Countdown to Christmas: Good Housekeeping Picks Top 25 Toys
Good Housekeeping magazine showcased its top 25 toys on “Good Morning America.”
— -- The Good Housekeeping Institute reviews hundreds of toys every year for the brand's annual Toy Awards and Good Housekeeping magazine Thursday showcased its top 25 toys.
Meaghan Murphy, the magazine’s executive editor, appeared live on “Good Morning America" to discuss the list.
Murphy explained that the institute’s engineers reviewed more than 500 toys for safety, quality and skill building. They ensured the toys met safety standards, checked for pinch points and drop-tested the items to guarantee they wouldn’t shatter into small pieces with sharp edges or pose a choking hazard.
The final decision came from 125 children aged 3 through 11. They assessed the fun factor by testing the toys for more than one week.
Ten of the children who tried the toys for the magazine were in the “GMA” studio to share their feedback.
The Top 5 Toys
Toy of the Year: Wonder Workshop Dash & Dot Wonder Pack, $279, age 5+. A robot that teaches programming to children. Download one of the apps to play with them.
Dino Dominator: Fisher-Price Imaginext Ultra T-Rex, $100, ages 3 to 8. This toy dinosaur walks and chomps, and fires projectiles from his mouth and boulders from his hip.
Lifelike Unicorn: FurReal Friends StarLily, My Magical Unicorn from Hasbro, $119. Age 4+ Sensors allow StarLily to flutter her eyes and wings in response to voice, touch and hand motions. She lights up and works with an app to play games.
Minion Mansion: Mega Bloks Minions Castle Adventure, $75. Age 5+. Bob, Kevin and Stuart zip-line their way around the changeable castle, finding hidden passageways and more. The Minions come with interchangeable parts.
Virtual Reality: Mattel View-Master, $30. Age 7+. Pop a smartphone into the next-level View-Master, download one of the View-Master VR apps and take “field trips” to distant places. This device will surround you with 360-degree environments so you feel as if you are really there!
The 20 Other Top Toys
Creativity for Kids Make Your Own Holiday Snow Globes, $20
Crayola Creations Thread Wrapper, $25
Faber-Castell Do Art Paint With Marbles, $25
Sick Science Solve This/Slick Tricks, $22
Kidoozie My First Zoomin’ Garage, $20
ThinkFun, Inc. Compose Yourself, $20
Design & Drill BrightWorks, $40
Mattel Monster High Astranova, $50
Thames & Cosmos Kids First Level 1: Amusement Park Engineer, $65
Lego Systems, Inc. Ninjago Ronin R.E.X., $50
Galt Toys Mega Marble Run, $48
Silverlit Blu-Bot, $60
R.E.V. by WowWee, $99
Digital Dream Labs Puzzlets, $100
Anki Overdrive, $150