The Toy Insider Unveils the Hottest Toys for Holiday 2016 with Hot 20, Top Tech 12 and STEM 10 Lists

The Best Toys of the Season Include Pokémon, Paw Patrol, PJ Masks, and Disney Princesses

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Sep 22, 2016, 05:07 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Toy Insider unveiled its expert picks for the best kids' toys and tech in its 11^th annual holiday gift guide (http://www.thetoyinsider.com/2016-holiday-gift-guide/) today. The hottest items for 2016 are broken out into three lists: the Hot 20 (the items expected to top kids' wish lists), Top Tech 12 (drones, wearables, robotic pets, and more) and STEM 10 (science, technology, engineering and math toys that make learning fun). With lots of options for kids of all ages, these 42 items are sure to wow kids this holiday season, and are expected to be hard to find or sold out by Christmas.

The Toy Insider unveiled its expert picks for the best kids' toys and tech in its 11th annual holiday gift guide. The hottest items for 2016 are broken out into three lists: the Hot 20, Top Tech 12 and STEM 10. With lots of options for kids of all ages, these 42 items are sure to wow kids this holiday season, and are expected to be hard to find or sold out by Christmas.

The Toy Insider's 2016 holiday gift guide will appear in the November issue of Family Circle magazine, on newsstands on October 11th, and online at thetoyinsider.com. This year's guide is the biggest ever, featuring more than 275 toys from more than 110 manufacturers.

The Toy Insider team of experts reviews toys 365 days a year on thetoyinsider.com. When evaluating toys, the team considers play value, originality, skill building, product integrity and, of course, fun factor.

"At The Toy Insider, we know play, and the toys in our holiday gift guide will have kids laughing, learning and playing in meaningful ways," says Laurie Schacht, co-publisher and Chief Toy Officer, The Toy Insider. "Playtime is all about bringing the whole family together, and whether it's an engaging new board game, an interactive play set, or an adorable tech pet, the toys on our list will get everyone having fun all season long and well into 2017."

For high-resolution product photography and broadcast-quality B-roll footage of The Toy Insider Hot 20, Top Tech 12 and STEM 10, as well as detailed product fact sheets and 2016 toy trends, click here.

The Toy Insider's Hot 20

0-2 years

Laugh & Learn Crawl-Around Learning Center (Fisher-Price)
Go! Go! Smart Friends Enchanted Princess Palace (VTech)

3-5 years

Disney Frozen Northern Lights Elsa (JAKKS Pacific)
Disney My Time Singing Elena of Avalor (Hasbro)
FurReal Friends Torch My Blazin' Dragon (Hasbro)
Lion Guard Training Lair Playset (Just Play)
PAW Patrol Monkey Temple (Spin Master)
PJ Masks Headquarters Playset (Just Play)
Pokémon My Friend Pikachu (TOMY)
Talk-to-Me Mikey (Playmates Toys)

6-8 years

Animal Jam—Club Geoz Dance Party Playset (Jazwares)
Hatchimals (Spin Master)
Hot Wheels AI (Mattel)
Shopkins Happy Places Happy Home (Moose Toys)
Snuggles, My Dream Puppy (Moose Toys)
Skylanders Imaginators (Activision)

LEGO Star Wars Resistance X-Wing Fighter (The LEGO Group)
Nintendo MarioKart 8 Quadcopter (Carrera of America)
Pokémon Sun & Pokémon Moon (Nintendo)
Speak Out (Hasbro)

The Toy Insider's Top Tech 12

Air Hogs Helix Sentinel Drone (Spin Master)
Barbie Hello Dreamhouse (Mattel)
BOSEbuild Speaker Cube (Bose)
CHiP (WowWee)
CodeGamer (Thames & Kosmos)
Kurio Watch (KD Interactive)
LUMI (WowWee)
Mebo (Skyrocket Toys)
Meccano Meccasaur (Spin Master)
Sky Rover Voice Command Drone (Auldey Toys North America)
Sky Viper Hover Racer (Skyrocket Toys)
Zoomer Chimp (Spin Master)

The Toy Insider's STEM 10

3Doodler Start Essentials Pen Set (WobbleWorks)
Barbie STEM Kit (Thames & Kosmos)
Bloxels (Mattel)
Code & Go Robot Mouse Coding Activity Set (Learning Resources)
Geckobot (Thames & Kosmos)
Mighty Makers Director's Cut Building Set (K'NEX)
Project MC2 We Heart Chemistry Kit (ALEX Brands)
Roominate Cotton Candy Carnival (PlayMonster)
Think & Learn Code-A-Pillar (Fisher-Price)
VEX Robotics Zip Flyer (HEXBUG)

The Toy Insider's 2016 holiday gift guide will appear in the November issue of Family Circle magazine, on newsstands on October 11^th, and online at thetoyinsider.com. This year's guide is the biggest ever, featuring more than 275 toys from more than 110 manufacturers. Parents and gift givers can easily search by a child's age (broken out into 0-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9+ age groups) and interests using the handy skill-development key.

To join in the holiday toy fun on social media this season, use #weknowplay and find the Toy Insider on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

About The Toy Insider
The Toy Insider is the go-to source for product information about children's toys, tech and entertainment. It publishes two annual gift guides—one for summer and one for holiday—and is a trusted online resource for parents all year long. Its content is produced by an editorial team with more than 75 years of combined experience covering the children's products industry. The Toy Insider is published by Adventure Publishing Group, publisher of leading trade publications The Toy Book, The Toy Report, The Licensing Book and Total Licensing Report. For more information, visit thetoyinsider.com.

Media Contact:
Kristen Joerger
LKPR, Inc.
646-484-4577
603-494-3295 (mobile)
[email protected]

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SOURCE The Toy Insider