Toy and game companies are pitching a wide holiday assortment built around familiar characters, hands-on building, sensory play and technology. In a company-submitted “Hot for Holiday” roundup, manufacturers highlighted products they want retailers to watch this season, from inexpensive collectibles to large play sets. Because the picks come from the companies that make them, the list shows how brands are positioning their own lines; it is not an independent sales ranking.
Play sets and sensory play
Mattel’s customizable dollhouse, at $214.99 for ages 3 and up, includes nine indoor and outdoor play areas, two pools, two slides and more than 65 accessories. Two house structures can be joined into one large home or connected as two houses with a bridge. BRIO’s 56-piece Space Deluxe Set, priced at $279.99, extends its wooden railway into a multilevel space layout with tunnels, a space station, a rover and a shuttle with lights and sounds. Simplay3’s oversized sensory nest, $129.99 for ages 2 and up, is designed for several children to rock and spin in any direction.
Smaller sets include a 106-piece Bluey-themed LEGO set with two mini-figures and a school scene for $24.99, and Melissa & Doug modular rooms priced from $9.99 to $34.99 for ages 0–2. A CONNETIX 32-piece travel pack from Brave Toys, $25, packs mini shapes, magnets and reusable stickers into a carry tin. A 2-foot-tall, five-story Bluey-inspired home at $149.99 includes themed room accessories and a chimney that projects spinning stars and moons.
Collectibles and franchises
Character-driven items range from a Pokémon Elite Trainer Box at $49.99 for ages 6 and up, celebrating 30 years with a new Futuristic Rare card rarity and all-foil cards, to MGA Entertainment’s eight mini dolls at $11.99 each for ages 4 and up, each packaged in a pink disco ball. Jazwares’ Pikachu, $79.99, offers more than 100 action and sound combinations, touch sensors, blinking eyes and mouth movement. Tonies’ Toniebox 2 Pokémon set, $199.99 for ages 5 and up, includes Pikachu, Squirtle, Charmander and Bulbasaur figures that play stories and songs on the screen-free audio player.
Other franchise picks include Playmates Toys’ Mega Thunderzord at $37.99, with more than 15 phrases and sounds, and JAKKS Pacific’s Donkey Kong multi-level playset at $19.99 with 2.5-inch Donkey and Diddy Kong figures. Hasbro’s 11-inch action figure converts to a car in four steps for $54.99. License 2 Play’s Domo collectible returns at $4.99–$14.99, while TOMY International’s teen blind boxes are $18.99–$24.99 each for ages 15 and up.
Tech-forward and active toys
Fat Brain Toys’ $129.95 airflow set sends foam balls through tube builds, combining art, physics and experimentation. Golden Bear’s Strikesphere indoor basketball trainer, $99.99, uses light-guided drills and a built-in LCD scoreboard. HAPIKO’s voice-powered sticker maker uses AI to create and print sticker combinations, with built-in filters and a design intended to avoid “always listening” concerns. Fizz Creations’ keyring arcades, $16.99–$39.99, include pocket-sized PAC-MAN and Tetris games, plus Grinch titles on keyring, handheld and plug-and-play devices.
Sensory and active entries include Horizon Group USA’s slow-flow glitter-gel stress toys at $4.99–$8.99, Just Play’s 18-inch Tiggle Me Elmo Giggle Max at $39.97 for ages 18 months and up, and Goliath’s Chester at $29.99 for ages 8 and up, which wiggles and makes fart sounds when squeezed. Spin Master’s Rocky recycling truck, $64.99, hides a 2-foot inflatable dinosaur that pops out when children press the light bar.