21 hot toys for this holiday season

— -- Get ahead of the holiday game! Toy companies are offering a first glimpse at what may top the list for children this year.

Laurie Schacht of Toy Insider Mom has seen what's to come. Her team has put the toys through the tests and ranked the best of the best. Schacht shared her top 21 toys with ABC News’ Amna Nawaz. Take a look and take notes!

1. Scoop and Learn Ice Cream Cart (LeapFrog) Ages: 2+

Children can pretend to run their own ice cream cart. The cart makes sounds and melodies and comes with a magic scoop and activity cards.

“This is really great. It is for our littlest ones,” Schacht said. “Kids are going to get memory skills, sequencing skills. So it really is a lot of fun and a lot of great pretend play.”

2. Go! Go! Smart Wheels Race & Play Adventure Park (VTech) Ages: 1-5

A remote control operates the race car with interchangeable tracks, playful music and sounds.

“There are smart points that give us lights and sounds and phrases. But best of all, there’s a piece of track when you crank it up, it takes the car up to the top, it shoots down, goes down through the loop de loop and goes out and they do it all over again,” Schacht said.

3. Thomas and Friends Super Station (Fisher-Price) Ages: 3+

“They’ve actually made this track suitable so that any of the engines that your kids have will work on this whole Thomas set,” said Schacht. “This will store over a hundred cars. So that’s amazing.”

4. FurReal Roarin’ Tyler, The Playful Tiger (Hasbro) Ages: 4+

“He has over a hundred different sounds and motion animations. He’s got touch points on his head,” Schacht said. “If you roar right at him, he will roar right back.”

5. Mickey Transforming Roadster Racer R/C (Jada Toys) Ages: 4+

Schacht pointed out that as kids get older, “they don’t just want the toys. They want toys that go with their favorite characters.”

6. Peppa Pig Lights & Sounds Family Home (Jazzwares) Ages: 3+

“It’s only one button. The rest is all pretend play,” said Schacht. “The house stands almost 2 feet tall. It’s really just a lot of fun. Great play value.”

7. Doc McStuffins All-In-One Nursery (Just Play) Ages: 3+

In the Disney Junior TV show, Doc’s mom is having a baby. The new nursery toy is all about getting Doc McStuffins ready for their expanding family.

“It has everything you need," said Schacht. "It has a stethoscope and a scale and it even has stickers.”

8. PJ Masks Rival Racers Track Playset (Just Play) Ages: 3+

Kids can play out adventures seen on the animated children’s show "PJ Masks." The playset includes a Cat-Car vehicle, Catboy figure and Night Ninja Bus.

Schacht calls it “a lot of fun, great action for the kids.”

9. L.O.L Surprise! Tots (MGA Entertainment) Ages: 4+

“Each one has a special reveal. So if you feed it or put it in water, it will do something,” Schacht said.

There is also a bigger edition of this toy, the L.O.L. Surprise! Big Surprise, that comes with 50 limited surprises inside with exclusive dolls and accessories. These are already selling out.

10. Teddy Ruxpin (Wicked Cool Toys) Ages: 3+

Schacht explained how the bear has been updated. “This one we connect blue tooth to our device. So he’s going to read along on your iPad, on your device. He’s got over 40 different expressions. So he’s really cool. A great storyteller for the kids.”

11. Jo Jo CD + G Karaoke Machine (Ekids) Ages: 6+

“It’s really cool. You get the words on the TV screen so that kids can sing along. You can also stream to your device. And you can play all of your own music on it,” said Schacht.

12. Shopkins Shoppies Super Mall (Moose Toys) Ages: 5+

Schacht said it comes fully loaded. "It has everything you’d expect. It’s got a movie theater with a place where kids can actually hook their phones up so they can stream videos or movies and let their Shopkins watch,” she said.

13. Soft’N Slo Squishes (Orb) Ages: 8+

Schacht said, “This is one of the hottest things that I can talk to you about. Squish it and let it rise.”

14. Oonies Starter Kit (Moose Toys) Ages: 5+

“This is just a brand new toy. It’s kind of cross between a balloon and a bubble," explained Schacht. "It’s just a nice easy gift."

15. Hatchimals Surprise Ages: 5+

“It’ll be on shelves Oct. 6. Do you want to know what’s inside? I’m not allowed to tell you,” Schacht teased, adding, “The hatching process is different. They are taking pre-orders now.”

16. Fingerlings (WowWee) Ages: 5+

“They respond to sound. They respond to touch. They respond to motion. Each of the retailers will have their own special version of the Fingerling,” said Schacht.

Some styles may be tough to find soon.

17. SoundMoovz Musical Bandz (Cra-Z-Art) Ages: 8+

“Here’s a toy that’s going to get them up and moving,” Schacht said. “There’s over 400 different sounds once you download them. But then you can also stream your music and add beats.”

18. First Order Star Destroyer (Lego) Age: 9+

“This is over a thousand pieces and comes with figures. This is for the new movie and very, very detailed,” she said.

19. Smooshy Mushy Age: 5+

“We have them in a Bento Box. We have them in a blind bag,” said Schacht. “Opening things up and finding out what’s inside is always fun to do.”

20. Nintendo Switch (Nintendo) Ages: 9+

“The switch is amazing,” Schacht said.

21. Nerf Rival Nemesis MXVII (Hasbro) Ages: 14+

Schacht said, “This is a ton of fun.”

Be sure to watch the video above with Amna Nawaz and Laurie Schacht to see demos of each toy and to get more details about the products featured.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.