Coolest Toys

“What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, And makes a slinkity sound?
A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing, Everyone knows it’s Slinky…
It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky, for fun it’s a wonderful toy
It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky, it’s fun for a girl and a boy!

That classic coil of cheap steel which you could get started and walk around, especially down stairs. That’s all it could do, mind you, and over time it got knotted up faster than a yo yo string. But what kid didn’t have a slinky? It was one of those toys that could be the dictionary definition of easily amused entertainment.

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It’s not the first time we’ve had a lightsaber toy that kids can build, but this is certainly the next level of the concept. Tying in with LucasFilm’s THE CLONE WARS movie and TV show on Cartoon Network, the Star Wars Ultimate Lightsaber lets young Padawans experience their first right of passage as a Jedi - to build their own lightsaber.

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With video games dominating the game playing world of youngsters these days, it’s hard to even get them to look at something so low tech as a metal football field rattling from electric currents while little plastic football men randomly move along in an attempt to drive a fabric football across the goal line. And often, ending up congregating in the corner as the field hums with an annoying buzz. But that’s the allure of Electric Football, a classic game that kids all over the 60s and 70s played with both passion and patience.

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Okay, not really. Not even close. But seriously. A hand cranked toy ride along locomotive set for over $4,000?! That’s some serious spoiling of the toddler. But I gotta admit, it sure looks cool.

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The Snowball fight. It’s a rite of winter. Tossing baseball sized spheres of ice at each other in an all out battle which sends kids either scurrying inside, or reaching down for the next round and fusillade. My brother and I used to spend hours outside making snow forts and ammunition before going all out in a may the best man win and the loser freeze melee.
What’s really needed is some serious technological advantages that only superior firepower can bring. And that’s where the Snowball Blaster comes in handy.

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The Big Wheel came out the year after I officially became too big to enjoy it, and as such, I have had to live vicariously through younger friends growing up, and my son who got his first Big Wheel (a Hot Wheels variant) at age 3. Made completely of blown plastic, the Big Wheel was the low to the ground, stylish tricycle that just screamed speed in comparison to the traditional trike. And a few years later, it came out with a hand brake which made for some seriously fun braking spins. And it’s three peg adjustable seat meant it could grow with it’s little speed demon.

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Disney is going ninety miles and hour with their marketing of the Disney Princesses and it’s simply genius. You go to Disneyland and you’ll see dozens of little girls walking around in their favorite princess costumes like Main Street was their own personal fiefdom. And it’s been so successful as a brand, that movies, toys and a host of other merchandise are built completely around Disney Princesses. As such, why not get your little Princess her own fiefdom with the Disney Princess Enchanted Tales Deluxe Castle?

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Every kid had a View-Master growing up. It was just way too cool to get that 3d effect looking at everything from cartoons to pictures of Disneyland, or even of man walking on the moon. And with a simply click of the advance lever, and you got to see another. And another. Or, slip out the wheel and put in another one. After growing up, I rather lost track of the old View-Master until I went to a restaurant and was given the desert menu on a View-Master. And I thought, my God, what genius! All you need is a scratch and sniff and it would be a rapid rise in sales.

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(Third in a series …)

Girls enjoy classic toys as well. And while many girls can play with Legos, Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs and the like (and we encourage such creativity), in terms of classic toys, one thinks of two stand outs. Barbies and Easy Bake Ovens.

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When I was a kid, I loved air hockey. Toss a couple of quarters in and feel the gentle breeze coming out of tiny pin holes as you slam a floating plastic puck back and forth to score with a loud, clanging Clunk! Followed by the traditional “yeah!,” and some trash talking. Repeat. That kind of hockey is intense and a blast and thanks to “Face-off Frenzy Power Band hockey, “ kids can do it in just about any room in the house. All you need is a clear floor. Here’s how it works.

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