Thursday, July 20, 2017

Blogger Bash Sweet Suite 2017

sweet suite
The highlight of each summer's Blogger Bash conference in New York City is the Toy Insider's annual Sweet Suite which provides a preview of new products toy manufacturers will be releasing for the upcoming holiday shopping season.  This year's event was held in mid-July at Manhattan's Chelsea Piers and I was invited to attend as a member of the Toy Insider's Parents Panel team.  More than 60 brands showcased the hottest toys that are surely destined to be heading for spots under Christmas trees in December.

Exhibitors ranged from some of the world's largest toy producers such as LEGO to more entrepreneurial small businesses like Bears For Humanity.  Items on display ranged from an upgraded versions of the classic Etch A Sketch and Teddy Ruxpin to cutting edge virtual reality applications from Skyrocket Toys and Merge VR.  Join me inside Sweet Suite 2017 as I share some highlights from this year's toy preview event.

sweet suite

My daughter loves the robotic toys WowWee creates.  Two of her very favorite toys are their CHiP the Robot Dog and the MiPosaur.  She's going to go BANANAS when she find out that WowWee's newest toy is a minion from the Despicable Me movies --> Minion MiP Turbo Dave - Fun Balancing Robot Toy.

minions

With this toy you'll have your own personal minion to roll its eyes at you that can be controlled either by a smart device or by hand gestures.  In addition to interacting with you through its movements, Dave also can emit over 140+ sounds and phrases from the Despicable Me movies.  Dave is also programmed to play a variety of games and comes equipped with a fart gun for duels.  Plus Minion MiP Turbo Dave has a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) component which incorporates a block-based coding platform providing an educational play aspect to the toy.  Multiple minions will interact with one another and engage in fart gun battles.  This really is a great toy recommended for kids 8 year old and up. I know my daughter is going to want one!

despicable me toys

My son always gets immersed in those chutes and ladder type displays at science centers that are powered by clock like gears and have balls winding there way up, down and around a maze. Now you can make your own at home with --> Marbleocity Mini Skate Park. Utilizing a marble and having a fun skate boarding theme, kids can learn about concepts such as projectile motion and centripetal force by building and observing this kinetic sculpture.  Actually I wouldn't mind having one of these on my office desk to enjoy myself!  Plus I thought it was a great idea that the instructions are printed in a comic book style to really capture kids attention and get them engaged with this toy.  In addition to the skate boarding there are also sets with a roller coaster theme as well Marbleocity Mini Coaster.  These new additions to the PlayMonster toy lineup really left a positive impression with me.

hot holiday toys

JAKKS Pacific has new toys based upon the hit PBS animated TV series, Daniel Tigers Neighborhood and I had a chance to run into the star of the show!  Visit their website to see toys they have available at retailers such as Kmart, Target and Toys R Us.

Blogger Bash


My son is really into animals, he can watch episodes of Wild Kratts all day so I know he'd enjoy these new drones from Alpha Group USA.  Coming out this fall, Drone Force are animal inspired easy-to-fly remote control drone creatures designed for kids ages 6 and up.  There will be a variety to choose from and they are built to battle each other in the air.  The Angler Attack sea creature I'm holding brings its undersea terror to the skies.  It has a simulated electro-surge attack with luminescent LEDS and glow special effects.  The drone also features one-touch take-off and landing for easy indoor and outdoor flight.  Other models include Morp Zilla (gorilla) ,which can be controlled on the ground in ape mode when not flying; Raptor Strike (bird of prey) that has missiles and an infrared targeting system; and Arachno Fury (spider) which can perform flips and dive bomb stunts.  You'll want to get at least a pair of these battle drones so your kids and their friends can engage in duels with them.

hot holiday toys

I thought these color them yourself puppets from Great Pretenders were a very original and unique idea.  What a great way to spur kids to engage in imaginative play!  They also had colorable doll outfits and costumes for kids that also caught my attention.

Sweet Suite

The folks from Pillow Pets made sure the seating areas were really comfy for attendees!

Blogger Bash


My daughter plays with Our Generation dolls all the time! She loves her Our Generation ice cream truck!  So it was nice to see the dolls manufacturer Battat make an appearance at this year's Sweet Suite.

Blogger Bash

There were a lot of sweet toys on display at the event but there was also a lot of treats to be had.  I couldn't resist grabbing some candy to enjoy on my plane ride home back to Detroit.

Blogger Bash


The guys at North Star Games were a real hoot and were cracking all the attendees up.  I really enjoyed spending some time having them teach me how to play their new game BLURBLE.  They also have a great game my family always take along with us on camping trips to play called Happy Salmon Game.

Blogger Bash

My daughter is infatuated with giraffes so I had to take picture of this plush giraffe from Bears For Humanity.  Made with 100-percent certified organic materials, global organic textile standard certified, global fair trade requirements, they are the safest non-toxic plush toys on the market.  They are also made right here in the good ole USA with each plush toy hand-stuffed and sewn by at-risk mothers and caregivers.  For each toy sold one is donated to a child in need.  While there focus is on teddy bears as you can see they also make other animals as well like giraffes.  These will easily pass any snuggle test!  Purchasing one goes well beyond just giving a family member or friend a gift.

Blogger Bash

Yes I was that guy carrying around a giant football at Sweet Suite!  Couldn't say no to a Kangaroo Pool Floats; Jumbo Football Pool Raft, 6 Ft. when they asked if I would like to take it home with me.  In addition to this great football, Kangaroo has a bunch of other goofy fun inflatables to enjoy riding in the water ranging from a giant whale to a slice of pizza.

Sweet Suite

Meet the MERGE CUBE, the world's first interactive holographic toy you can hold in the palm of your hand.

Sweet Suite

Use this cube from MERGE VR to either interact with holograms through augmented reality or use it as a controller in virtual reality games.

Sweet Suite


I gave the MERGE CUBE a test run and it was very cool!



This really isn't a "toy" but Nalgene was at Sweet Suite with their line of Marvel superheroes water bottles.  The designs on them were really great!  They had on display an Incredible Hulk Nalgene WM 1 Quart Hulk Bottle, Glow Green, 32 oz that glows in the dark which was really smashing!

Blogger Bash

I ran into Tara Tucker who heads the marketing for Spin Master.  She introduced me to her buddy the Spin Master Hatchimal.

Tara Tucker

They are introducing a new glittering version of their popular hatchimal toys Hatchimals Glittering Garden - Hatching Egg - Interactive Creature - Sparkly Penguala by Spin Master plus now have small CollEGGtible versions too Hatchimals - CollEGGtibles - 4-Pack + Bonus (Styles & Colors May Vary) by Spin Master.

Spin Master Toys

Spin Master recently acquired the Etch A Sketch brand and is doing a lot to enhance and upgrade the classic toy for today's tech-savvy kids as well as expanding the promotion of its old school iconic version as well.  They had an artist on site who utilized a picture on my phone to illustrate a picture of my daughter on a miniature pink Etch A Sketch that I gave her upon arriving home.

Spin Master


Talking about iconic toys! Wicked Cool Toys is bringing back a new animatronic Teddy Ruxpin toy that has LCD eyes and more than 40 animations.  Touch sensors allow kids to control him telling stories and singing songs.  Teddy's motorized mouth syncs to whatever he is saying or singing. Teddy Ruxpin Storytelling, Friendship & Magical Fun is sure to be a hit this holiday shopping season!

Wicked Cool Toys

Warner Bros. Games was on hand to provide a sneak peek of their upcoming LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 video game.  The first version is one of my kids favorite video games so we've been looking forward to the sequel!  LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2 will be available for Playstation 4 in November and is an original adventure that people can play out that brings together iconic Marvel super heroes and super villains from different eras and realities, along with signature LEGO humor. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 will also be available for PC play as well. It really is a blast to play!

LEGO
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Here's a HIGH FIVE to the Toy Insider for hosting another great Sweet Suite event.  Swing by thetoyinsider.com for more information about the toys featured in this post as well as for expert reviews on numerous other products.  While you are there check out some of my Parents Panel posts too!

Sweet Suite

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