MELANIE NOTKIN, TOY EXPERT AND AMERICA’S SAVVY AUNTIE®, REVEALS A SUPER-SIZED LIST OF SAVVY AUNTIE COOLEST TOY AWARD WINNERS FOR 2016

The 8th annual list of coolest toys doubles in size – revealing the top 50 toys and games that will make cool aunts, great-aunts, godmothers, and all women who love kids, heroes this holiday season!



 

New York, NY – November 14, 2016 – Melanie Notkin, lifestyle personality, bestselling author, and founder of Savvy Auntie, the media and lifestyle brand for cool aunts, great-aunts, godmothers, and all women who love kids, announces the 8th Annual Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Awards for the holiday season. The 2016 year of toys brought so much innovation and excitement, Notkin super-sized her coveted awards list to the 50 coolest toys and games of the year.

Notkin’s awards list the ultimate way for toy companies to match their coolest toys and games with North America’s coolest aunts. Unlike any other toy list, the Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Awards list is curated with the PANK® (Professional Aunts No Kids) in mind. PANK is the demographic term coined by Notkin in 2008 for the growing niche of female consumers who are not moms, by circumstance or choice, and have a special bond with a child in their life. According to the 2012 Savvy Auntie and Weber Shandwick joint-study, The Power of the PANK, there are 23 million child-loving PANKs in North America – that’s one-in-five women. These generous PANKs spend a whopping $9 billion a year on the children in their life, baseline just one child per PANK. On average, these aunts spend $387 on each niece and nephew, each year, with 76 percent spending over $500.

As a respected toy expert, Notkin meets with toy manufactures and industry analysts to discover the year’s ground-breaking toys, creating her final list by adding her own “Savvy Auntuition” for the toys kids want most. As a result, this year’s list not only includes toys from the largest toy makers like Mattel, Hasbro, LEGO, and Spin Master, but also honors newcomers like crowd-funded iBesties and ABC Shark Tank featured Budsies.

The award-winning toys also feature the 2016 trends in play, including: coding; robotics; latest technology; makers; nurturing; and girl empowerment. Notkin’s modern celebration of aunthood is trending as well; Savvy Auntie, PANK, the Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Awards, and Melanie Notkin herself, are ranked together in Euromonitor International’s Top 10 Global Consumer Trends for 2016.

THE 2016 SAVVY AUNTIE COOLEST TOY AWARD WINNERS

Below are all 50 winners, listed by age-range. For more detailed information on each winning toy and “Why Savvy Auntie Loves It,” visit SavvyAuntie.com/ToyAwards:

Ages 0-3

Disney Consumer Products: Disney Tsum Tsum Plush
Fisher-Price: Bright Beats Dance and Move Beat Bow Wow
Fisher-Price: Imaginext DC Super Friends Super Hero Flight City
Playskool: Love2Learn Elmo
Vtech: Go! Go! Smart Wheels Treasure Mountain Train Adventure
Vtech: Go! Go! Smart Friends Enchanted Princess Palace


Ages 3+

Fisher Price: Think & Learn Code-A-Pillar™
Fisher-Price: 7-inch Shimmer and Shine Mini Plush - Shimmer
Fisher-Price: Thomas the Train TrackMaster Thomas' Sky-High Bridge Jump
Fisher-Price: DreamWorks Trolls Hug Time Poppy
Hasbro: Disney Elena of Avalor and Princess Isabel Doll
Hasbro: Disney Moana Starlight Canoe and Friends
Just Play: PJ Masks Headquarter Playset
Just Play: Disney Junior Doc McStuffins Toy Hospital Care
Just Play: Disney Lion Guard Training Lair Playset
Kid Trax : Disney Minnie Mouse 12 Volt Hot Rod Coupe Powered Ride On
Mattel: Barbie® Fashionistas™ Doll
MGA Entertainment: Num Noms Lip Gloss Truck
Playskool: My Little Pony Explore Equestria Crystal Empire Castle
Spin Master: Paw Patrol Marshall Zoomer
Wicked Cool Toys: Cabbage Patch Kids So Real Baby

Ages 4+

Hasbro: FurReal Friends Torch, My Blazin' Dragon
Jakks Pacific:Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Remote Control Skateboarding Mikey
Moose Toys: Little Live Pets Snuggles My Dream Puppy
Spin Master: Brightlings
Thinkway Toys: Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens - R2-D2™ Interactive Robotic Droid
TOMY: My Friend Pikachu 10-inch Plush Figure
Wonder Forge: Disney Imagicademy - Storymation Studio™ Stop motion movie kit

Ages 5+

Budsies: Custom Plushies of Kids' Drawings
Hasbro:  Pie Face Showdown Game
Moose Toys:  Shopkins Tall Mall Playset
Spin Master: Hatchimals
 
Ages 6+

Crayola: Emoji Marker Maker
iBesties: Middle School Moguls
Mattel: DC Super Hero Girls™ Action Dolls
Mattel: Barbie Hello Dreamhouse™

Ages 8+

Hasbro:NERF N-Strike Elite Terrascout Remote Control Drone Blaster
Hasbro: Simon Air Game
LEGO Friends Amusement Park Roller Coaster
LEGO Star Wars AT-ST™ Walker
Lionel:  Mega Tracks Corkscrew Chaos Master Set
Mattel: Hot Wheels A.I. Intelligent Race System Starter Kit
Mattel:  Barbie Star Light Adventure Flying RC Hoverboard
Moose Toys:SelfieMic™
Razor: Hovertrax 2.0 Hoverboard Self-Balancing Smart Scooter
Spin Master: Meccano MicroNoid Blue Basher Robot Building Set
Spin Master: Air Hogs Connect Augmented Reality Mission Drone
WowWee: CHiP -The Smart and Loveable Robot Dog
WowWee: Lumi Gaming Drone

Ages 14+
Innovation First:  VEX Robotics Construction Ambush Striker

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About Savvy Auntie

Founded by Melanie Notkin, Savvy Auntie is the media and lifestyle brand for cool aunts, great-aunts, godmothers, and all women who love kids, empowering and engaging aunts and serving the PANK® –demographic and heralded by fabulous kid-loving women everywhere as a modern celebration of Aunthood. Notkin launched SavvyAuntie.com in 2008 and it remains the first and only resource and online community for this demographic. The brand also includes a popular and engaged social media following, Auntie’s Day® - a national day founded by Notkin to honor aunts and godmothers each fourth Sunday in July, and Melanie Notkin’s national bestseller: Savvy Auntie: The Ultimate Guide for Cool Aunts, Great-Aunts, Godmothers and all Women Who Love Kids (Morrow 2011). As a lifestyle personality, toy expert and a taste-maker for children’s trends, Notkin appears on TV and as a spokesperson for brands. http://SavvyAuntie.com.

For additional information on the Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Awards or on-air and talent inquiries: Press@SavvyAuntie.com.

Contact Wright’s Media at savvyauntie-at-wrightsmedia-dot-com for all licensing and permission requests or for more information. Wright’s Media is the only authorized company that we’ve partnered with for the Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Awards program.