The Toy Industry Association (TIA) has kicked off the holiday shopping season with the announcement of 84 finalists for the 2016 Toy of the Year Awards (TOTY).
Between now and January 17, consumers can visit www.ToyAwards.org to vote for their favorite toy picks in each of the 12 categories to win exclusive prizes. Winners will be announced at the TOTY Awards ceremony as the beginning of the 113th North American International Toy Fair.
This year’s finalists were selected from more than 700 nominees submitted by more than 200 companies. More than 40 mass specialty retail buyers, youth experts, academics, and journalists were part of the nomination committees that narrowed the field to the slate of finalists.
Votes from mass and specialty toy retailers, media, TIA members, and consumers will be weighted and used to determine each of the 12 category winners and the “Toy of the Year.” In addition, consumer votes will solely choose the “People’s Choice” award winner.
The full list of nominees is as follows:
Activity Toy of the Year:
- Bunchems (Spin Master Corp.)
- Chocolate Pen (Skyrocket Toys)
- Roominate Amusement Park (Roominate)
- Shrinky Dinks Bake & Shape 3D Jewelry (Alex Brands)
- Strand Bands Designer Set (The Bridge Direct)
- Upcycling: Garbage to Glam (Fashion Angels)
- Yummy Nummies (Blip Toys)
Boy Toy of the Year:
- Air Hogs Millennium Falcon Quad (Spin Master Corp.)
- Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage (Mattel)
- LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens Millennium Falcon (The LEGO Group)
- Nerf N-Strike Modulus ECS-10 Blaster (Hasbro Inc.)
- Sky Viper Video Streaming Drone V950STR (Skyrocket Toys)
- STAR WARS Bladebuilders Jedi Master Lightsaber (Hasbro Inc.)
- XPV HULK SMASH RC (JAKKS Pacific Inc.)
E-Connected Toy of the Year:
- Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition by Disney
- Hello Barbie™ by Mattel
- Kidizoom® Action Cam by VTech®
- Skylanders SuperChargers by Activision Publishing, Inc.
- Stikbot Studio by Zing
- View-Master® Virtual Reality Viewer by Mattel
- Wonder Workshop Dash Robot by Wonder Workshop
Educational Toy of the Year:
- Foundation Chemistry Kit (Yellow Scope)
- Gears!Gears!Gears!® Build & Bloom Building Set (Learning Resources)
- Kids First Physics Lab (Thames and Kosmos)
- Magnets in Motion 61Pc Set (Magformers)
- Mighty Makers Fun on the Ferris Wheel (K’NEX Brands)
- Number Lovin’ Oven by (LeapFrog Enterprises Inc.)
- VEX Robotics Robotic Arm (HEXBUG)
Game of the Year:
- Choice Words by MindWare
- Chrono Bomb® by Patch Products, LLC
- LEGO Dimensions by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
- Pie Face Game by Hasbro, Inc.
- Rush Hour Shift™ by ThinkFun, Inc.
- Three Little Piggies by Smart Toys and Games, Inc.
- WOO! By Fat Brain Toy Co.
Girl Toy of the Year
- Disney’s Frozen Sing-A-Long Elsa (JAKKS Pacific Inc.)
- FURREAL FRIENDS STARLILY, MY MAGICAL UNICORN (Hasbro Inc.)
- Girl Scouts Cookie Oven (Wicked Cool Toys)
- Nancy B’s Science Club Black Light Illuminator & Nature’s Mysteries Journal (Educational Insights)
- Nerf Rebelle Arrow Revolution Bow (Hasbro Inc.)
- Shopkins Scoops Ice Cream Truck (Moose Toys Pty Ltd)
- Zoomer Kitty by (Spin Master Corp.)
Infant/Toddler Toy of the Year
- Bright Beats Dance & Move BeatBo (Fisher-Price)
- Bright Beats Smart Touch Play Space (Fisher-Price)
- Fold ‘N Go Elephant Toy (Playskool)
- Lil Ocean Explorers 3-in-1 Adventure Course (Little Tikes)
- Play All Day Elmo (Playskool)
- Rolligo (Fat Brain Toy Co.)
- Storytime Theater (Tech 4 Kids)
Innovative Toy of the Year
- Flipsies™ Sandy’s House & Ocean Cruiser (VTech)
- i-loom (Wooky Entertainment)
- Laser Maze™ Jr. (ThinkFun Inc.)
- Makey Makey Classic (JoyLabz)
- Meccanoid G15 (Spin Master Corp.)
- MiPosaur (WowWee)
- Star Wars Science – Jedi Force Levitator (Uncle Milton Industries)
Outdoor Toy of the Year
- Firetek Rocket (Zing)
- Maisto TECH Rock Crawler 3XL (Maisto)
- Micro Mini2Go (Micro Kickboard)
- Nerf Rebelle Super Soaker Tri Threat Crossbow (Hasbro Inc.)
- Nerf Super Soaker Floodfire Water Blaster (Hasbro Inc.)
- R2-D2 Bubble Machine (Imperial Toy LLC)
- Razor GFD Fury (Razor USA LLC)
Preschool Toy of the Year
- Design & Drill Brightworks (Educational Insights)
- Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Checkup Center (Just Play)
- Guidecraft IO Blocks 114 Piece Set (Guidecraft)
- Miles from Tomorrowland Stellosphere (TOMY International)
- PlayTape (InRoad Toys)
- Razor Jr. Lil’Crazy (Razor USA LLC)
- Uptown Espresso Kitchen (KidKraft LLC)
Property of the Year
- Jurassic World (Universal Partnerships & Licensing)
- Minions (Universal Partnerships & Licensing)
- NERF (Hasbro Inc.)
- Paw Patrol (Spin Master Corp.)
- Shopkins (Moose Toys Pty Ltd)
- Skylanders SuperChargers (Activision Publishing, Inc.)
- Star Wars (Disney/Lucasfilm Licensing)
Specialty Toy of the Year
- Boogie Board Play n’ Trace Doodle Pad (Kent Displays Inc.)
- Nursery Time Elmo (Gund)
- Sleepy Seas Sound & Lights Whale (Gund)
- SpinAgain (Fat Brain Toy Co.)
- SuperMax the Turtle (Cloud b)
- Tumble Trax Magnetic Marble Run (Learning Resources)
- Worry Eaters (The Haywire Group)
