Toy Insider’s Chief Toy Officer Laurie Schacht joined News 12 in New York for their annual toy special, diving deep into the hottest toys, best budget buys, and smartest educational toys of the holiday season. For more on the items featured in this segment, check out the product notes below, and for the complete rundown of the best gifts of the holiday season, check out our complete Toy Insider Holiday Gift Guide.
MS. RACHEL SPEAK & SING DOLL
The soft and cuddly, touch-activated doll plays music, words, and phrases inspired by Ms. Rachel’s videos. It includes a bonus learning card featuring play tips and skill-building activities.
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REAL FX DISNEY STITCH
With blinking eyes, a moving mouth, and sensors on his head and face, this Stitch responds to kids’ touch. It has more than 100 action and sound combinations.
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IMAGINEXT STAR WARS DARTH VADER BOT
This 2-foot-tall Darth Vader features lights and sounds. It comes with an extendable Lightsaber accessory, a Stormtrooper die-cast character key, and projectiles.
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FURREAL PEANUT THE PLAYFUL MONKEY INTERACTIVE TOY
This interactive plush monkey has more than 100 different reactions. Peanut does flips, walks, and loves being rocked to sleep.
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TILE TOWN BLUEY HEELER HOME
Build the Heeler Home with 70 magnetic pieces. Kids can use action tiles to build a moving swing set and more. Includes magnetic Bluey, Bingo, Bandit, and Chilli figures.
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PLAY-DOH PIZZA DELIVERY SCOOTER
This kid-powered scooter ride-on doubles as a Play-Doh playset. It features storage, 16 accessories, and 10 Play-Doh colors. Kids can create their pizza and then deliver it.
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CRY BABIES MORNING ROUTINE
Kids can pretend to feed this doll breakfast, brush its teeth, and comb its hair. When the morning routine is complete, the doll responds with more than 25 sounds and reactions. Available in two styles. 3+
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SUPER MARIO PARTY JAMBOREE
Join Mario and friends at an island resort, where players will explore five new gameboards and enjoy more than 110 mini games in the latest Super Mario Party jaunt.
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THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: ECHOES OF WISDOM
It’s up to Zelda to save Hyrule by solving puzzles and using new magical abilities as strange rifts start appearing throughout the kingdom.
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NINTENDO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: NES EDITION DELUXE SET – NINTENDO SWITCH
Bring the Nintendo World Championships to your living room. Test your speedrunning skill in over 150 challenges! Each one relives a memorable moment from one of 13 NES TM games, including classics like Super Mario Bros.TM 3, The Legend of ZeldaTM, Donkey KongTM, and MetroidTM. Start small by seeing how quickly you can blaze through…
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NEX PLAYGROUND
Kids use active motions to play video games on this gaming console instead of a controller. It features more than 25 games with different themes, including sports, music, and some of kids’ favorite brands.
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PRIORITIES
Priorities is a hilarious cooperative game in which toy have to rank everyday items from love to loathe. This easy-to-learn card came is perfect for family and adult game nights. Designed for 2 or more players. Includes 200 item cards.
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IMPOSTER!
As players enter Gameston Castle, they must weed out the imposter who is there to steal the Earl of Simpleton's treasures. The invited guests must debate, bluff, and use their logic while the imposters aim to smuggle the treasure out of the castle before they are revealed.
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BARBIE MINI BARBIELAND
This collection includes mini Barbie dolls, vehicles, Dream Houses, pets, and more. Tiny Barbie dolls can sit in tiny airplanes, convertibles, and boats to get to their tiny pink dollhouse.
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DISNEY CRYSTAL SURPRISE
Each surprise ball contains a Disney crystal figure, a pouch of Cra-Z-Sand or Cra-Z-Slimy compound, and two accessories. There are more than 12 to collect.
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GROSSMOS!
Pry open the dinosaur’s jaw, pour in water or the included “toxic slime,” and watch as foam oozes out. Kids can collect pieces to create a second surprise dinosaur.
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KINETIC SAND SQUISH MOTION
Kids can play with pink, yellow, and blue Kinetic Sand inside the case to make mesmerizing, moving sand creations. The set includes a crinkle cutter, a stamper tool, and more.
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METAL MACHINES SPEED HEROES
Kids will break open the race helmet to discover more than 20 surprises inside, including pieces to build a custom race car and two car bodies to choose from.
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TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ANIMATED SERIES MIX ‘N MATCH BASIC FIGURES
Kids can mix and match elements — including arms, legs, heads, weapons, and more — between action figure-versions of characters from the TV series Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Each 4.5-inch figure comes with accessories that can be removed and placed on another character. The collection includes Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, Splinter, Bishop…
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POP UP BLUEY
This action game is easy to set up and learn, but will always keep the family guessing. Slide the crocodile sticks into the barrel and watch to see when Bluey will pop up.
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SQUISH-A-LONGS 8 PACK
Kids can collect, trade, play, and display the new Squish-a-longs collection from Jazwares. The 8 pack comes with seven 1-inch figures that kids can see and one that is a mystery. Each set also features accessories and a ring to turn the Squish-a-longs into a fashion must-have. There are more than 140 figures total to…
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STAR WARS DOORABLES GALAXY PEEK SERIES 2
In a Death Star-inspired capsule, discover four mini figures from a collection of 25 inspired by iconic Star Wars movies. Chase after rare and ultra-rare characters like Kylo Ren. 5+
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STICKER WOW!
Kids can complete 24 pages of counting, matching, and search-and-find activities with a refillable sticker stamper that comes pre-loaded with 300 removable stickers.
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STICKI ROLLS WEARABLE, SHAREABLE BRACELETS
Introducing Sticki Rolls, the first-ever wearable, shareable sticker bracelets! No more need for sticker sheets: transform the fun of sticker sharing into fashionable accessories with Sticki Rolls. Each Sticki Band bracelet holds 5 rolls of stickers, each containing 10 unique, Kawaii-themed designs, making it easy to pull, twist, and stick. Two additional MYSTERY REVEAL Sticki…
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XOX KWEENIE
Kids can unbox 26 colorful characters, each with its own holographic collector card depicting its personality. xox Kweenies encourage confidence and are weighted with beads, liquid, and more.
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SMITHSONIAN 3D LED SOLAR SYSTEM
This remote-controlled, LED set features the sun and eight planets, allowing kids to explore the solar system up close and personal.
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SHINE BRIGHT LIGHT BOX
Trace, learn, and make masterpieces that glow in five different colors. The light box has two brightness levels and comes with illustrated templates and 60 translucent shapes.
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PLIP KIT
Kids can create patterns, prisms, and sculptures by connecting the flexible arches, sticks, and X-shaped pieces. They can also pull the pieces apart to hear a satisfying popping sound.
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BILL NYE CHEMISTRY LAB VR
Join Bill Nye “The Science Guy” to learn about the properties of matter, chemical reactions, pH levels, and more with the included lab equipment, 40-page book, VR goggles, and companion app.
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WORLD’S FIRST ENERGIZER 3 IN 1 CHILD SHIELD
These coin lithium batteries feature three layers of defense, including Color Alert technology that activates once saliva interacts with the battery and visibly dyes the mouth blue to alert caregivers so they can get help faster. There's also a non-toxic bitter coating on the cells that discourages swallowing, and child-resistant packaging that provides security to…
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Energizer Holiday Promotion 2024: Buy $20 Get $5
Runs through Feb. 28 2025 in the U.S. and Canada. The Holiday U.S. reward is through Venmo/PayPal; the Holiday Canada reward is through an eVisa
MCLAREN P1 TECHNIC SET
This 1:8 scale replica of the McLaren P1 hypercar is a technical marvel, much like its inspiration. Features include a functional steering wheel and removable car hood to get a closer look at the V8 engine. Each model features a unique serial number to access exclusive online content.
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TRANSFORMERS FLAGSHIP MEGATRON AUTO-CONVERTING ROBOT
Get the world’s first auto-converting decepticon robot with the Transformers Flagship Megatron This robot is voice activated and can connect with the app. Features 36 servo motors and the real voice of Megatron (Frank Welker) built in.
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TINY TARGET — CHECKLANE
The free-standing, Target-branded, 360-degree play space features shelves, play items, a pretend credit card, a beeping scanner, and a hand-crank conveyor belt.
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