From February 18-20th, New York City hosted Toy Fair International, the biggest gathering of toy manufacturers in the world. Toy Fair is basically the place where my internal six-year-old gets to run around drooling and oohing and ahhing over all the new toys that have yet to hit shelves. With this in mind, and knowing that I have the memory of Dory from Finding Nemo, I decided to try a little something new in my coverage. When I saw booths that had cool products, I Facebook Lived some interviews and showed off how the toys worked. However, for people who aren’t on Facebook, hate Facebook, or just really don’t like videos, I’ve decided to do a roundup with the videos here so that you can read a summary and watch the video if it interests you.
The Fidgets
Tangle Creations
Tangle makes a really great line of fidgets for kids and adults, originally created by an artist who realized that his static sculptures would be inspirational if brought down to a handheld size. Coming in all sorts of textures, the Tangles are wonderful for kids who need sensory stimulation as well as physical stimulation. In addition, the company produces a Proteins Building Set which is one of the most accurate proteins models on the market and is often purchased for use by schools and universities.
Thumb Chucks
These were just cool. While walking around the main hall upstairs at Toy Fair, this tiny little booth stood out to me. A nifty little fidget, this basically consists of two light up rubber balls attached by a string. If your kid is like mine and likes to swing whistles around in a circle, the Thumb Chucks will be right up their alley. Honestly? My kid doesn’t like this nearly as much as I do. It’s kind of similar to having that coin rolling fidget–only it lights up.
Waff Stationary
Waff Stationary is an ingenious product. Perfect for kids who have sensory issues, Waff runs a line of notebooks that include LEGO-like pieces that connect to the covers. In addition, they have new snap-on pieces, similar to those Crocs snap-ons kids love. Finally, they also have a playmate that gives the ability to play in multiple ways. They also have the special letters for Spanish and French.
