The 2021 Toy of the Year (TOTY) Award finalists have been announced by The Toy Association, recognising the top toys on the market and acting as a vital fundraiser for The Toy Foundation charity.

Known as the “Oscars” of the US toy industry, the TOTY awards nominations include 117 finalists and were announced this morning by a group of well-known online influencers. Votes can be cast in each of the 16 categories at www.ToyAwards.org, where interested parties can also browse toys, and download shopping lists for the holidays. Voting will close on 5th January 2021.

“Throughout history, the toy community has demonstrated a remarkable ability to inspire generations of play, in both good times and bad. During the pandemic, we have witnessed first-hand just how important toys are in bringing fun, laughter, and learning into the home,” said Steve Pasierb, president & CEO of The Toy Association. “This year’s TOTY finalists, carefully reviewed by a panel of expert judges, truly represent the creative spirit of the North American toy industry and our members, as well as the critical role toys play in bringing joy to kids and adults alike. It is a great honour to unveil the incredible slate of finalists.”

Winners in each category, as well as the coveted overall Toy of the Year winner and People’s Choice honouree (based solely on consumer votes), will be announced at the virtual TOTY Awards gala on Friday, 12th February. The celebration will include the induction of four industry trailblazers into the esteemed Toy Industry Hall of Fame and shine a spotlight on the inspiring philanthropic work of the toy industry and The Toy Foundation.

The 2021 TOTY Finalists are…

Action Figure Toy of the Year:

• Alter Nation Action Figure Assortment (Panda Mony Toy Brands)
• Anime Heroes (Bandai America)
• Batman 4 Inch Action Figures (Spin Master)
• Fisher-Price #ThankYouHeroes Line (Mattel)
• Heroes of Goo Jit Zu (Moose Toys)
• The Original Spawn Action Figure and Comic Remastered (2020) (McFarlane Toys)
• Treasure X (Moose Toys)

Collectible of the Year:

• Blume Petal Pets (Skyrocket)
• Charaction Cube (Bandai America)
• Hairdorables Hair Art Series (Just Play)
• Hexbugs junkbots Large Dumpster (Hexbug)
• Lego Super Mario Character Packs (Lego)
• L.O.L. Surprise! Remix Hair Flip (MGA Entertainment)
• Space Invaders Micro Player (My Arcade)

Construction Toy of the Year:

• Brio Motor Set (Brio)
• Lego Friends Rescue Mission Boat (Lego)
• Lego Star Wars The Razor Crest (Lego)
• Mega Construx Halo – Pelican Inbound (Mattel)
• Plus-Plus Go! Street Racing Super Set (Plus-Plus)
• Snap Ships Sabre XF-23 Interceptor (PlayMonster)
• SolarBots: 8-in-1 Solar Robot Kit (Thames & Kosmos)

Creative Toy of the Year: 

• Big Gem Diamond Painting: Magical (Faber-Castell USA)
• Chocolate Pen (Skyrocket)
• Clixo (Toyish Labs)
• Crayola Colors of the World Crayons (Crayola LLC)
• Face Paintoos Party Pack (PlayMonster)
• Kinetic Sand Sandwhirlz Set (Spin Master)
• Swirl & Style Tie Dye Studio Maker (YULU)

Doll of the Year:

• Barbie Colour Reveal (Mattel)
• Cave Club Fashion Dolls (Mattel)
• Disney Junior Doc McStuffins Wash Your Hands Singing Doll (Just Play)
• FailFix (Moose Toys)
• Healthy Roots Dolls: Zoe Doll (Healthy Roots Dolls)
• L.O.L Surprise! O.M.G. Remix Dolls (MGA Entertainment)
• Rainbow High Fashion Dolls (MGA Entertainment)
• The Fresh Dolls (World of EPI and Just Play)

Game of the Year:

• Drone Home (PlayMonster)
• Fish Club (Blue Orange Games)
• Genius Square (Mukikim LLC)
• Poetry for Neanderthals (Exploding Kittens)
• Pokémon Trading Card Game Battle Academy (The Pokémon Company International)
• Story Time Chess (Story Time Chess)
• The #UpsideDownChallenge Game (Vango Toys)

Infant/Toddler Toy of the Year: 

• Crayola Easy-Clean Fingerpaint (Crayola LLC)
• Deep Sea Adventure (The Manhattan Toy Company)
• Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Grow-the-Fun Garden to Kitchen (Mattel)
• Go! Go! Smart Wheels Ultimate Corkscrew Tower (VTech)
• Helping Heroes Fire Station (VTech)
• Little Tikes 3-n-1 Sports Zone (Little Tikes)
• Step2 Ball Buddies Adventure Center (Step2)

Innovative Toy of the Year: 

• Alexa 2-in-1 Kitchen and Market (KidiKraft)
• Crayola Light-Up Tracing Pad with Eye-Soft-Technology (Crayola LLC)
• Go Go Bird (Zing)
• KidiZoom Creator Cam (VTech)
• Lego Super Mario Adventures with Mario Starter Course (Lego)
• L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. Remix Super Surprise (MGA Entertainment)
• Squeakee (Moose Toys)
• Star Wars The Child Animatronic Edition Toy (Hasbro)

Licence of the Year: 

• Baby Shark (Pingfong)
• Blue’s Clues & You (Nickelodeon)
• L.O.L. Surprise! (MGA Entertainment)
• Marvel (Marvel)
• Paw Patrol: Dino Rescue (Spin Master and Nickelodeon)
• Pokémon (The Pokémon Company International)
• Ryan’s World (pocket.watch)
• Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Disney)

Outdoor Toy of the Year: 

• Birdie Golf (Hog Wild Toys)
• Little Tikes Magic Flower Water Table (Little Tikes)
• Outdoor Science Lab (SmartLab Toys)
• Primo (Ambosstoys)
• SpikeBrite (Spikeball Inc.)
• Total Z70 Zipline Bundle (Adventure Parks)
• Ultimate Go-Kart (Radio Flyer)
• Wind Power 4.0 (Thames & Kosmos)

Playset of the Year: 

• Blume Rainbow Sparkle Surprise Playset (Skyrocket)
• Hexbug Nanotopia (Hexbug)
• Fisher-Price Imaginext Pop-Up Gotham City Playset (Mattel)
• Kindi Kids Kindi Fun Unicorn Ambulance Playset (Moose Toys)
• Lego Super Mario Bowser’s Castle Boss Battle Expansion Set (Lego)
• Playmobil Scooby-Doo! Mystery Machine (Playmobil)
• Railway Bucket-Builder-Set (Hape International)

Plush Toy of the Year: 

• Dolce Primo Kangaroo (Magformers)
• Eco Nation (Aurora World, Inc.)
• Little Rebels Dolls (Little Rebels Inc.)
• Shore Buddies (Shore Buddies)
• Star Wars: The Mandalorian The Child 11” Plush (Mattel)
• Story Magic Unicorn Dream Dollhouse (Horizon Group USA)
• Whatsitsface (Whatsitsface)

Pre-school Toy of the Year: 

• Brio Smart Tech Sound Action Tunnel Travel Set (Brio)
• Dimpl Digits (Fat Brain Toy Co.)
• Fisher-Price Imaginext DC Super Friends Super Surround Batcave (Mattel)
• Fun Fan Fryer (Hape International)
• Lego Duplo Modular Playhouse (Lego)
• Paw Patrol Dino Patroller (Spin Master)
• Real Rigs Recycling Truck (Kid Trax)

Speciality Toy of the Year: 

• American Girl – 2020 Girl of the Year Joss’s Ultimate Collection (Mattel)
• Hexbug nano Land (Hexbug)
• Lego Ideas Grand Piano (Lego)
• Monster Math Scale (Hape International)
• My First Rush Hour (ThinkFun)
• Shashibo Artist Series (Fun In Motion Toys)
• The Amazing Tightrope-Walking Gyrobot (Thames & Kosmos)

STEAM Toy of the Year: 

• 3Doodler Start ‘Learn from Home’ Pen Set (3Doodler)
• Crayola STEAM Paper Flower Science Kit (Crayola LLC)
• Discovery #MINDBLOWN Toy Circuitry Action Experiment Set (Discovery, Inc.)
• DIY Rainbow Catcher (Klutz)
• Eyeclops Digital Microscope & Camera (Jakks Pacific)
• Little Learning Hands World Explorers Subscription Box (Little Learning Hands LLC)
• Mega Cyborg Hand (Thames & Kosmos)
• Professor Maxwell’s VR Universe (Abacus Brands)

Vehicle of the Year:

• L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. Glamper (MGA Entertainment)
• Lego Technic Lamborghini Sian (Lego)
• Monster Jam Megalodon Storm RC (Spin Master)
• Pick Up Pete (Fotorama USA)
• PJ Masks Transforming 2 in 1 Mobile HQ (Just Play)
• Playmobil Back To The Future DeLorean (Playmobil)
• Power Treads (WowWee)

The finalists were selected from 557 nominees submitted by 205 companies. Eighteen judges, including toy and play experts, retailers, academics and journalists, reviewed and ranked the products in categories relevant to their areas of expertise. The judges then participated in a discussion to determine the finalists in each category. They considered each product’s creativity, design, play value, and marketing.

All proceeds from the TOTY programme are donated to The Toy Foundation, which delivers the magic of play to millions of children in vulnerable situations through industry-wide toy donations and cash contributions.