This year’s Toy Fair launched a million Christmas lists about nine months early. Including ours. From 3D-printed toy collections to the return of one of our favorite toys from the ’90s, check out some of the things we would still beg our parents for.
1. MaKey MaKey: Turn a banana into a piano or a notebook and some Play-Doh into a gamepad with this little kit for DIY inventions.
2. Tamagotchi Friends: Time to get nostalgic: Tamagotchi is BACK this fall. Think you can be a better caretaker now that you’re a real adult? Eh, these little suckers are now more like little Sims that you need to raise instead of the hungry, playful pets of our heyday. Tamagotchi kept some of the original ’90s look we loved so, but these little pocket playmates have some technical upgrades too: bump toys together and transfer data or send your Friend to another device for a playdate.
3. WikiBear: The fuzzy little grandson of Teddy Ruxpin and Siri reached instant Internet fame with his ability to carry full-on conversations using a Bluetooth connection to your smartphone. If you bring Wiki home, over time he learns what you like and don’t like, how to make you laugh and generally warm your heart. No word on whether he can do it all and avoid creeping you out.
4. LED Light Shoe System: Program these light strips in 16 different colors to bring the dance floor wherever you step. Excuse us, we feel a DIY coming on.
5. PowerUp: Fold up a paper airplane and turn it into a smartphone-controlled flying machine with a simple attachment.
6. Bandai Smart Pants: You might have to start referring to your cell as your smart-and-sexyphone thanks to these. Or not.
7. MOSS Robots: Up your STEM cred with these easy kits that help you create robots, no coding required.
8. Lego Simpsons: It made us look last month and had the Toy Fair “Doh!”-ing this week too. We’re still holding out hope for that special edition sax-a-ma-phone for Lisa though.
9. MakerBot Toy Collections: This is too cool. Remember growing up and wanting every Hot Wheel or each animal in the Littlest Pet Shop gang? Now you can create your own complete toy collections at home using handy blueprints in MakerBot’s digital store. 3D print your own complete lines of toys from Chunky Trucks to PetPals.
10. HEXBUG AquaBot: The perfect starter pet for kids who need a step or two extra between them and a puppy, these robot fish even swim in water!
11. Robot Turtles: The board game for little programmers-in-training teaches kids 3 to 8-year-old the fundamentals of computer programming offline.
12. Nerf CAM Blaster: Nope, they don’t make the foam-firing guns quite like they used to. The latest comes equipped with a built-in video camera that records your shots.
13. DIWire: This desktop digital fabrication tool takes drawn curves and turns them into bent wire 3D sculptures that can be used to create just about anything from the fun: light fixtures and headphone stands to the functional: antennae and trusses.
14. Ozobot: This tiny robot plays luck and strategy games, glides or races and can even get its groove on using a colorful coded language “SmartCodes.” This Kickstarter campaign showed up at the Toy Fair with the hopes of introducing a different type of gaming to game night.
15. Lil BUB Plush: Take your obsession with the Internet’s favorite (okay, “Top 5 Favorite”?) feline home and look at Lil BUB all day, off-screen. Meme-ow!
16. Lightsaber Chopsticks: Phew! Kotobukiya blessed our favorite utensils with a very necessary new feature: the Chop Sabers now light up.
17. 3Doodler: One of our favorite Kickstarter campaigns showed off some new creations at this year’s Toy Fair, giving us further incentive to master the fine art of steady-handed 3D pen printing.
18. WowWee MiP: Wave hi, MiP is ready to be your first robot friend, equipped with GestureSense technology that lets you control him using hand motion controls.
19. Sphero 2B: This little robot on wheels is like the remote-controlled car of our dreams. Except later later this year, the Sphero 2B will be a reality. And since the little gamer “plays well with others,” we’ll get one for you too — race you!
20. ThinkGeek Technomancer Hoodie: This “epic wondrous item” lets you LARP to your heart’s content and cast nine different spells with lights and sound to mystify/mortify those around you.
Which of our Top 20 would you want for yourself… or a real kid in your life? Share below!
