Category: Events

Friday marked the kickoff of Hasbro’s free pop-up event in New York City.  In collaboration with Amazon, a great selection of Hasbro’s top holiday toys are being showcased and they’re all available now in Amazon’s store:  www.amazon.com/hasbrotoyland

There’s lots of fun holiday-themed activities, photo opps, product displays and much more to enjoy.  The event started today and will also be on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in New York, NY on the High Line (between 15th St. and 16th St.)

At Hasbro’s Holiday Pop-Up Event, parents and kids can look forward to the following FREE activities:

• Hasbro Product Showcase: Throughout the event will be dazzling toy displays of Hasbro’s hottest selections from TRANSFORMERS, PEPPA PIG, PLAY-DOH, NERF, FURBY and TWISTER, along with premier collaboration brands STAR WARS and MARVEL from The Walt Disney Company, plus many more beloved brands. For quick and convenient order access, shoppable QR codes will be placed throughout the venue so attendees can order items directly from Amazon’s store (amazon.com/hasbrotoyland). Prime members can enjoy fast, free delivery.

• Photo Opps with Santa Claus and HasbroCharacters: Bring home the memories right away by capturing a special photo with Santa Claus and Hasbro’s iconic characters from MY LITTLE PONY, PEPPA PIG and PJ MASKS that you can take home in a special acrylic photo frame (while supplies last).

• Santa Claus Letter Writing Station: A dedicated area will be on-site giving kids the opportunity to craft handwritten letters for Santa that they can personally send to the North Pole.

Giveaways & Snacks: In addition to kid-favorite giveaways like sticker sheets and coloring sheets, eventgoers can stop by the giveaway wheel to spin and receive surprise and delight items. The special holiday experience will also treat families to complimentary snacks and drinks (on a first come, first served basis, as supplies last).

If you’re in the New York City area, The Paley Center for Media is celebrating Warner Bros. Discovery’s Shark Week with their multi-media exhibit. You can come face-to-face with sharks with their state-of-the-art VR sets, play a couple of rounds of Hungry Shark World in PaleyGX or test your shark trivia on interactive screens. You can see how you measure up against a life-size image of a great white shark and of course, there are multiple photo ops available including a retro plush shark throne. To get you even more in shark week mode, there will be Shark Week episodes streaming on the big screen during your visit!

This fin-tastic exhibit runs through August 7th. The Paley Center is at 25 West 52nd Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues). To find out more info and get your tickets, go to:  https://www.paleycenter.org/

Today, The Toy Foundation announced the winners of the 2022 Toy of the Year Awards! Administered by The Toy Foundation, The Toy of the Year Awards, also known as the “Oscars” of the toy industry, are presented annually to the top toys, games and properties of the year.  Here are the winners:

In addition to the 16 categories above, Squishmallows from Jazwares was announced as the winner of “Toy of the Year” award and the “People’s Choice” award.

The awards program supports The Toy Foundation, giving to children and families in difficult situations and it’s efforts to highlight the Toy Industry’s philanthropy. The program combines forces to help bring joy and comfort through the experience of play and toys. For more info, you can go to:  http://www.toyawards.org

Happy 80th Anniversary Wonder Woman! Today we are celebrating this iconic superhero who has influenced and empowered fans for generations. Fun fact: Wonder Woman has appeared in over 7,000 comic books and collected editions since 1941. Only Superman and Batman can say the same. To celebrate her, she is also being inducted into the Comic-Con Museum Character Hall of Fame!

We were sent this gorgeous box filled with some amazing products to commemorate this special occasion.   Thanks to Warner Bros. Entertainment and DC Comics for sending these free products to us! #freeproduct 

To find the greatest Wonder Woman gear, check out http://www.wonderwoman80.com and http://shop.dccomics.com.

The Toy of the Year Awards, also known as the Oscars of the toy industry will be held on February 12 this year. They are presented annually to the top toys, games, and properties of the year. Administered by The Toy Association, the awards program supports the philanthropic work of The Toy Foundation, which delivers new toys to children in need. The Toy of the Year Awards will be virtual and open to the public for the first time ever!

This year, there are 16 categories and we were honored to be chosen to reveal the nominees for the 2021 Game of the Year! Make sure to vote for all your favorites by going to: www.toyawards.org. Voting closes on January 5th at 11:59 pm.

Check out our YouTube video where we announced the nominees for Game of the Year! Thanks to The Toy Association and all of the toy companies for sending us the nominated games for free.

Congratulations to all the nominees for this year’s awards!

The Toy Insider’s Holiday of Play @ Home event, which was held on Thursday, October 22, was a captivating winter wonderland of toys that instantly put us in the holiday spirit! Holiday of Play, in normal circumstances, is usually an intimate cocktail party for select press and media outlets. We had the privilege of attending last year’s cocktail party and it was truly one of our favorites. The gingerbread house balloon sculpture that greeted you before entering the party was magical. Seeing the reveal of all of The Toy Insider’s top holiday toy lists, catching up with friends and colleagues we’ve known for years and making conversation while surrounded by the holiday excitement made it an event to remember. We honestly thought there wouldn’t be any type of events this year due to the pandemic. But, The Toy Insider team worked their magic to organize both Sweet Suite @ Home earlier in the summer and now Holiday of Play @ Home.

As soon as you entered the virtual world, you were greeted by festive holiday decor and everything you needed to navigate the showroom floor. There was a list of sponsors and floor plan which allowed for an easy journey to see all of the companies you were interested in. Each company’s showroom had provided images and press information for their products. Depending on the company, prerecorded videos were provided or some had options for either live one-or-one meetings and group presentations via zoom. The Toy Insider’s lists of hot toys were revealed including Hot 20, STEM 10 and 12 under $12.

We got to see the hottest holiday products from some of our favorite companies including Mattel, Funko Games, Moose Toys and Super Impulse. In addition to seeing the products, there was also many giveaways and fun activities held by many of the companies. There was even a fun contest throughout the event where you had to find the hidden socks within the virtual venue. Michael and Lindsey did a great job and won one of the runners-up prizes of a $50 Amazon gift card! Even Santa took time away from his busy schedule to attend the event!

The Toy Insider team sleighed this event and we are so grateful to them for bringing this amazing experience to us while safely at home. Check out our YouTube video as we take you on a walk-through of the fabulous toy-filled wonderland and if you haven’t already, get those Christmas wish lists started!