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Toys & Games
Here at The Toy Guy, like Santa, this is the time of year we prepare for the other nine months of the year. We look at literally hundreds and hundreds of toys every year, play with a bunch of them, and talk to kids and parents about what they want. After a couple of years of pandemic, we wondered if things would be different.
Happily, the answer is no. In fact, thereās more creativity, more value (both financial and play value), and the only changes we see are for the betterā¦at least where play is concerned. The one that excites us the most is that as a result of children and families spending a ton more time together, more people are playing, and playing together, more often. And thatās good news.
This is probably a good place to talk about how important play is for kids and families. Itās recreation, an escape from daily cares. Itās communication, a chance to encounter one another in a shared activity. Itās imagination, and we could write a whole thesis on how important that is for so many aspects of life. And, most importantly, itās fun. And, when you consider how much you get from great toys in terms of those benefits, they really are very economical. Thatās because the most sophisticated technology driving all aspects of play is the human brain. And every player comes with one pre-installed. How that technology works in play is nothing short of amazingā¦all the time.
So, before we get in to talking about some of the coolest toys weāve found this year, letās take a look at a couple of new and continuing trends:
What About Inflation?
Yes, lots of news media is talking about inflation, but donāt let that scare you. Will toys be more expensive this year? Some will. Thatās because of increased prices of materials, shipping, marketing, and so forth. From what weāve seen, though, that doesnāt appear to be more than 10 percent. Compared to some staple goods that have gone up as much as 30 percent or more in the past year, thatās not bad. Moreover, regular price increases are pretty much part of the game every year. (Recent reports at the beginning of November from tracking company NPD, puts overall inflation in toys at 7 percent, only slightly ahead of a regular year.)
Does overall inflation mean that gift givers may have less to spend? It may, and thatās an important issue. Here again, though, the toy biz can help. While there will always be some expensive toys (And this year, we think theyāre really worth the money.), many hot toys are very reasonably priced and deliver lot of fun. Particularly for younger kids, too, the level of fun and entertainment is not always directly related to price. Ask any kid whoās had a sword fight with a stick, or created a fort out of a cardboard box, or some such, about that.
How About Shipping This Year?
The challenges of 2022 in terms of shipping were enormous. Many of those issues, however, have worked through the various systems, and there is good stock on the shelves. Of course, we always advise that if you know what you want and you can get it, go ahead and buy early. Youāll save yourself a lot of stress.
The advantage of online shopping is that, you can almost always find what you want, but you may also pay a premium for something. Thatās your decision, of course, but we always advise against paying many multiples of a productās price. We think that sends a bad message to kids, and can blow your budget in ways that arenāt great.
What About āHotā Toys?
This is something we talk about every year. As we have said for decades now: āThe hot toy is only hot if itās hot for your kid.ā A toy that a child will play with, that will inspire imagination, and create memories is the best toy you can give a kid.
As we also say, every kid has their own play style. Giving kids toys that let them express and explore their own unique personalities is the best gift you can give.
Great Toys For 2023
Now, before we get into these, we do want to preface this with saying that what we write about here are toys that are new for this year. These are the cool ones you may not have heard aboutā¦or you may. There are more than 160,000 toys on the market in the U.S. at any given time, so the choices can be a bit overwhelming. Still, looking and shopping is a kind of play experience in itself. If you have a local toy store, they have been doing more and more since the pandemic, and more people are discovering them in their communities. Plan a trip and prepare to be delighted.
