Who knew when I started my blog in 2015 that I would be attending Toy Fair and Sweet Suite? Thanks to living close to New York City I have been able to go the past couple years! This year Sweet Suite was a little different because of the pandemic. The photo below is actually last year. This year the event was completely DIGITAL.
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I had no idea how Sweet Suite was going to work digitally. When I went last year there was over 80 companies and tons of displays and food.
The Toy Insider team promised that Sweet Suite would be amazing. And they delivered. When we entered we felt like we were entering a virtual world. I really wonder who designed it. It was amazing.
Here is the virtual show floor with all the companies that attended.
Within the simulation we were able to visit each company that was at the event either by clicking on the table below, walking the show floor, or finding the companies on the Sponsor List.
Once we arrived at a company's booth there were avatars of the representative and boards with products they were featured at each booth. From here we could enter zoom meetings with the reps from the company, look at information on the products, and even enter to win some prizes.
There was also a place to connect with Toy Insider, the company hosting Sweet Suite, play games and connect and hang out with other influencers.
In this virtual world I found some AMAZING toys. (Most of the pictures are from the companies since we were not there in person.) I was on the hunt for STEM, art and free play toys. The toys are listed below. Listed next to each toy is when they will be available if I know it or a link to buy the toy. I will update this blog post when the toys become available.
Here’s the list!
Snap Circuits: My Home
I just discovered Elenco at Sweet Suite this year. I am super excited for this toy set. I graduated in Mechanical Engineering. One of the classes I was most scared for was a Physics class that concentrated on Electrical Engineering, ie Circuits. This set would have been ideal for me to grow up with. Then I might have been a little less scared.
Snap Circuits: Discover Coding
This toy is also from Elenco. It is the Snap Circuits Discover Coding toy. This one uses an app or manual coding pages to help kids learn to code electric circuits. Kids can learn the basics of coding and then create their own circuits.
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I was super excited to spend some time at the Learning Resources/Educational Insights booth because I missed seeing them at Toy Fair.
Educational Insights: Circuit Explorer, Available Now
All these elements in this toy are simple circuits. The pieces snap together. It will either make a light, sound or motion.
Botley is a coding robot that is screen free. He can be coded to get through obstacle courses with sequences up to 150 coding steps. Kids learn to code through colors and movements. Botley will also feature a memory game. His eyes will light up when he is in the dark. He can also play games with multiple Botley's.
Pokémon Battle Academy, Available Now
This game makes the list because it is my kids favorite game ever. Ever since they saw it at Toy Fair they have been begging to play it. They collect the cards. A month ago my husband bought 1000 cards for them. They love trading with friends. My son has a Pokémon Collectors book and spends hours writing down all the names. It is great handwriting practice.
This game box is great because it includes a game board so the kids can play with all the Pokémon they have. It comes with three 60-card decks, tutorial guides, gameplay accessories, and a code card for the free-to-play Pokémon Trading Card Game Online. I have played Pokémon with my kids. It is a great game for practicing subtraction. They battle one another and remove strength when they are attacked. Pick this up soon, because I can see it being a hot one for Christmas.
Hasbro: The Child Animatronic Toy, Available Now
Of course Baby Yoda, aka The Child has to be included in this list. There will be 25 sound combinations, the eyes will open and close. The Child even simulates The Child from the Mandalorian. It will close its eyes, raise its arm and sigh and then take a Force nap.
LEGO Art, Soon
Lego introduced LEGO art this year. It is basically a mix of a puzzle and pixel art. It uses the small circle Lego pieces for the pixels. I could see this expanding to so many different things. Lego could just sell these dots individually with boards and have people and kids create their own art. The sets come in many themes: Star Wars, Iron Man, the Beatles, and Andy Warhol. I will link when available.LEGO Art's Star Wars The Sith 31200, Available Now
LEGO Art's Marvel Studios Iron Man 31199 Available Now
LEGO Art's The Beatles 31198, Available Now
LEGO Art's Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe 31197, Available Now
And of course I had to throw in the Storm Trooper Helmet 75276. It is amazing!
Crayola: 168 Crayola Crayons Tub Featuring Colors of the World, Available Now, Exclusively at Walmart
This is a new Exclusive collection Crayon Tub from Crayola. I am beyond excited for it!!!! It will feature 168 unique crayon names and include the new Colors of the World. There are also many, many other cool toys Crayola has made this year they featured at Sweet Suite. I have a whole blog post on all the AMAZING toys coming out from Crayola this year. Check it out.
Play Monster: Snap Ships, Available Now
Snap ships make the list because are really cool and fun to play with. Snap Ships are made of interlocking pieces to make a ship multiple ways. They can be assembled quickly. They are sturdy and can handle battle play. The sets are all interchangeable. Kids can use their imagination to build whatever they want.
Basic Fun!: Care Bears Magic Interactive Figures, Available Now
Basic Fun! is making new Care Bears toys! These toys are Magic Interactive Figures. They can be played with one on one or played with together. There are 50 plus reactions. They like to tell jokes, share feelings, say funny phrases, move and light up.
Yulu: Break the Board, Available Now
Break the Board from Yulu made it on this list because my kids LOVED it and were raving about it the next day. The board lights up and will need to be hit there. It will even break like a karate board.
Zulu: Swirl & Style, Available now
Swirl & Style from Zulu made it on the list because I have know so many young girls that would love tie dye. And tie dye is everywhere right now. It is a great art activity.
Nintendo: Paper Mario, Mario Kart 8 and Just Dance 2020, Available Now
Nintendo makes this list with the games Paper Mario, Just Dance 2020 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Paper Mario is a comedy filled Mario game using the unique properties of paper, from origami festivals to untying steamers to defeating the Legion of Stationery themed around colored pencils, sticky tape and rubber Bands.
Mario Kart 8 features the classic battle modes, and races. Some of the highlights are: racers can carry two items at once, Smart Steering will help new drivers drive, and the game will feature racers from Animal Crossing and Link from The Legend of Zelda.
Just Dance 2020 features new songs 40 tracks from "Old Town Road" to "Kill This Love" to "Baby Shark" and a song from Disney's Frozen 2.
We Cool Toys: Scruncheeze and Pura Loom, Available Now
We Cool Toys sent us a box from their new line Activity Kings. My favorites were the Scruncheeze Loom and Pura Loom. These will be available soon. We played with the slime today and can not wait to play with everything else! The We Cool Activity Kings line also includes; the Insta studio, hydro bottle, aroma dough kit, crazy cleanz, and glitzy bingzu. Thank you We Cool Toys! My kids have been enjoying everything so much!
Hasbro-Baby Alive Grows Up: Available Now
There are a lot of dolls on the market right now, but this Baby Alive transforms from a new born to baby to a big girl. She is the cutest!
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I hope you liked the toys. It was fun to see all of them. Which one is your favorite? Here is the swag box they sent to us afterwards. There are so many fun toys. Our favs so far are: Who's the G.O.A.T, Lilly Tikes Make Me Better Mitts (my 2 year old ADORES this one), Dino Crunch, Pop It, Upside Down Challenge and Beyblade.
Here are some parting pictures of some amazing food from Sweet Suite last year, crossing fingers it can happen in person again next year.
If you want to see more cool toys for this Christmas season I also wrote a blog post on my favorite toys from Toy Fair.
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