Because trouble comes in all sizes.
Vincent Daly 
The busiest time of year for holiday toys and gadgets shopping has arrived. Our Toys and Gadgets: 2015 Holiday Gift Guide takes the guesswork out of your toy purchases. We’ve picked toys that offer innovation, value, and most importantly fun.
If you take a hard look at the toy industry in 2015, there’s an abundance of battery powered gizmos. Without question a lot of these technological wonders can provide fun experiences for kids of all ages. Still, given that most of these toys are operated remotely, there’s a tangible level of disconnect between the toys and the human beings operating it — a disheartening reality attributed to the digital era. Thankfully, all is not lost. At a recent Time To Play Magazine toy industry event, I had the good fortune of discovering SkaZooms — an innovative collectable toy line that reignites kid powered gaming fun.
Full disclosure: I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Hasbro. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
The Star Wars marketing hype has reached fever pitch. Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in December 2015 and fans worldwide are clamoring for every tidbit of information associated with the film. My own family has certainly not been immune to being obsessed over the next chapter of the Star Wars story. The movie bridges a generational divide, bonding us, surrounding us, you know…like the Force. When Hasbro sent over Star Wars related games to CuteMonster HQ to try out for family game night, I could hear John Williams’ epic Star Wars theme music in my mind. The only thing missing was a piping hot bucket of popcorn.
If you’ve been a parent on this planet for the past 5 years you may have noticed the craze in the toy-to-life video games genre. Skylanders has made a huge impact and has prompted competition in the form of Disney Infinity and now the recently released LEGO Dimensions. In what arguably could be characterized as an over saturated market, the need to innovate takes on a heightened sense of urgency. Given that these play sets can be quite costly by design with the myriad of add-ons why can buy including additional characters, vehicles, and levels, the choice becomes more of an investment rather than an impulse purchase. The good folks from Activision and Disney sent CuteMonster starter packs to test out Skylanders Superchargers and Disney Infinity 3.0 respectively. As a longtime gamer now with kids of my own, I couldn’t wait to see who came out on top.
From the moment my youngest entered the world it began. My then two year old son instantly recognized there was a challenger to his throne. Sure his newborn sister was tiny and cute yet in his mind she represented a formidable opponent. “She can’t play with any of my toys!” he exclaimed. And for her part, she didn’t. At least not for a few months anyway.
In recent years the New York Comic Con has been built around hype. What was once the playing field of comic book geeks became a mainstream event. The television and film industry hitched their collective wagons to the Comic Con phenomenon choosing to premiere big budget movie trailers and trotting out movie stars to meet their adoring fans. The media flocked to the events further escalating expectations and prompting ticket sales to Comic Cons, specifically in San Diego and New York City. For true fans, Comic Cons became lost in the excess. Yet despite it all, 2015 will be known as the year Cosplayers took back New York Comic Con.
It’s hard to believe the 2015 Holiday season is fast approaching. Most of us still have sand in our sandals from summertime fun. This week I had the opportunity to attend the 2015 TTPM Holiday Showcase which provides a preview of the latest and greatest toys and gadgets for the upcoming holiday shopping season. If you’re a tech toy aficionado, a treasure trove of delights awaits.
The start of Autumn does not mean the end of play outside. Children of all ages charge the air with palpable excitement. In many respects, Fall represents the best season of the year in the Northeastern part of the United States.
It’s been a busy week for tech toys and gadgets enthusiasts. The new Star Wars movie marketing push has begun in earnest and that includes merchandise and gizmos, namely the Sphero BB-8, beloved new droid in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Also announced were the latest and greatest from tech giant Apple. The timing of these notifications also signals the start of the holiday shopping season. Yes, it’s true, only 16 more weekends until Christmas [insert internal primal scream here].