By Lindsay Goldenberg
The 2009 Toy Fair in New York City gave us a chance to see all the awesome new toys coming out this year. We scoured miles and miles of playsets, gadgets, dolls, and more to come up with our 10 favorite toddler toys for 2009. Plus: We saw a sneak preview of the new Dora the Explorer doll, and we were impressed! Read on to get all the fun details.
Go to the next page to see the toys!
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1. Splatter Brush
Age: 3-8
Price: $54.99
Available: July ‘09
Manufacturer: Fisher Price
Think of this as you AND your tot’s new best friend. The Splatter Brush, an interactive plug & play system with a base and a wireless brush, transmits your toddler’s movements onto your television screen, much like the Wii does for adults. With 8 themed “worlds,” virtual paint brushes, stampers and special effects, your toddler can virtually paint with spaghetti, draw with whipped cream or splat an animated bat. They can also choose to play arcade games or create fun works of art with a virtual spin art feature. Built in “Save and Print” features let you keep your toddler’s new masterpieces. Complete with fun “splat” sound effects, your toddler gets all the fun of making a mess, without you having to clean it up!
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2. Elmo Tickle Hands
Age: 18 months +
Price: $29.99
Available: August ‘09
Manufacturer: Fisher Price
Your tot can harness Elmo’s tickling power with their very own pair of Elmo Tickle Hands. These two furry red Elmo gloves fit right onto your tots, and make tickling and dancing (Elmo’s best features!) interactive. Once activated, the hands will vibrate and you’ll hear silly sound effects and fun phrases from Elmo. When kids tickle themselves or someone else, Elmo giggles even more. With the press of Elmo’s nose, the special tickle hands will recognize movements and guide kids through Elmo’s brand new dance, which will be unveiled with the release of the toy.
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3. Color Wonder Fingerpaints & Paper
Age: 3+
Price: $6.99
Available: Now
Manufacturer: Crayola
Buy it here
You want your tot to express their artistic side, but do you really want to clean up the mess? This solves your creative dilemma by turning traditional finger paint into a clear, fast-drying gel. The only place your tot will see color is on the special Color Wonder paper. So even if your lil’ Picasso wants to paint your sofa, you won’t notice a thing. In addition to having a cool “hand” design, there’s a built-in finger cleaning sponge that allows tots to clean as they go.
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4. Tweenage Dora Interactive Doll
Age: 5+
Price: $59.99 for Dora doll, $20/under for accessories
Available: Fall ‘09
Manufacturer: Mattel
The big news at this year’s Toy Fair was the top secret unveiling of the new Tweenage Dora. As we were ushered into a private room, we saw exactly what the new Dora doll can do. Let’s just say, we were impressed!
No longer a little girl, Dora is grown up and attending middle school in the big city with her friends, The Explorer Girls. Dora’s exciting new life can be accessed via an interactive online world, and by plugging Dora into the computer, your toddler can change the doll’s appearance and actions online. For example, if you go into the online hair salon and opt to shorten her hair, the doll’s hair ACTUALLY gets shorter. If you change her lipstick color online, the doll’s lipstick color changes right away, too. Cool, right?
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5. Manny’s Motorcycle
Age: 3+
Price: $32.99
Available: July ‘09
Manufacturer: Fisher Price
Handy Manny, the star of the popular Disney cartoon series, is on his way to a repair job on his motorcycle, just like on the show. However, the bike breaks down and needs to be fixed ASAP. Your toddler has to help Manny go over the motorcycle’s instructions and figure out just how to fix it. Really cool interactive tools such as a plastic screwdriver and wrench tell you when the job is done. Manny’s Motorcycle comes with 15 fix-it jobs, and provides a great lesson for kids in how to properly follow directions.
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6. Billy FunWheels
Ages: 2+
Price: $39.99
Available: June
Manufacturer: Chicco
The easy-to-use remote control is shaped like a mini steering wheel, and allows your toddler to “drive” Billy FunWheels just like a big truck. We tried the intuitive remote out, and it worked great. When you turn the wheel, that’s exactly where Billy turns. The sound effects were also super cute…the engine roars when Billy accelerates, and a warning signal sounds when Billy drives in reverse. It’s a great toy for little ones still developing hand/eye coordination and for encouraging independent play.
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7. Playmobil “Egypt” Playset
Age: 5+
Price: TBD
Available: August
Manufacturer: Playmobil
Since their debut in 1974, Germany’s Playmobil sets and characters have encouraged toddlers to use their imaginations. The unique idea of Hans Beck, the toy’s designer who passed away last year, was to create high-quality toys and worlds that were durable, creative, and perfect for toddler’s small hands. This year, their debut of several new themes, including a “Nautical Expedition”, “Animal Clinic,” and a new “Egypt” set were highlights of the toy fair. The Egypt set was my favorite, and came complete with secret traps, a treasure chamber, tombs, and removable pyramid walls. It was so cool I was tempted to get one for myself!
Bonus: We just found out that Playmobil will be releasing their first-ever interactive DVD this fall. Watch the DVD trailer for The Secret of Skull Island below:
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8. Sing n’ Learn Orchestra
Age: 12 months+
Price: $44.99
Available: June
Manufacturer: Chicco
Teach your toddler the sounds of an orchestra with this interactive musical activity center. With three fun musical styles to choose from (Pop, Jazz, and Classical) your toddler can direct the orchestra by pressing down on the instruments they wish to add to the song. The more instruments they press, the fuller the sound becomes. Soon you’ll have your very own conductor in the house!
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9. Little People 50th Birthday Playsets
Age: 1-4
Price: $18.00
Available: Now
Manufacturer: Fisher Price
Buy it here
In 1959 the infamous little wooden people, who were originally attached to whichever toy car they came with, gained their independence and became detachable toys. Since then, one and a half billion have fit into tiny tots hands and imaginations. March 21, 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of the Little People, and in a year-long celebration (which includes a Little People LIVE tour), Fisher Price is set to introduce two special limited edition commemorative 50th birthday Little People playsets: The 50th Birthday Play ‘n Go Farm (pictured), and the 50th Birthday Play ‘n Go School. We love the sets’ classic looks and retro-style figures. They make a perfect gift, or as a piece of memorabilia for your tot to pass on to their own children.
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10. Color Explosion 3-D
Age: 6+
Price: $9.99-$14.99
Available: Now
Manufacturer: Crayola
Buy it here
Your tot will love the “totally cool” 3-D worlds they can create with these special markers, paper, and 3D glasses. We got to do a little drawing with this set…after we put on the 3-D glasses, we were wondering when the next Pink Floyd show was. It was that awesome! Your toddler can trace the outline of the scene with the colorless marker and watch his artwork swim, leap, or explode as it reveals surprising images. If your tot’s into drawing his own creations, there’s blank pages for that as well. Available in two sizes: Regular or Wide-edition.
We played with the new tweenage Dora, and more great toys at this year’s Toy Fair. See our faves!
