ASTRA Announces Best Toys for Kids Finalists

06/04/2018

Eighty-three specialty toys in 17 categories are finalists for ASTRA’s 2018 Best Toys for Kids list. From this group of finalists, ASTRA member retailers will vote online and at its  upcoming Marketplace & Academy to select “the year’s top picks from America’s play experts” for the 2018 holiday season.

Winners will be announced at a reception and game night on July 13, 2018 during the AmericasMart International Gift & Home Furnishings Market in Atlanta, Georgia. ASTRA retailers will also be able to order fliers featuring the winning products for use in their holiday marketing efforts.

Here are the finalists.

 

ACTIVE PLAY

ALEX Active Yoga Activity Blocks| ALEX Brands

Slackers Tree Climbers| b4Adventure

Stomp Rocket Stunt Planes| D&L Company

Spikeball Rookie Set| Spikeball

Wicked Big Sports Kickball| Wicked Big Sports

Golden Snitch Heliball| Wow! Stuff

 

BOTS

Doc Educational Talking Robot| Creative Toy Company / Clementoni

Circuit Cubes: Go Gears!| Tenka Labs

Circuit Cubes: Monster Mech| Tenka Labs

Kids First Coding & Robotics | Thames & Kosmos

JIMU AstroBot Kit | UBTECH Robotics

 

CLASSIC PLAY 7+

Loopdedoo Spinning Loom Kit| Ann Williams

Liquid Glass Thinking Putty| Crazy Aaron’s

Sleeping Queens| Gamewright

Cat’s Cradle| Klutz

 

CLASSIC PLAY UNDER 7

EzyRoller Classic| EzyRoller

Tea Set| Green Toys

The Original Classic Colorforms| Kahootz Toys

YBike Pewi Elite| National Sporting Goods

BRIO Railway Starter Set| Ravensburger North America

Folkmanis Snowy Owl| Folkmanis Puppets

 

CONSTRUCTIVE PLAY

Plus-Plus BIG 90-piece Basic| Plus-Plus USA

GraviTrax| Ravensburger North America

VW Bus T1 Campervan| Ravensburger North America

Pepper Mint in the Great Treehouse Engineering Adventure| Thames & Kosmos

 

CREATIVE PLAY 7+

ALEX DIY Swirly Station| ALEX Brands

Slime.Art.Masterpiece| Be Amazing! Toys

Do Art 3D Gel Paint| Faber-Castell USA

Petal Party Jewelry Kit| Kid Made Modern

Rock And Roll It SpecDrum| MukikiM Toys

Klutz Maker Lab Gumball Machine| Klutz

Mini Bake Shop| Klutz

 

CREATIVE PLAY UNDER 7

Create with Clay Dinosaurs| Faber-Castell USA

Do Art 3D Sand Painting| Faber-Castell USA

Do Art Coloring with Clay| Faber-Castell USA

Stacking Music Set| Hape

Klutz Jr. My Simple Sewing| Klutz

 

EARLY PLAY (INFANT)

Dimpl| Fat Brain Toy Co.

Spoolz| Fat Brain Toy Co.

Rotating Music Box| Hape

Stay-put Rattle Set| Hape

Giselle Bell Giraffe| Steiff USA

 

EARLY PLAY (TODDLER)

Kullerbu Construction Site Set| HABA

Kid O Myland Fire Truck| PlayMonster

Tegu Magnetic Floating Stacker| Tegu

PLAYMOBIL 1.2.3 Pirate Ship| PLAYMOBIL

Easy Clean Bath Squirters: Gift Set| Sago Mini

 

GAME NIGHT

Clack! Game| AMIGO Games

Codenames: Duet| Czech Games Edition

ITZI| TENZI

 

GAME PLAY 7+

Magic Maze| Dude Games

Forbidden Sky| Gamewright

Trash Pandas| Gamewright

Drop It| Thames & Kosmos

Cahoots| Gamewright

 

GAME PLAY UNDER 7

Engine, Engine No. 9| AMIGO Games

Anomia Kids| Everest Toys

Unicorn Glitterluck A Party for Rosalie| HABA

Gnomes at Night| Peaceable Kingdom – A MindWare Brand

Monster Match| North Star Games

 

GAME STRATEGY

Photosynthesis| Blue Orange Games

Queendomino| Blue Orange Games

Sagrada| Floodgate Games

Azul| Next Move Games

 

LOGIC

Logic Land| Brainwright

SmartGames Cube Puzzler Pro| Smart Toys and Games

SmartGames Squirrels Go Nuts!| Smart Toys and Games

Hacker| ThinkFun Inc

Turing Tumble| Turing Tumble LLC

 

PRETEND PLAY (FANTASY)

Rose Gold Wings and Tutu Set| Creative Education of Canada

Luna Kruselings Deluxe Doll| Kathe Kruse

My Mermiad Wig “Playful Wigs”| Pink Poppy USA

Harvey’s Veggie Dog Car| Sago Mini

Folkmanis Mouse in Pumpkin| Folkmanis Puppets

 

PRETEND PLAY (ROLE)

Calico Critters Grand Department Store Gift Set| Epoch Everlasting Play

Super Kid In Training| MindWare

Grand City Station| Hape

Aquarium| PLAYMOBIL

 

SCIENTIFIC PLAY

Snap Circuits BRIC: Structures| ELENCO

Klutz Maker Lab Circuit Games| Klutz

Ooze Labs Chemistry Station| Thames & Kosmos

Kids First Big & Fun Microscope| Thames & Kosmos

Dodeca 12 in 1 SolarHydraulic Robot| OWI Inc.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.