Return from the Toy Fair

Sounds like a movie title, doesn't it?

We had a wonderful 2 1/2 days at the Toy Fair in Nürnberg. There was so much to see that I'm sure we missed a lot - but we did manage to line up some exciting products for 2009! We are now placing our orders, and the new products should start rolling in over the next two months.

So what were the highlights at Toy Fair 2009?

The Doll Hall - yep, one hall completely filled with dolls and stuffed animals of every shape and size. Some of the dolls were fascinating - almost museum pieces - but not very play-able. Others were extraordinarily expensive - a pair of life-sized limited edition dolls had a suggested retail price of over 100.000 SEK. Really.

The National Exhibits - Two halls focus on exhibitors from specific countries. These exhibitors tend to be small companies, often there for the first time. The country organisations offer a packaged booth deal, so the exhibits are often not that flashy or colorful, but the products can be real jewels. We found a few treasures here!

Hall 3 - which was full of wooden toys, dress-up costumes, games, etc. We couldn't spend too much time here - there was so much to see!

And what was missing this year?

Bath Gel - yep, the toy that got my vote for the single worst idea of 2007 was notably missing this year. It was an interesting idea - put your kid in the bath, dump in some package of something, and the water turns into colored jello. Non-toxic, of course. Then dump in package number 2, and it turns back into water again. I had visions of losing package number 2, and having to shovel the bath water out the window...

Child-sized Fitness Equipment - the toy that got my vote for the absolute worst product of 2008 was the tiny treadmill. This toy misses the boat in so many ways, I can't even count them. First of all, a treadmill is not a toy, and can in fact be quite dangerous. Encouraging children to play on them has to be a mistake. And second, why would anyone think that it would be a good idea to "teach" a child to go to the gym? My suggestion - open the door.

But somehow, 2009 was missing a truly horrible product. Perhaps that's a good thing!

Anyway, we really enjoyed our time at the Toy Fair (see Karin with a Lego giraffe) and we can't wait to show you the new things that will soon arrive!