Christmas Toys for 2021 – Holiday of Play Toy Event
Original Post: 09/27/2021
Want to find out what toys to buy for 2021 Christmas? The “Holiday of Play” virtual event showcased the latest from Makeway’s awesome Magnetic Marble Run to Lego’s Boba Fett Starship.
For this year, The Toy Insider offered an interesting piece of advice; don’t wait around to buy your toys – DO IT NOW. Supply chains are in chaos because of the pandemic, which affects us because it means shipping routes are not working. Stores are not able to stock up once the toys are gone from shelves… so don’t wait around for Black Friday sales because you might end up with nothing to buy.
Now, on to the toys!
(Note: We researched & placed Amazon affiliate links below the companies so you can see current prices.)
Makeway Magnetic Marble Run
by Blue Marble for National Geographic
Create your own vertical maze and see what happens when you drop the ball to start your run. The Magnetic Marble Run is a kind of Rube Goldberg Machine that come with pieces you can attach to any metal surface like a refrigerator or locker. With good design, timing and maybe a bit of luck, the ball will follow a path to land exactly where you intended… or not. It’s loads of fun!
All pieces are rugged and have strong magnets to withstand aggressive ball drops, but still easy enough to move around. The first available kit will come with 50 pieces, with a 100 piece set coming in the future.
Pottery Wheel
by Blue Marble for National Geographic
If you want to try your hand at making pottery, Pottery Wheel is a great entry level product for beginners and intermediates. It offers two advantages; the first is the ability to make perfectly symmetrical cylinders with the aid of an arm, and the second is a strong motor that won’t seize up when you apply pressure on the clay.
In the development of Pottery Wheel, the designers saw that centering and controlling the clay was no easy task, which often lead to making odd shapes. So they developed an arm with tool attachments that virtually guarantees symmetry for creating cups, bowls or any type of container you want to make. So as an entry level product, there’s enough power and tools for even beginners to make really nice pieces at the start of their pottery making endeavors.
Blockaroos
by Blue Marble
Blockaroos are soft foam pieces with magnets inside that are somewhat like Legos for toddlers. The pieces are easily attached, detached and rotatable for easy movement and also water proof for fun in the bath.
This is one toy that can be played with over and over again, having countless ways of being manipulated. In their tests, the average play time by toddlers exceed 30-45 minutes, which is stunning given that their attention span at that age.
Blockaroos are getting increasingly popular and are available on Amazon, Walmart, Target and so forth.
Cats vs Pickles – Taco Hut & Kitty Cakes
by Cats vs Pickles
Nacho’s Taco Hut is a new play set about a really cute cat named Nacho that runs a taco restaurant. It comes with mini food pieces, a cactus plant for decor, and the shop itself with a billboard taco sign.
Scoop’s Kitty Cakes is a bakery play set that comes with Scoops the cat and adorable little cat cupcakes. In addition, you get the shop itself which has windows, a billboard bakery sign and a cupcake stand.
Both food shops are a welcome addition for the residents of Kitty Condo city, making the community a happier place in the Cats vs Pickles world.
Not everything is about small play; Cats vs Pickles also make mid-sized as well as jumbo and hugger sized plush that are oh-so-adorable!
Lego Botanical Birds of Paradise (Creator Expert)
by Lego
For the more sophisticated of us who wants something beautiful to display, this large Lego replica of a Birds of Paradise plant comes complete with the plant and flower itself and matching pot. It’s got lovely colors that are pleasing in a zen setting, and the best part of all, there’s no watering needed!
Mandalorian Boba Fett’s Starship
by Lego
A collector’s item and part of the Lego Star Wars line, Boba Fett’s starship is an awesome piece for Star Wars fans or fans that want to get their kids familiar with the character. The ship has a cockpit for the figure and movable parts such as rotating wings and canons.
Harry Potter Hogwarts Herbology Class
by Lego
This is one of my favorites. Not that I’m a huge Potter fan, but I love the idea behind opening a book and transforming it to become a play set while you make your own stories using your imagination!
The Harry Potter Hogwarts Herbology class is one of 4 Harry Potter play books for this year (2021). Each set comes with unique mini figures (like Professor Sprout for the Herbology class) and looks like an actual book that you can put on a shelf when you close it.
Toniebox Storytime Companion
by Tonies
The Toniebox is a screenless audio player that uses tactile input to play content like stories and songs. For us old timers, it functions almost like a cassette or CD player but offers us the satisfaction of being able to whack the box to select the next or previous tracks.
Interestingly, albums are sold as action figures with tracks stored within them. An example of how it works is a figure of Elsa, which might contain songs and stories from the movie Frozen. Once Elsa is placed on top of a Toniebox (it attaches magnetically), audio will start playing automatically until she’s pulled off.
Want to hear what’s next? Whack Toniebox on the right.
Want the previous track? Whack Toniebox on the left.
Toniebox is a fun and interesting take on music and podcasting; a really engaging way for kids to listen and play around without too much techno-baggage screen time. There’s also educational content and blank pieces (called Creative Tonies) should you want to record your own (through use of a smartphone and app.) Battery life lasts around 7 hours per charge.
Tonies Content for Toniebox
by Tonies
Toniebox has many licensed partnerships that include Disney and Sesame Street, with some of the more popular characters like:
- Moana
- Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
- Mickey & Minnie Mouse
- Buzz Lightyear
- Cookie Monster & Elmo
- Llama Llama & Mama Llama
- Paw Patrol pups
- Winnie the Pooh
It’s not all music and audiobooks however. Educational figures (or tiles) offer learning topics like inventions, marine life, space & dinosaurs while relaxation and meditative content is also offered like white noise and nature sounds.
Got2glow Fairy Finder
by WowWee
Catch virtual fairies in the Fairy Finder jar! You’ll discover 30+ fairies as you attempt to catch them, with some glowing in the dark (if you catch them in the dark), and some being upside down (if you catch them with the jar upside-down). It’s almost real to life in that you can only catch or swap fairies with friends when the lid is open.
You can talk to your fairy and ask questions, play games with them, and give it virtual hugs. Each fairy makes their own unique sounds; and after discovering them, you can always invite your favorite fairies back into the jar.
My Squishy Little Dumplings
by WowWee
Squeeze their cheeks! These palm sized dumplings will react as they light up, blink their eyes and say something cute in Squish Pop language. If that’s not enough, a sudden body drop from their big round heads will surprise you. Different actions elicit different reactions, such as shaking, tossing, squeezing or flipping upside down.
There are several characters available, and each squishy little dumpling comes with accessories that relate to their color and belly sign. Little Pip has a blue star and comes with star-shaped blue glasses and a starry headband while Little Dee has a pink heart and comes with pink heart glasses and a bow headband.
Wanna learn to speak Squish Pop? Each box comes with several words from their “squish-tionary” so you can understand what your Littles are saying!
