The American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) unveiled the finalists for its 2021 Best Toys for Kids list.
This year’s nominees were submitted by ASTRA members beginning in January and were narrowed down to a field of finalists that includes a total of 52 products spanning 10 categories.
“ASTRA’s Best Toys for Kids award program is different from other top toy lists because it reflects the collective expertise of hundreds of toy retailers who know toys inside out,” says Sue Warfield, interim president of ASTRA. “We are excited to announce the list of finalists which will be voted on by hundreds of independent toy store owners to determine the winners of this year’s award.”
2021 Best Toys for Kids Finalists:
Build & Play
- Boks Desktop Windmill | Plus-Plus USA
- Incredible Aero Dancer | Thames & Kosmos
- LEGO Super Mario Starter Course | The LEGO Group
- Unit Brick Mini Unit Beams Eiffel Tower Set | Ukidz
- Zig & Go Music | Djeco
Craft
- Create Your Own Light Box | Avenir
- Hat Not Hate | Creativity for Kids by Faber-Castell USA
- Soapstone Carving Kit – Bear | Studiostone Creative
- Space Immersion DIY Kaleidoscope | Djeco
- Spirograph Animator | PlayMonster
Games
- Clack! Thwack! | Amigo Games
- Magic Mountain | Amigo Games
- Dragon Inferno | Smart Toys & Games
- Kaboom Blocks | Roo Games
- Mind the Gap | Solid Roots
- Pancake Monster | Blue Orange Games
- Story Time Chess | Story Time Chess
- The Crew: Mission Deep Sea | Thames & Kosmos
Impulse/Fidget
- Dohjees | Schylling
- Fingears | Blue Orange Games
- Hide Inside Putty – Flower Finds | Crazy Aaron’s\
- Loopy Looper | Blue Orange Games
Infant/Toddler
- Dimpl Stack | Fat Brain
- Dizzy Bees | Fat Brain
- Push & Pull Puppy | Plan Toys
- Spatial Rocket | Plan Toys
Outdoor/Active
- 2 Liter Refillable Bubble Solution System | Bubble Tree
- Drop Shot | Fat Brain
- Rainbow Wobble Board – Regular Size | Bunny Hopkins
- Ride-on & Foldable Engine Table | Hape
- Skimbe | Waterline Toys
- Surge | Gel Blaster
Preschool
- Magna-Tiles Structures Interactive Story Time – Sesame Street The Monster at the End of This Story | CreateOn
- Musical Whale Fountain | Hape
- Rocket Ball Air Stacker | Hape
- Sensory Bin Dinosaur Dig | Creativity for Kids by Faber-Castell USA
- Toniebox Starter Set | Tonies
Pretend
- Galaxy Cape | Creative Ed
- My Forest Floor | Tender Leaf Toys
- Pearl Dragon Wristlet | Folkmanis Inc.
- Playdate Dolls Harper | Manhattan Toys
Puzzle
- Caeser’s Codex | Project Genius
- Escape Puzzle Kids 368 Pieces, Amusement Park | Ravensburger
- Musical Crossroads 72 Piece Puzzle | Little Likes Kids
- SmartGames IQ Circuit | Smart Toys and Games
Science
- Bio Chem Creatures | Klutz
- Gravity Bugs | Thames & Kosmos
- Magical Unicorn Science | Klutz
- Smartivity Pinball Machine | Smartivity Labs (Elenco Electronics Inc)
- Teach Tech Dizzy, The 6-in-1 Gyroscope | Elenco
- Trigmate | Mindwatts LLC
- Wild Environmental Science – Mars Landing Survival Kit | Learning Advantage/Wild Science
ASTRA members may begin voting for their favorites later this month. The 2021 Best Toys for Kids list will be revealed at a special virtual ceremony next month as part of the lead-in to ASTRA’s Marketplace & Academy which is scheduled to take place in Minneapolis this August.
