Toy Roundup

Sensory Toys, Toys for Adults and Kids, and Musical Toys at Toy Stores

It’s been an anxious winter. Flights were cancelled and schools dealt with uncertainty as Omicron dominated pandemic headlines.

So it’s little surprise that stress-relieving fidget toys — especially so-called bubble poppers — were hits with kids of ages. “It’s been our top seller this year,” reported Kim Collier, manager at Funky Monkey Toys in Oxford, Mich. “It’s like never-ending bubble wrap, and it’s really for all ages, from 4 year olds on up through middle school.”

The OMG Pop Fidgety line has been a hit with shoppers at Whistle Stop Hobby and Toy, a 10,000-square-foot store in St. Clair Shores, Mich. Manager Julie Everitt said customers love designs in shapes like hearts and cakes whose silicone bubbles pop, one by one, when pushed from both directions. Pop Fidgety’s new multiplayer dice game has also been a popular twist at the 51-year-old family business, which Everitt runs alongside her sister, Wendy Bacon, and brother Rick Claggett.

And Shashibo, a new magnetic puzzle cube, has been a runaway hit this season at Whistle Stop and other toy retailers. “It’s a great sensory toy for all ages,” explained Everitt. “People are looking for things that get kids off the computer — and for stress outlets that keep kids calm and, frankly, sane.”

Shashibo cubes are hot sellers at Flying Pig Toys in Cincinnati, along with socalled “thinking putty” from Crazy Aaron. “It’s fun, and it looks cool,” explained Owner Marci Harman of sales of the toy at the 1,000-square-foot store. Sensory toys from the well-known Fat Brain line are also customer favorites.

“It’s been our top seller this year. It’s like never-ending bubble wrap, and it’s really for all ages, from 4 year olds on up through middle school.”

Rubbery fidgety toys in half-hemisphere shapes have been best-sellers at King Arthur’s Court in Cincinnati. But Buyer Brian Daly said he’s also seen skyrocketing demand for Nee Doh, the stress relieving squeeze ball by Schylling. “They’re super squishy and very tactile, and they come in all kinds of different feels and looks,” Daly explained.

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