At its annual ceremony Friday night, The Toy Foundation unveiled its 22nd annual Toy of the Year Awards. The lion’s share of the awards in 16 categories (three of which we previewed here at borg last summer) went to LEGO, taking seven awards. But the top prize, the Toy of the Year, went to Squishmallows from Jazwares. Four people were also inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame: Johnny Gruelle, creator of Raggedy Ann & Raggedy Andy; Lucille King, founder of the Playskool Institute; Jim Pressman, president of Pressman Toy Corporation; and Bob Wann of PlayMonster. Six hundred nominations were pared down to 114 finalists by toy industry experts. Check out the other winners below.
Check out the links to learn more about the toys or order now at Amazon.
Action Figure of the Year — Masters of the Universe: Masterverse (Mattel)
Collectible of the Year — LEGO Minifigures MARVEL Studios (The LEGO Group)
Construction Toy of the Year — LEGO Marvel Spider-Man Daily Bugle (The LEGO Group)
Creative Toy of the Year — Magic Mixies Magic Cauldron (Moose Toys)
Doll of the Year — Ada Twist Scientist Lab Doll (Just Play)
Game of the Year — A Game of Cat and Mouth
Grown-Up Toy of the Year — LEGO Botanical Collection Flower Bouquet (The LEGO Group)
Infant/Toddler Toy of the Year — Fisher-Price 4-in-1 Ultimate Learning Bot (Mattel)
License of the Year — Pokémon
Outdoor Toy of the Year — ZURU Crazy Bunch O Balloons (Zuru)
Playset of the Year — LEGO Star Wars Boba Fett’s Starship (The LEGO Group)
Plush Toy of the Year — Squishmallows (Jazwares)
Preschool Toy of the Year — LEGO Disney Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, and Tiana’s Storybook Adventures (The LEGO Group)
Specialty Toy of the Year — LEGO Everyone is Awesome (The LEGO Group)
STEAM Toy of the Year — LEGO CREATOR 3-in-1 Ferris Wheel (The LEGO Group)
Vehicle of the Year — PLAYMOBIL Volkswagen T1 Camping Bus (Special Edition version shown at top)
“We are thrilled to unveil this year’s much-anticipated TOTY winners, all of which are outstanding examples of the toy community’s talent in designing innovative, magical, and creative playthings for kids and adults alike,” said Pamela Mastrota, executive director of The Toy Foundation. “We congratulate Squishmallows, each of the category winners, and all the nominees for their wonderful achievements and thank the industry for coming together in support of The Toy Foundation and its critical work of bringing toys, play, and healing to millions of children in need.”
Learn more about The Toy Foundation at its website here.
C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg
