Australian Toy Associations Awards for 2015

Australian Toy Association Awards of the Year 2015

• Toy of the Year
• Zuru Bunch O Balloons - by All Brands Toys
• They seem to sell for around $14 to $15 (AUD) for 100 balloons in major department stores. Neither fillers or balloons are re-usable, hopefully the balloons burst when you throw them. Zuru say the balloons are bio-degradable and are made from recycled materials.
• although a fun product, we do not sell this product as it does not fit our philosophy of a toy being an ongoing joy and a reasonable cost, as this item is used up and needs to be replaced each time you play with them.

• Boys Toy
• The Ugglys Pet Shop: Rudey! The Gross, Funny, Walking Dog! – by Moose Enterprise
• Not sure this one is going to last very long on the shelves. I couldn't find the specific Rudey! toy in stock, but others in the range are available.

• Girls Toy
• Sing Along Elsa - Frozen Doll – by Hunter Products
• It is hard to beat the Disney Frozen Movie / Toy Franchise, with it's upbeat songs and tunes that just get in your head. Elsa the doll sings "Let it Go". But at $99 it is not cheap for a doll and plastic microphone.

• Craft & Activity Toy
• Yummy Nummies Meal Set – by Big Balloon
• Pretty sure this is not a craft activity, making lollies. Party of a range of "Mini Kitchen Magic" treats from Yummy Mummies. I have not tried this product. It seems you mix the powder with water, put in a mold microwave and then eat the little treats. I found no nutritional information on their website.

• Educational Toy
• Frilled Lizard Robot Kit – by Johnco Productions
• A frilled neck lizard robot toy, you get to assemble and then set-up. It has an infra-red sensor that you can set to either "escape" or "follow me" mode. LED eyes that change colour for the modes. In escape mode it tries to run away from you and in follow me mode, you guessed it.

• Games Toy
• Guess The Fake - Australian Edition – by Global Discovery Australia Pty Ltd
• A trivia fact guessing game, with 1000 statements you be first to hit the buzzer and answer the question correctly first. It is good that it is an Australia version of the but is another in a long line of these types of games since before Trivial Pursuit came out in 1982. Unlike other games this one has questions suitable for years 3 and up but you win by answering first, so can be monopolised by the order members of the family.

• Hobby Product
• LEGO® Technic Crawler Crane – by LEGO® Australia Pty Ltd
• Quite a sophisticated construction toy with motor for operating the boom, moving the claw up and down and driving along on the caterpillar tracks. Targeted at children aged 10 to 16 it sells for around $200. You can build either a Crawler Crane or a Mobile Tower Crane.

 

• Nursery Product
• Tiny Love Double Sided Crib Toy – by Dorel Australia
• It's a toy to hang on the side of your baby's cot or play pen. It has lights, music, moving parts and a fun scene on each side a paddock or night sky.

• Outdoor Toy
• Zuru Bunch O Balloons – All Brands Toys
• See above Toy of the Year

• Pre-School Toy
• LEGO® DUPLO® Airport – LEGO® Australia Pty Ltd
• More in the Lego Duplo range

• Overall Licensed Product
• LEGO® Minecraft™ The First Night - Licensed By: Mojang & Microsoft Licensor: LEGO® Australia Pty Ltd
• Lego gets into Mincecraft a nice tie in with the online game world.

• Boys Licensed Product
• LEGO® Minecraft™ The First Night - Licensed By: Mojang & Microsoft Licensor: LEGO® Australia Pty Ltd
• See above Overall Licensed Product

• Girls Licensed Product
• LEGO® Disney Princess™ Elsa's Sparkling Ice Castle - Licensed By: Disney Licensor: LEGO® Australia Pty Ltd
• Lego and Frozen

• Pre-School Licensed Product
• Thomas Play & Store Wooden Train – Hunter Leisure - Licensed By: Hunter Leisure Pty Ltd Licensor: Mattel
• Thomas and a wooden storage place come together

• WINNER Specialty Award
• Micro Mini2Go – Micro Scooters Ltd
• Scooters ever popular, but for the littlies this time

• RUNNER UP Specialty Award
• Pin Ball Maze Escape – Tree Toys Pty Ltd
• Amazing

• 2ND RUNNER UP Specialty Award
• Flickerz – Flickerz
• Throwing skills always a favourite of mine

• Australian Development Award
• Shopkins™ Scoops Ice-cream Truck Playset – Moose Enterprise
• Finally I get to make my own ice-creams

Opinions expressed in this blog are just that, the opinion of Brian. Although I try to make them factually correct any inaccuracies are unintended and will be corrected once you point them out.