Inside the Holiday Hot 20 Picks – Interview with The Toy Insider

The Toy Insider recently announced its sixth annual Hot 20 toys for the 2011 holiday season. The Hot 20 is a feature section within The Toy Insider’s recommendations of over 110 toys. The Toy Insider provides parents with a thorough gift-giving guide, breaking down recommendations by both genders and age groups. The toys, from over 80 manufacturers, represent all price points to fit parents’ budgetary needs.

The Toy Insider’s Hot 20 Age Breakdown
Image: toyinsider.com

The Toy Book, and Laurie Schacht, co-publisher of The Toy Insider and Contributing Toy Editor to Woman’s Day, led a team of toy trend specialists to create the guide.

In my interview with the proud mompreneur, Laurie explains how the guides originated and what goes into creating The Toy Insider and Hot 20 picks.

“I was brought up in the toy industry; my dad was publisher of Toy & Hobby World magazine,” states Laurie, “He started The Toy Book, a publication for the trade industry. The Toy Insider, for consumers, was created six years ago – I realized there was a gap to fill to help parents, to recommend toys by age. We’re an independent source for parents to review. We are not a retailer; in fact we do no selling at all. After reviewing the toys, we give a lot to charity.”

The process behind the holiday toy recommendations is comprehensive. Laurie reveals, “We spend a full year looking at toys. In this year’s Toy Insider we feature 110 toys from over 80 manufacturers. We have a panel of toy experts who reviews each toy. Each reviewer is a parent and has children ranging from infants to teens. We also talk to the toy companies as well as receive input from kids through sites like KidzVuz.com.”

She continues, “For The Toy Insider and Hot 20, we look for toys that are new for this year, toys that are engaging (not ‘watch me’ toys). We try to find an equal amount of recommendations for each gender as well as find gender neutral toys. We consider the price/value and try to cover all categories of toys – plush, technology, etc. We also pinpoint trends.”

Speaking of trends, Laurie elaborates: “Trends include collectibles such as portable mini figures like Squinkies and affordable collection items like Redakai trading cards. Another trend is face to face game play like Scene It Harry Potter which features all eight movies and Paper Jamz microphones where kids can be social with friends. Toys that keep kids active (performance play) are popular, such as the Lazer Stunt Chaser car racer which follows a laser beam, speeds on ramps, travels through loops, etc. There are also great things for little kids such as the Pocoyo Swiggie Traks which is adorable – it’s simple, and kids learn to connect things.”

Laurie observes that now toy companies are using tech smartly, not just for the sake of it. In addition to apps and video games, another noted toy is Lite Sprites. “It uses cool technology, kids can control how it captures light, and it’s affordable,” says Laurie, “Singing interactive toys like Let’s Rock Elmo is another example. A kid can hold a guitar (sold separately as an Elmo accessory) and Elmo will recognize what the child is holding. They can play together.”

Regarding future projects, Laurie keeps mum for now. She mentions a wish list app as well as doing more work online. Given the success she’s seen with The Toy Insider, Hot 20, and more, the toy industry can feel confident more great things are to come from this vivacious mompreneur.

For more info: Nearly all of The Toy Insider picks are available at Walmart stores nationwide and on Walmart.com. For more information on availability, please visit www.thetoyinsider.com . The HOT 20 is the kick-off section of The Toy Insider which will run in full in the November 17, 2011 issue of Woman’s Day magazine, on newsstands November 1, 2011.

Disclosure: Author did not receive any compensation for this post. All views expressed are solely those of the author.

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