The holiday toy season is shaping up around a broad mix of play patterns, according to a company-submitted holiday roundup. Toy and game companies were invited to nominate their own “Hot for Holiday” picks, highlighting products they believe retailers should watch. The selections span imaginative worlds, hands-on experiences, sensory play, tech-enabled toys and familiar entertainment franchises. Because the list comes from manufacturers’ own submissions, it reflects company priorities rather than independent testing.
Imaginative worlds and building
Mattel’s modular dollhouse, priced at $214.99 for ages 3 and up, packs nine indoor and outdoor play areas, two pools, two slides and more than 65 accessories. Its two house structures can be joined into one large house or kept as two connected homes with a bridge between them.
Other building and world-building sets include a 106-piece LEGO Bluey school set for $24.99, with Bluey and Rusty mini-figures and a mini kitchen, café, hospital and baby-care area inspired by the “Early Baby” episode. A 502-piece Minecraft Skeleton set for ages 10 and up has jointed limbs, a removable diamond helmet, bow, arrow and grass base. Magna-Tiles offers a lighthouse-themed set with a Lighthouse Rescuer figure, sea turtle, rescue raft and shoreline pieces for docks, waves and towers.
For portable play, CONNETIX’s 32-piece travel pack from Brave Toys puts mini magnetic shapes and two reusable sticker sheets in a carry tin for $25. Melissa & Doug’s modular, open-top playset is priced from $9.99 to $34.99 for ages 0 to 2 and is designed for changing layouts and overhead play.
Sensory, plush and active play
Sensory items include Chester, a butt-shaped Goliath interactive pal at $29.99 for ages 8 and up. It wiggles and makes fart sounds when its cheeks are squeezed, and dances when its head is pressed. Schylling’s NeeDoh countdown has 13 doors hiding six NeeDoh surprises and seven Halloween treats for $14.99. Horizon Group USA’s slow-flow glitter-gel stress toys, $4.99 to $8.99, come in licensed themes such as Squishmallows, Hello Kitty, SpongeBob SquarePants, Minecraft, Bluey and Pudgy Penguins.
Just Play’s 18-inch Tiggle Me Elmo Giggle Max, a reimagined 1990s toy for 18 months and up, is priced at $39.97 and responds with laughter and full-body movement. Yoonique’s 4-inch farm friends combine plush with a squeezable rubber core at $4.99; the first wave includes a frog, chicken, duck, goat, spotted cow and Highland cow.
Active play entries include ZURU’s Mommy Elephant, which walks and reveals two, three or four babies that can connect to her tail as a train; it requires three AA batteries. Simplay3’s oversized sensory nest, $129.99 for ages 2 and up, rocks and spins in any direction and is large enough for several children to use together indoors or outdoors.
Tech-forward and licensed favorites
Tech-enabled toys range from a voice-powered sticker maker by Hapiko that uses AI with built-in filters and says the device is not “always listening,” to Cra-Z-Art’s instant-print camera set for tweens, which prints black-and-white photos without extra cables and includes markers and stickers. Tonies’ Toniebox 2 Pokémon set, $199.99 for ages 5 and up, includes Pikachu, Squirtle, Charmander and Bulbasaur figures that play stories and songs on a screen-free audio player.
The Pokémon 30th-anniversary Elite Trainer Box, $49.99 for ages 6 and up, introduces a Futuristic Rare card rarity, all-foil cards and the return of 30 classic Pokémon. Jazwares’ Pikachu, created by Wow! Stuff, offers more than 100 action and sound combinations, touch sensors, blinking eyes and mouth movement for $79.99. Hasbro’s 11-inch action figure converts to a car in four steps and includes accessories for both modes at $54.99.
Entertainment franchises also appear in a 2-foot-tall Bluey home playset at $149.99, with five floors of themed rooms and a chimney that projects spinning stars and moons; a Donkey Kong multi-level set from Jakks Pacific at $19.99 with 2.5-inch Donkey and Diddy Kong figures that ride rails, swing on vines and climb ladders; and Playmates’ Mega Thunderzord at $37.99, which plays more than 15 phrases and sounds while its eyes light up.
Collectibles and games fill out the list. MGA Entertainment’s eight music-genre mini dolls, $11.99 for ages 4 and up, each come in a pink disco ball with a record player that unlocks surprises. Super Impulse’s Drip Drops Series 1 offers 16 tiny sneaker styles spanning Hot Wheels, Godzilla and Smiley, each with a shoebox, real laces, display case and keychain. Taco Cat Games’ go-kart racing game for ages 7 and up uses swap cards to change the odds across three races.
Other entries include a Bat-Link Batmobile more than 16 inches long that fits 6.5-inch figures and hides a disc-launching BatDrone for $43.19; a 56-piece BRIO World Space Deluxe train set from Ravensburger North America at $279.99 with tunnels, a space station, rover and shuttle; and a $32.99 Moose Toys slime kit with five slimes and more than 50 mix-ins.