November 20, 2015 Dana

New & Hot! Highlights from our Holiday Gift Guide

Have you downloaded our Holiday Gift Guide yet? This toy-shopping cheat sheet makes it simple to pinpoint the perfect gift for every kid on your list – we’ve divvied up this year’s best toys into categories, so if you’re looking for, say, a toy for a toddler, you just go straight to Toddler Toys, or if you’re looking for a construction toy for a busy builder, you just make a beeline for Building + Construction and LEGO.

Of course, all of these categories are also laid out right here at mbeans.com to help out our online shoppers, and throughout the lead-in to the holidays, I’m going to talk about some of our favorites right here at Spilling the Beans, category by category. So without further ado: here are some new and trendy toys we’re psyched about for the holidays in 2015!

OYO Hockey and OYO Football Sets

Little fans who dream of hitting the gridiron or strapping on some skates will love creating their own game scenarios with the realistic (and cute-as-a-button) OYO minifigures, who are designed to resemble the real players and have authentic outfits, accessories, and team logos. Add these mini-athletes to a beautifully detailed buildable rink or football field, and you have a super-deluxe holiday gift that your sports-loving kid will still be talking about at Christmas or Hanukkah twenty years from now. “Remember when you got me that OYO hockey rink, Dad? That was still the best gift ever.” Yep.

Calico Critters vacation sets: Seaside Cruiser Houseboat, Secret Island Playhouse, and Adventure Treasure Ship

For a mega-deluxe gift for an entirely different kind of kid: if you have the kind of child who spends hours creating stories and scenarios with dolls, action figures, and other little friends, and likes creating and using habitats for them to occupy, you couldn’t do better than Calico Critters playsets. And these sets are loaded with irresistible little nooks and crannies and accessories that let Critters hide, perch, slide down slides, dress up, visit a private island… it’s the perfect recipe for adventure!

i-Loom Deluxe Friendship Bracelet Kit

It’s hard to know where to start talking about how great this toy is. For starters: it makes it easier to make better-looking bracelets. But, then, it also makes it easier to design more complex bracelets, which is a key feature for any bracelet-maker, because as you may remember from your own friendship-bracelet phase as a kid, part of the joy of it is showing off your creations. Oh, and showing off? You can do that online. And, in the parent-pleasing department: the i-Loom also adds a tactile, real-world element to electronic play.

So basically: if you have a tween who likes friendship bracelets and has regular access to an iPad, you can stop looking for the ultimate gift, because you’ve found it.

Green Toys Construction equipment

Not content to merely deliver kid-tough, eco-friendly toys, this American company also delivers superb pretend-play fun for young children. These chunky trucks have working, moving parts (a mixing drum that spins, a scooper that scoops), and come with cute little matching figures that can ride in them, and they’re perfect in the sandbox, backyard, playroom, or even the bathtub (Green Toys are even dishwasher-safe)!

Shopkins Spot It!

Shopkins are hot, and Spot It is perennial fast-paced competitive fun: the goal of this high-speed card game is to spot the matching icons on cards before your opponent. Combine these two favorites and you get a small gift (stocking stuffer, perhaps?) that will make a Shopkins fan cheer.