Amazon.com has its own cute teddy bear for sale this year. The teddy bear made by Gund is a Tan Bear with red knit holiday hat. The hat has Amazon.com's logo on it. The bear costs $29.99 and is exclusive to Amazon.com. You can purchase it here.
Toys R Us is joining Nordstrom, Hot Topic and other retailers in launching special New Moon sections. The Toys R Us New Moon store can be found both online and in the toy retailers bricks-and-mortar locations. It carries action figures, lunch boxes, chip clips, backpacks, wallets and dolls. It also carries throw pillows and games like those pictures above. Toys R Us does not appear to carry the large Edward and Jacob cutouts so they won't have to worry about middle-aged women running off with them, which is what happened at Nordstrom's.
Ian Falconer's children's book character is getting more popular thanks to a Nickelodeon tv show called Olivia that debuted earlier this year. Playthingsreports that the Olivia merchandise is increasing along with Olivia's rise in popularity.
TysToxBox.com has added an Olivia store in a licensing deal with Chorion. The store sells personalized Olivia t-shirts, books, DVDs and calendars. Chorion has also launched a new website called myolivia.com, which contains online games, printables and activities. Playthings says Spin Master is developing a line of Olivia preschool girl's toys that will debut in fall 2010.
Playthingsreports that Bachmann plas to sell its Thomas & Friends internationally for the first time. Bachmann granted rights to HIT Entertainment to sell Thomas & Friends trains in China and Hong Kong.
Mr. Rick Li, managing director of Bachmann China said, "We are very pleased to be expanding such a wonderful product line into new territories and introducing Thomas the Tank Engine to new aspiring engineers around the world!"
Walmart announced that prices of more than 100 toys will be rolled back, many at an additional 20% and 30% savings. The discounts will last through the Christmas shopping period. Walmart says the price cuts are in addition to the 100 toys for $10 pricing previously announced.
A few samples of Walmart's latest toy price cuts include:
There was a preview of the Barbie Doll'd Up Nails Digital Nail Printer technology earlier this year at CES. Now the nail printer is available and the first commerical has arrived. It's likely to be one of the hot toys for girls this year.
The digital nail printer lets girls create, customize and print designs for nails at home. Barbie Doll'd Up Nails connects to a PC via USB. Girls apply a pre-coat and then insert their fingers into the device. Printing takes just a few seconds. Then a top coat is applied. Girls can choose from 1000s of nail designs or upload their own graphics and photos.
The nail printer is sold exclusively at Toys R Us. You can buy it here. The price listed as of this writing is $149.99.
Aflac and Macy's are selling an annual plush Holiday Duck to fight pediatric cancer. This year's Aflac duck is dressed as a green holiday tree with ornaments and a golden star that lights up. The plush duck says "Aflaaac" when squeezed. The ducks go on sale on Sunday, November 1st at participating Macy's and at aflacholidayduck.com.
The prices are unchanged from last year at $10 for the 6-inch duck and $15 for the 10-inch version. 100 percent of the proceeds go to the nearest of 37 participating pediatric cancer hospitals in the region where it is sold. Since its initial appearance in 2001, the Aflac Holiday Duck has raised more than $2.2 million for pediatric cancer research and treatment.
"Aflac understands that many families who routinely make charity a part of their holiday traditions are struggling this year," Aflac's Manager of Cause and Marketing Philanthropy, Buffy Swinehart, said. "The Aflac Duck, which is always there in times of need, offers fans with tight budgets a chance to give back in a meaningful way."
Robid is an amazing little robot from Tomotaka Takahashi. Robid makes moves that seem more like an animation than a clunky robot. Robid can jump in the air without falling to the floor. Robid's personality also comes through as he struts and stomps around showing off his moves. Robid is just a prototype but he will be hit with kids if he is ever mass produced and released as a toy.
You can see some more photos of Robid here (translated) on a Japanese robot website called Robot Watch.
The UK's Toy Retailers Association (TRA) has released its annual Dream Toys list. The list is the TRA's official prediction of holiday toy bestsellers. It only contains toys priced under 50 pounds (about $82). The TRA also relisted lists for boys, girls, pre-school, games, construction toys and creative toys. Here are the lists in alphabetical orders.
Dream Toy List
Bakugan Battle Pack, Spin Master
Battle Strikers starter Set, Mega Brands
Ben 10 Alien Force Kevins DX Action Cruiser, Bandai
Bendaroos Mega Pack, Spin Master
GO GO Pets Hamsters, Character Options
GX Racers Tightrope Terror, Flair
Kidizoom Multimedia Digital Camera, V-Tech
LEGO Games Minotaurus, Lego
Monopoly City, Hasbro
Princess Peppa’s Palace, Character Options
Sylvanian Families Caravan, Flair
Transformers Movie 2 Voyagers Figures, Hasbro
Girls List
Animagic, Peanut the Playful Puppy, Vivid
Baby Annabell 2009, Zapf
Barbie and The 3 Musketeers Corinne Doll, Mattel
Cicciobello Love 'n' Care, Flair
Fluffy Goes Walkies, Vivid
FurReal Friends Lulu my Cuddlin’ Kitty, Hasbro
GO GO Pets Hamsters, Character Options
Pony In My Pocket Pony Arena, Corinthian
Liv Dolls Assortment, Spin Master
Sally Doll, Zapf
Sylvanian Families - The Caravan, Flair
Sylvanian Families - The Pleasure Boat, Flair
Boys List
Bakugan Battle Pack, Spin Master
Battle Strikers Starter Set, Mega Brands
Ben 10 Alien Force Kevins DX Action Cruiser, Bandai
GX Racers Tightrope Terror, Flair
Gormiti Guardian Creature, Flair
H.M Armed Forces Tank, Character Options
i-Bladez Flightstick and Salvation 3D Helicopter, Bladez Toys
Nerf Raider Rapid Fire CS-35, Hasbro
Screature, Mattel
Star Wars Clone Wars Ultimate Blaster, Hasbro
Transformers Movie 2 Deluxe Figures, Hasbro
Transformers Movie 2 Voyagers Figures, Hasbro
Pre-School Toy List
First Steps Walker PINK, V-Tech
Fisher Price Lets Get To Work Manny Mattel
Stack n Surprise Count n Build Snail Pail, Mattel
In The Night Garden Sleepy Time Igglepiggle, Hasbro
We aren't sure what to think of this unusual Ken doll from Mattel. Sugar Daddy Ken is described as wearing a "dashing jacquard-patterned jacket with a light pink polo shirt and crisp white pants." The product description says Ken "is ready for Palm Beach social season, sunning by the pool and a stroll with his little companion." Little is too large of a word to describe that super tiny dog that is not much higher than Ken's shoes. Sugar Daddy Ken also comes with "swim trunks" so Ken can remove his crisp white pants and hang out by the pool. Sugar Daddy Ken will not be available until April 2010. It is sold for $81.99 from Entertainment Earth.
Toys R Us will open FAO Schwartz mini-boutiques inside a number of Toys R Us stores in preparation for the holiday shopping season.
The boutiques will last until early 2010, then be taken out. Toys R Us bought FAO Schwarz back in May and has taken over the main locations. But the FAO Schwartz name recognition is so high that the company decided to do the boutique idea and reopen the FAP Schwarz website.
"We're excited to bring FAO Schwarz to the millions of Americans who in the past couldn't make their way to New York City," Storch said. "We'll continue to feature FAO merchandise that's very different and distinguishes Toys R Us from other toy sellers."
The FAO Schwarz Web site features interactive pages that include a version of the Muppet Whatnot Workshop in the FAO Schwarz store in New York, the company said.
Storch declined to predict the FAO Schwarz boutiques' sales for the holiday shopping season. FAO Schwarz struck a similar store-within-a-store deal with Macy’s Inc. in May 2008. Those shops will close by November, the department-store chain said.
Toys R Us is the country's largest toy company. It gobbled up BabyUniverse.com, eToys.com, and KBToys.com over the years. The new boutiques are meant to strike a blow at its arch-rival for toy dollars, Wal-Mart. It's a smart move. FAO Schwarz has a name that conjures up magical images of fantastic toys. Toys R Us, eh, not so much. Now people will go to Toys R Us looking for a bargain, and then be sucked in by the exciting FAO Schwarz display.
Amazon.com and Sprig have partnered to sell this eco-friendly recycling truck. The toy comes shipped in Amazon.com's frustration-free packaging. Amazon.com has an interview here with Sprig about the truck and about partnering with Amazon.com for its packaging.
Sprig says they make the Eco-Rcecycling toy truck using recycled plastic and sawdust.
The Eco-Recycling truck is made in the beautiful Czech Republic (our toys are made in North America and Europe). We decided on a recycling truck as it really fits the message behind the toys. We make our toys out of Sprigwood, which utilizes bits of recycled plastic and sawdust. This bio-composite material is a great alternative to using virgin oil based plastics. Our eco-recycling truck smells like WOOD, is very lightweight, and has fantastic play value. What makes this toy different is its play value. The recycling truck features a great carry/push handle, 2 distinct dump mechanisms, a recycling garbage can, and a fold open truck cab. These features make this toy rich in play and smart in design. We don’t use any paints on our toys and they are also dishwasher safe on the top rack which is great for toys that are shared by lots of kids.
Sprig also says it uses little shelf packaging with its toys because they say the benefit of "not using twist ties and packaging blisters is we eliminate tons of material that usually ends up in landfills."
The toy recycling truck can be purchased here on Amazon.com for $19.99.
Nickelodeon believes there is plenty of life left in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. Nickelodeon has acquired the global rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from The Mirage Group and 4Kids Entertainment for approximately $60 million. Nickelodeon plans to develop a new CG-animated television series based on the franchise, anticipated to premiere in 2012. Additionally, in partnership with Viacom's Paramount Pictures, a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feature film is also planned for 2012. Nickelodeon has also acquired all merchandising rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They will continue to work with Playmates Toys, which has been the creative force behind the TMNT master toy program over the last two decades.
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shares a comedic sensibility with the
Nickelodeon DNA, with added layers of action and fantasy that have kept this
property an evergreen favorite with multiple generations of audiences," said
Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. "We are
extremely happy to have the opportunity to be able to focus on this property
and creatively re-introduce it to a new generation of kids."
Do you want ice cubes shaped like Legos? There's a tray for that at the Lego store. The rubber tray will make ten frozen Lego shaped cubes at a time. The Ice Brick Tray costs $7.99. The product page can be found here.
Mattel has launched its new online store at MattelShop.com in time for the 2009 holidays. The site includes a complete catalog of Mattel's popular brands including Barbie and Hot Wheels. Shoppers can choose to shop by age, gender or play preference. The website also lets shoppers browse by brand or category. MattelShop.com also features innovative tools including ShopTogether, a social shopping tool from DecisionStep that allows anyone to browse the site together with family and friends regardless of whether they are across town or around the world.
Ian Falconer's children's book character is getting more popular thanks to a Nickelodeon tv show called 
Walmart announced that prices of more than 100 toys will be rolled back, many at an additional 20% and 30% savings. The discounts will last through the Christmas shopping period. Walmart says the price cuts are in addition to the 
The UK's 
Nickelodeon believes there is plenty of life left in the 
