, who wants to keep stepping on all of your kids’ toys all the time?  If the toys are out of the way but easily available, it’s a win-win for both kids and parents.  I highlighted a similar wall product called Wall Coasters marble run in my “The New York Toy Fair in Pictures,” post earlier.  Hot Wheels has now come out with Wall Tracks that allows you to affix these new tracks to your walls for vertical car races down your wall!  The race track uses 3M Command™ Strips to ensure the tracks are secured to the wall.  They will not take off paint or leave a residue.  For people with limited space in their homes, this is an ideal solution…and they’re fun!  Hot Wheels Wall Tracks will be out this Fall and will retail for $16.99 for the Basic Assortment and $29.99 for the Starter Set.

ZIKE – can you say ultra cool?  What a revolution in the bike industry!  The new ZIKE is a cross between a bike and a scooter.  It looks like a scooter but it has a chain and “pedals” that resemble an elliptical machine you’d find in a gym.  To ride it, you just pump the ski like pedals back and forth.  Complete with a kick stand, the ZIKE comes in an array of fun colors and makes for an ideal “bike” for the family.  With ZIKE, the traditional family bike ride has been transformed and infused with fun.  ZIKES are available for kids and adults with up to 18 gears!  ZIKES will debut later in the year starting at $189 and going up to over $400.  I can’t wait to try one out!

Now for the Fun Tech Friends….

Penbo – Penbo is an adorable plush and plastic penguin that walks like a penguin and speaks…Penguish of course!   Penbo responds to touch and can talk, sing, even dance!  What’s unique about Penbo is that she has in her belly a baby.  If you touch Pengo’s heart, her tummy pops open and you’ll see a cute little furry baby that talks and responds to her mama as well as apparently controls her mom like a remote control.  Hmmm…just like in real life!  I think it’s hilarious that the woman showing me how Penbo works kept referring to the baby as a surprise baby.  Is it a surprise to the child playing with Pengo or to Pengo herself?  LOL!  The Pink Penbo retails for $43.46 at Amazon.  Additional babies sell for $9.99 to $14.99 dependent upon the baby you choose.

Mattel Fijits– now these little things are cute!  Fijits are colorful little robot-like friends that love to dance, talk, and  make jokes.  With built-in “beat detection functionality” Fijit Friends recognize different types of music and change their dances accordingly.  Fijits can also respond to more than 30 verbal commands. The geek in me loved their special integrated “Sonic Chirp technology” which triggers Fijit to respond when detected in different media platforms such as mobile apps, web shows, TV commercials, etc..  Mattel had 7 of them all together and it was adorable to watch all of them make the same moves at the same time.  Little girls will love these colorful little friends.   Scheduled to come out in the  Fall, Fijits will retail for $49.99.

Fisher Price’s Rock-n-Roll Mickey – Rock-n-Roll Mickey was very cute…and quite entertaining! Mickey jams with his guitar showing off his rocking moves like head bobs, kick stepping, and his ultimate move where he plays the guitar with his nose.  How many people can do that???  Although he plays to several songs, “You Really Got Me” is a hip song Mickey really groves too.  And he’s happy to teach you his moves too…although the nose move might be a bit difficult.  Move over Tickle Me Elmo, there’s a new show in town!  Rock-n-Roll Mickey is geared to ages 2+ and will retail in September at $49.99.

GUND Peek A Boo Bear – thankfully one of the reps from GUND invited me into their booth to see the latest GUND products.  I know GUND, they are a great stuffed animal company.  But the last thing I was expecting was to find was a stuffed animal with any technology embedded in it.  To my surprise, they have a couple of offerings now.  A gruff touchdown bear who participates in the action of a big football game and the ever adorable Peek A Boo Bear.  It stole my heart from the word “boo!”  The adorable little bear is cute enough, but when you start him up he’ll grab his little blankie and put it in front of his eyes.  Then he’ll lower it and see “peek a boo.”  I think back to the countless times I’ve played this game with each of my kids.  Babies just love the game of “peek a boo.”  GUND’s Peek A Boo Bear is available now for $43.99 from Amazon.com.

Zhu Zhu Pet Puppies  As you may know, I’m a big fan of Zhu Zhu Pets (Random Acts of Zhu: Giving away 104 Zhu Zhu Pets!, Kung Zhu Pets Battle it Out , Our ZhuZhu Wild Bunch Prankster Party! ).  At the Toy Fair, they introduced a number of new lines for Zhu Zhu Pets – many for girls and a good collection for boys as well. I was pretty enamored by the Zhu Zhu Pet Puppies.  They are adorable and full of personality.  There are a variety of different dogs available.  As much as I like the hamsters, I have to say I’m even more smitten by these little  guys.  The Zhu Zhu Pet Puppies have new playsets to extend their play like a cashier/register checkout stand where one puppy moves the shoppers grocery items down the conveyor belt.  And let me tell you, Zhu Zhu Pets has LOTS more planned for later this year and next year.  Stay tuned for some exciting new Zhu Zhu Pets and activities!

Aren’t these toys fun?  If you saw them in person, you’d just love them.  My kids and I had the opportunity to play with the SKYBALL and the Pumponator balloon filler.  I’ll be writing a review on them later.  But I can tell you that the SKYBALL provided some great exercise…when you miss a catch, that ball just keep bouncing along and you really have to run after it!   We really had a great time.  And the Pumponator, well, all I can say is you’ve GOT to get one of these.  My kids played with it for hours and it really gives them a sense of independence as they can now blow up or add water by themselves to their balloons.  LOVE IT!

See more FUNTASTIC  toys in a further post, “My Top Favorite Toys from Toy Fair 2011  Part II.”