Whew. What an exhausting week it’s been. You probably wouldn’t know it from my absence here on NKT, but I was at the New York Toy Fair, and what a productive week it was!
Every time I attempted to write up a post or two, I was distracted by toys or discussion about toys with my blogger pals. For my second year at Toy Fair, it was yet another fun adventure, and one that I’m excited to share.
From babies to big kids, manufacturers are stepping in up with their latest fares. I spotted a lot of great trends ranging from active-inspired toys and games, to tech enhanced toys, to many licensed products in line with new movie releases (Pirates of the Carribean, Cars 2, Captain America, Green Lantern, etc.) to toys that continue to mimic the real world and of course, anything that’s old is new again.
Still in the process of digesting all this information and downloading the thousands of photos I took, I can’t wait to share more detailed information and sneak peeks of new toys, books and gifts that I saw in my travels.
In the meantime, here are just a few of the many photos I took over Toy Fair:
Skylanders Spyro’s Adventures from Activision incorporates actual toys with video game play. This game, geared to gradeschoolers and up, is unique, exciting and the first of its kind.
Call it Monopoly 2.0 or video games of the future, Monopoly Live involves electronic interactivity, player recognition and more.
In line with their 10-year deal with Sesame Street, Playskool rolled out their new line that celebrates America’s favorite furry monsters. Let’s Rock Elmo was the big reveal in this new Sesame Street line boasting accessory recognition, dancing and singing capability and more.
Megablok’s Need for Speed line was one of the many licenses-turned-toy/games that’s indicative of the impact games and apps have on kids and the products we’re finding on our toy store shelves.
Continuing on with the Teeny Tiny trend that I talked about last year and a trend that we saw continuous growth all year, Spinmaster is introducing Gomu, another line that will have girls lining up to collect more teeny tiny toys. Gomu, a line of tiny erasers, was one of my personal favorites since I love pens, pencils and writing tools, and collectible (and affordable) erasers.
I’ll be back with more finds and thoughts from Toy Fair 2011, but in the meantime, feel free to check out my Flickr photos.
