You'll Wish You Were A Kid Again...The Toy Insider Announces The HOT 20 Toys For Holiday 2012

LeapPad 2, Skylanders Giants and Power Rangers Toys Among Gifts Every Kid Will Want This Holiday Season

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Sep 25, 2012, 06:15 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Toy Insider, the leading holiday gift guide for toys and gifts, announces its list of the HOT 20 toys for the holidays. This year's list features My Magical Wand Cinderella, Monster High's High School and the Batman Bat-Pod, among many others, providing gift-givers with the inside scoop on the best toys and gifts for this holiday season.

"The Toy Insider's team of toy experts spent months playing with and evaluating all of the newest toys and gifts to hit the market this year, doing the research so consumers don't have to," said Laurie Schacht, Toy Insider Mom and contributing toy editor at Woman's Day. "As parents ourselves, we know how helpful a list like this can be to get a head start and reduce the stress of holiday shopping."

This year's HOT 20 are:

0-2 Years
Bright Starts Having a Ball 5-in-1 Sports Zone - Kids II
Cruise & Groove Ballapalooza - Fisher-Price
Lil' Princess 3 Story Enchanted Castle - Mega Brands
Rocktivity Sit to Stand Music Skool - Playskool

3-5 Years
Batman the Dark Knight Rises U-Command Bat-Pod - Thinkway Toys
Chuggington Die-Cast Railway Wilson's Wild Ride - TOMY
Doc McStuffins Time for Your CheckUp Doll - Just Play
LeapPad 2 - LeapFrog
My Magical Wand Cinderella - Tollytots
Power Rangers Deluxe Megazord - Samurai Gigazord – Bandai

6-8 Years
HEXBUG Warriors Battle Stadium - Innovation First International
Kurio⁷ - Techno Source, a division of LF Products
La Dee Da Dolls - Spin Master
Lego Friends Heartlake Stables - Lego Systems
Monster High High School - Mattel
Skylanders Giants - Activision

9+
Air Hogs Battle Tracker - Spin Master
Wii U GamePad - Nintendo
Words with Friends Luxe – Hasbro
Y Fliker - Yvolution

The HOT 20 is the kick-off section of the Toy Insider holiday gift guide, which will appear in the November issue of Woman's Day magazine, as well as www.theToyInsider.com . Now in its seventh year, this year's Toy Insider guide is the biggest ever, filled with a list of 116 toys and gifts from more than 80 manufacturers. The Toy Insider offers toy and gift ideas for all ages and both genders, broken down by age group (0-2 years old, 3-5 years old, 6-8 years old and 9+ years old) with an in-depth description of the developmental needs and interests for each specific age group. A unique toy skill key provides consumers even greater convenience to help them pick not only the hottest toy, but also the right toy for the special child in their lives.

"Whether consumers are looking for toys that offer new digital media experiences or more traditional imaginative and hands-on play, this year's issue will offer a huge variety of fun suggestions we have selected as the best on the market this year," added Laurie. "This list will make it fun and easy for everyone to find the perfect holiday gift for all the kids on their list."

In addition to Laurie Schacht, the panel of toy experts includes Jonathan Samet, Publisher of The Toy Book, the leading trade publication in the toy industry, Jackie Breyer, Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book and Reyne Rice, a leading toy trend expert.

About the Toy Insider:
The Toy Insider (www.thetoyinsider.com )is the source for the hottest toys and gift for the holidays. Now in its seventh year, the Toy Insider is an annual guide featuring toy and gift recommendations broken down by age categories. The 2012 guide is jam-packed with 116 toy recommendations from more than 80 different manufacturers, each of which were carefully selected by a team of experts with years of experience in the toy industry. The Toy Insider is published by Adventure Publishing, publisher of leading industry trades The Toy Book and The Licensing Book.

Press Contact: For interviews, images and inquiries, please contact Karen Pineman, 917-453-6887, [email protected].

SOURCE The Toy Insider