The best toys will have your kids amused for days and it’s no wonder with what they can do. A stuffed animal just isn’t enough to compete with the latest toy tech. From animatronics to AI, the best toys will offer an immersive experience and have you, as well as your kids, loving every minute of it!
We had a good look through Toy Fair 2020, where the biggest toy brands demo their latest inventions. At last, the toys have started to hit the shelves and you’re set for presents for the next year.
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It goes without saying that Baby Yoda toys dominated the show, however other exciting releases include Nerf’s Fortnight collaboration, kid-safe drones and a Pac-Man Tamagotchi.
These were just a few of the hundreds of toys on display. Not sure which to choose? We’ve done the work for you to find the best toys on offer.
1. Junk Bots
Imagine a world where alleyway garbage comes to life, and you’ll find yourself immersed in the story of Hexbug’s Junk Bots. Discarded tires, radios, dustbusters and combs combine to create ornate robots. As one of the best toys this year, the scrappy collectibles come alive with module-powered vibrations, lights and motions.
They say one person’s trash is another’s treasure. Junk Bots dumpsters start at $4.99 and are in stores now.
2. Professor Maxwell’s VR Lab
Abacus outdid itself this year with an impressive collection of 5D STEM activity kits, complete with 64-page AR workbooks, smartphone VR headsets and physical materials relevant to the kit’s theme. While the VR Lab Scientist and VR Universe kits are perfect for academia, VR Magic and VR Junior Chef offer one-of-a-kind introductions to wholesome hobbies.
Professor Maxwell’s VR Lab kits are priced from $39.99 and are available now.
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3. Go Go Bird
Zing’s Go Go Bird is a clever kite-drone hybrid that flew straight into our hearts with its zippy wings and colorful design. Not only is Go Go Bird simple to navigate with a compact remote control, but it’s obstacle avoiding technology helps it avoid crashing into people and physical barriers, too. Because its blades flap rather than spin, little fingers have nothing to fear. We’re also impressed by its hour-long flight time on a single charge.
The Go Go Bird costs $39.99 and it comes in red and green. It's available now.
4. My Partner Eevee
Keeping in Pokemon Let’s Go fashion, Jabwarez is following up the My Partner Pikachu interactive figure with My Partner Eevee this year. Its functions are nearly identical to Pikachu’s: Eevee’s built-in microphone and touch sensors stimulate 20 effects, including sounds and head and tail movements. But now team Eevee trainers can put their Pokémon of choice in the palm of their hands.
Catch My Partner Eevee, one of the best toys, is on sale for $14.99 now.
5. 2-in-1 Alexa Kitchen and Market
KidKraft’s 2-in-1 Alexa Kitchen and Market is powered by RFID sensors and, of course, Alexa. When kids trifle with the collection of accessories, Alexa walks them through recipes, helps make shopping lists, plays guessing games and provides the expected dose of puns. The voice-driven toy acts as a liaison between children and AI, which has its caveats but could be useful for teaching the functions of smart home technology.
The 2-in-1 Alexa Kitchen and Market is available now for $254.99. That price doesn’t include an Echo speaker, so you might want to consider picking up the Echo Dot Kids Edition.
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6. Pac-Man Tamagotchi
Nostalgia is a major theme among the best toys this year, with everything from Care Bears to Tiger Handheld games making a comeback. But none strike a chord quite like Bandai’s crossover Pac-Man Tamagotchi. The merge of two iconic trademarks lets you raise a Tamagotchi, fend off ghosts and play Pac-Man-inspired mini games. Nurture your child properly and it’ll grow into one of seven different characters.
You can begin nurturing your very own Pac-Man Tamagotchi creature now. The chained toy starts at $19.99 on Amazon.
7. The Child Animatronic Edition
The Mandalorian’s adorable, green soup-sipping alien known as The Child is coming to life this year. Hasbro recreated the Child’s iconic coos, heavy blinks and ear movements so well, you’d think the company borrowed the same model used in the series. When you touch its head, Baby Yoda responds with one of 25 sound and motion combinations. Plus it knows when it needs to catch some Z’s with a Force nap.
You can buy The Child Animatronic Edition right now for $59.99.
8. Nerf Fortnite GL
Fortnite’s unwavering popularity shows in all sorts of playsets and collectible figurines this year, but the Nerf Fortnite GL rocket blaster from Hasbro lets fans get in on the fun IRL. The GL fires large foam rockets and sports a rotating drum that holds up to 6 darts. You use the handle to rotate the holster and launch your rockets for big battling action. It's among the best toys for action lovers now.
The Fortnight GL is available now from Amazon for $47.99.
9. Snap Ships
PlayMonster’s Snap Ships universe features a space-based YouTube series, a collection of cube-based model ships and an app-based AR experience that combines the two. With a mix of ship parts and surprise power ups, kids can build more than one model with every kit. Plus the Snap Ship app helps walk kids through builds and test out their ships using AR.
Pricing for Snap Ships range from $7.99 to $39.99 and they’re available now.
10. Ninja Bots
Spin Master makes a number of the great toys, including a flying Toothless from the How to Train Your Dragon franchise and a number of remote control vehicles designed for all terrains. But the company’s Ninja Bots grabbed our attention with their neat IR sensors, bi-directional communication with challenging bots and over 100 different skills and sound effects. The more your Ninja Bot battles, the better it’ll become and the closer it’ll get to black belt status.
One Ninja Bot costs $17.99 and a pack of two costs $34.78 from Amazon.
