New York Magazine - USA (2019-11-11)

80 newyork| november11–24, 2019

PHOTOGRAPHS: COURTESY OF THE VENDORS; URBANBUZZ/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (MONOPOLY)

Bu ying oy

the one-page guide to:

➽Although they may not win any awardsfororiginality,for under$50, there are a few toys you

can’t go wrong with:thePinkfong stuffedBabySharkfora 1-year-old,theBattatshape-sorter house for

the2’s,Plus-PlusBIGblocksfora 3-year-old,theMarbleGeniusMarbleRunforage 4,StompRocketfor the 5’s, a

friendship-bracelet-makingkitforthe6’s, SnapCircuitsforthe7’s, a 3-D–printingpenfor8-year-olds,kinetic sand for

the9’s(theNationalGeographicversionis good),andfinally, forage 10,eitherthegoodold-fashionedRubik’s Cube or its

newer,sleekerGhost Cubecousin.➽Speakingof Rubik’s-likecubes,lookforaddictive qualitiesin yourtoys: puzzle

challenges designed to makea kidfeellike she’s just withinthegraspofmastery,Magna-Tiles that pro-

ducesatisfyingclickswith every new cornerofyourtower, Legos thatgenerateentire online

forumsdedicatedto“brick addiction.” (AsidenoteaboutLegos: Buythemearly and often.

Theyhavemore replayvaluethanany othertoyofthehundredswesurfaced.) ➽Considerthe subgenre

of dinner-table games.Oftenthey involveflashcards,aswiththeclassic Brain Quest sets or the

newerconversationcard gamePoobah,butthere’sevena toddlertablemat (byManners& Co.) designedtoturn mealtime

intoa game—withgraphicsandgoalsforkeepingyournapkinonyourlapandfindingtherightplaceforyour cup. ➽But

if kidsaregoingtoplay bythemselves,lookforproductsthatreallylet themplayby themselves.Sure,that model-

ingclayororigamikitmay comewithspecificinstructions,butthere’sa reasonthey oftengo ignored:Kidsneed room to

create. Lookfor toys thatallowforfreestyleinterpretation—forinstance,a fort kitthat canbe assembled

invariousformations. Insteadof Play-Doh,considerMadMattr, a moldingclaythat’s gluten

freeand non-messy. Itstextureis a crossbetweenclay andkineticsand,soyoudon’t get those tiny pieces

stuckeverywhere,and it neverdriesout.Did youknow Post-it Notesmake a greatgift? As one

parentputit tous:“A padofPost-itsis a flip-book;it’s a storybook;it’s a wallmosaicthat won’t cost yoursecurity deposit;

it’stwodozenvery smallpaperairplanes.”➽Andyes,roboticdogsarecool,butdon’tov erlookyourfavorite games

frombackin the day.Sorry!,Monopoly,Twister—ifit wassomethingyoureallylovedasa kid,there’sa good

chancekidswillloveit now.Manyteacherswetalkedtosaidtheirstudentsalwaysgo backtotheold-schoolboard

games(and,again,Legos).We alsodiscoveredthat SarahJessicaParkerandMatthewBroderickhavepassed

downa loveofYahtzeetotheir10-year-old,Tabitha.(AccordingtoSJP’s Instagram,“TabithaBroderick,Yahtzee

shark.She’sgothotdice.Always.Andyes,sheshellackedme.”)➽Alsoregardinggrown-uptaste,askyourself:

Doesthe toy looklike somethingyou mightuseas an adult?That’sa goodsign.Thisis why Melissa &

Dougstuffis oftenbeloved—thesweeperset trulyresemblesa shrunken versionofthebrooms

that parentsuse.ThetoyDysonis anothergreatexample(aconvincing impersonation of the

$350uprightballmodelfromtheTeslaofvacuumcleaners).Evenlittle- littlekidsare drawnto stuff that

hasa distinctlymatureaesthetic.➽No w for a fewwordson slime.It’s sopopularthat oneDIYslimekitrecommended

tousgeneratedover 23 milliononlineviewswhenit waspretend-playedwithbyYouTubestarJannie.Another type,

WeCoolToys’Fluffy Cloudzslime,is soldoutconstantlyonlinefora reason—itdoesn’t sticktokids’hands or

leaveresidue.(Set anemailnotificationforwhensitesrestock.)There’sa galaxyofvarieties,too:National Geo-

graphicslime,Nickelodeonslime,unicorn-poopslime(whichmany considerthe“It” slime).➽Speaking of

which,allthingsrelatedtounicornsare stillvery hot,butit’sworth notingthatanothertypeof creature

gainingin popularitywith kidsis the llama.(Nocoincidencethat oneofthemost anticipatedtoys of the

holidayseason—aFortnite-themedjumbopiñatastuffedwithgoodiesrelatedtotheblockbustervideogame—is llama

shaped.)➽Thoughnotyet out,‘Fr ozen2’ willbe thebiggestdriver of holidaysalesthisyear, say toy

purveyors—andsingingElsadollsare already sellingoutinDisneystoresallover. It’sfunny that Elsa is sing-

inga newsong(“IntotheUnknown”)froma movieyettobereleased.Butthat’skidsforyou,we guess.

After setting out to find the best toys ever for every age (to be published later this month on thestrategist.com),

we spoke to dozens of experts, from teachers to nannies to 10-year-old Mensa members,

and distilled nine pieces of general slime- and llama-related advice to take you through the holidays.