One of this year’s top trends identified by Toy Industry Association (TIA) experts at the 109th American International Toy Fair – “Save ‘n’ Splurge” – indicates that post-recession wallets are expanding, but consumers are also staying mindful of what they buy and who they spend on.

Recent toy industry data confirms that parents are making purchasing trade-offs – spending more on their own families than they do on friends. The following are some examples of toys in the Save ‘n’ Splurge category that were identified from among 100,000-plus products on display at last February’s Toy Fair:

• The Save category included Distraction (Think Fun), Star Wars Anti Gravity Balls (Uncle Milton), Waverly and the Magic Seashells (The Bridge Direct), National Geographic Puzzles (Techno Source), My Very Own Kitchen Set (American Plastic Toys), Crazy Cubes (Spin Master), and Super Builds (WABA Fun, LLC);

• The Splurge category included Video Spy Surveillance System (Jakks Pacific), Desk to Easel Art Cart (GuideCraft USA), Wi Spi Helicopter (Interactive Toy Concepts), Kid Tough Portable DVR Player (Fisher-Price), Electric Guitar (Schoenhut Piano Company), Radiate Skateboard (Rockboard), and Buddy Pedal Go-Kart (BERG toys);

For more trend and safety information, visit ToyInfo.org.

This post was originally written by Ali Mierzejewski and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.