New Toys Dominate Hot Toys List This Christmas

NORTH POLE – Christmas is fast approaching and children are overwhelmed with the vast, and often expensive, toys to ask Santa for this year. But industry officials are sharing their picks for the top toys for Christmas 2017.

Topping the list is the Nintendo Switch, which retails for $299. The Switch is a portable home console that doubles as a handheld device for use on the go. Experts expect the console, introduced in March, to pass the Wii to become Nintendo’s best-selling product. Nearly 8 million units had been sold as of September. The company expects to sell more than 17 million consoles this year.Second on the list is the Hatchimals Surprise. Younsters seem to love big surprises and two of the season’s most popular toys, the L.O.L. Surprise! Big Surprise and Hatchimals Surprise, both priced at $69.99, are flying off shelves.The L.O.L. Big Surprise, by MGA Entertainment, is a glittery, dome-shaped plastic case filled with four dolls — along with dozens of accessories, clothing, charms and other knickknacks — that must be individually unwrapped. It can take hours to peel away the toy’s layers and figure out exactly what’s inside. Some dolls cry, spit or “tinkle.” Others change color in cold water.

Hatchimals Surprise, meanwhile, adds a twist to last year’s hit holiday toy. This time around, there are two Hatchimals — fuzzy creatures that sing, dance and interact with one another — inside each speckled egg. But first, users have to help the creatures hatch, which generally requires about 15 minutes of holding, tapping and cajoling the outer egg.Third on the list are the Women of NASA and Star Wars Lego sets. Women of NASA, which sells for $24.99, honors four female scientists and astronauts, including Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, and Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space. The set, released Nov. 1, sold out on Amazon.com within 24 hours. Still available, though, are the BB-8 building kit ($99.99) and First Order Star Destroyer($159.99) from the upcoming movie, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” Also part of the line: The Millennium Falcon ($149.99), which comes with 7,541 pieces, making it Lego’s largest set to date.

Also hot this year, experts say, are interactive animals such as the Fingerlings Monkey Bars and Swing Playset.

The Fingerlings is a family of tiny monkeys, and the occasional unicorn and sloth, that latch onto your finger and respond to voice, movement and touch by blinking, babbling and blowing kisses. The animatronic toys, which sell for $14.99 apiece, are already sold out online at Walmart, Target and Toys R Us.

The toys, which are about the size of fingerling potatoes, burp, laugh and doze off when rocked. And if you run out of ways to keep them entertained, the toy company WowWee also sells pint-size jungle gyms and playground sets for $25 to $40.

Another interactive animal catching on is the FurReal Roarin’ Tiger.

It’s a plush tiger that blinks, roars and wags its tail. Tyler, which costs $129.99, comes with his own squeaky chicken toy and is among Amazon’s best-selling toys.

Oonies are also a popular item this season. What are they?

According to Moose Toys, they’re “air-filled balls of amazing fun.” The Oonies Mega Starter Kit ($29.99) comes with 90 pellets and an “inflator.”

The part-balloon, part-bubble toys are made of a latex-free plastic. Once inflated, Oonies can be stuck together and decorated to create animals, monsters, even elaborate games. But the fun is temporary: Oonies typically deflate within a matter of days. Moose Toys, the company behind other hits like Shopkins and Pikmi Pops, says Oonies is on track to become the company’s most popular craft toy.