One of the under-appreciated aspects of parenting is that you suddenly get to play with toys again. After decades of being too old for them, you’re knee-deep in tiny figurines, toy vehicles and stuffed animals.
This week, the Toy Fair 2019 showcased the hottest toys of the coming year. Some innovative stuff was shown off there – playthings destined to delight millions of children. But which of them will entertain you, a hard-working parent, when your bundles of joy have nodded off?
Not all these toys are available to buy right now – take Boppi the twerking llama, for example – but they’ll be released throughout 2019, so keep an eye out.
[Read More: The top toys for kids, as voted by kids themselves]
Massive Monster Mayhem Armour
If you have a beating heart and an imagination, you’ve at least briefly entertained the idea of being a giant Japanese monster. Right? Even if just for a few seconds while watching ‘Godzilla’, we’ve all wondered about what it would feel like to be a skyscraper-toppling, city-stomping, planet-punching monster. Inflatable Bash Armour allows you investigate how that feels from the safety of your own home, without the need for any radioactive mutations.
Price: £17.99.
Not yet available to buy.
LEGO Movie Maker
Combining farting about with LEGO with convincing yourself you’re the next Alfonso Cuaron used to be incredibly difficult – now, though, you can do both of those at once. This LEGO film set features props, backdrops and a stand for your phone to make short films using LEGO’s own movie maker app. The Oscars are still a few weeks away – plenty of time to get completely carried away and make a three-hour epic on your living room floor.
Price: £44.99.
Buy it here.
The Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Action Figures
As a parent it’s important not just to feed and water your child, but to pass on important knowledge you’ve learned over the years. You’ve known since you were a child that Ninja Turtles are effortlessly cool, and it’s high time you taught your little one the joys of their crime-fighting ways. Once you’re done playing, order a pizza. It’s what Donatello would have wanted.
Price: £14.99.
Buy it here.
Interactive Collectable Robot
It’s hard to control children – they come into the world shrieking, you tell them to calm down, and they don’t. Then it’s years and years and years of that. These robots respond to clapping, and do what they’re meant to, without any talk-back or smart-arse answers. When being driven loopy by endlessly feeling ignored, powerless and taken for granted, it’s nice to be listened to, even by a little robot bunny.
Price: £19.99.
Not yet available to buy.
K’NEX Dragon Revenge Coaster
There’s a time and a place for full-on excitement, and it is not necessarily a weekday evening after putting a small person to bed. The actual thrill of a real-life rollercoaster would be a bit much, slightly more than your overworked mind and sleepy body could handle. Shrink it to a miniature scale, however, and you can experience pleasingly teeny-tiny thrills, snack-sized spills and various interactions with gravity, all of which can be punctuated by as many unscheduled naps as you wish.
Price: £49.99.
Not yet available to buy.
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