How To Train Your Dragon 2 Toys

There is a lot more cute and interesting merchandise available for this movie. We lamented the failings from the toys for the first movie four years ago. Some of that was fixed as show merchandise came out, but it wasn’t until this movie that things really improved.

Plush toys:
The first movie’s toy line failed here, the plush toys didn’t look anything like the actual movie characters. Come on, stuffed dragons basically sell themselves unless they look ridiculous. And they looked really bad.

The official plush available everywhere are still really bad. Super low quality and mass produced, but at least they look more like the actual characters for this movie.

Small (8 in) and Large (14 in)
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This Toothless is from the show line, better but not great:
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There is now a plush pillow available, which has the best wings out there but the oddest face:
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The best by far for this movie is the Build a Bear Toothless:
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The wings are not permanently attached, Toothless wears them like a backpack and you can take them off to dress him up. Why they made this choice I will never know, they have other plush toys with permanently attached wings so it is disappointing but the toy still looks way better than other yet produced.

Unfortunately he is sold out on their website and in most stores, but you can sign up here to be notified when they get a new shipment.
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The basic figures are about the same, with new ones for the new dragons. I won’t show those because you can find them in all stores with merchandise for the film.

However, they do have some really cute mini figures for around $6 depending on what store you get them at:

Toothless
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Cloud Jumper

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Funko Pop also has cute collectible figures, which are for sale at Hot Topic and should be available where other Funko figures are sold.

Toothless
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Stormfly
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There is also a set of Mystery Mini figures from Funko which are smaller than their regular figure line and come in a closed box so you do not know which one you will get.

Two different versions of Toothless (of four different designs):
funko-how-to-train-your-dragon-2-mystery-mini-figure-toothless-gums-showing-new-3  funko-how-to-train-your-dragon-2-mystery-mini-figure-toothless-new-3
Hookfang
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Keep an eye out if you want to add to your How To Train Your Dragon collection, there is a lot of new merchandise worth looking into!

-Cola and Fizz

Toy Fair 2010

The toy fair is an event in which different toy makers get the chance to exhibit their products. The event takes place in New York, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and showroom locations from February 14 -17, and is the largest of its kind in the western hemisphere. The show is put on by the TIA, Toy Industry Association, a non-profit which “association for producers and importers of toys and youth entertainment products sold in North America, representing over 500 companies who account for approximately 85% of domestic toy sales”. The show is not open to the public and no one under the age of 18 is allowed to go to the fair, but it is a place for buyers and sellers to come together to show off the hot new toys this year.

Here are pictures of some cute toys and costumes taken by those covering the event from woot.com:

Tushems

Here are some adorable erasers:

A limited number of these erasers can be purchased at Hallmark stores, but there are a few different ones here that I have never seen in person and would love to buy!

Here is a My inflatable Buddy:

This company makes these plush stuffed animal covers which go over a plastic, air filled bladder. This way parents can afford to buy large toys for their kids, but they are easy to store by deflating and easy to play with by quickly inflating. the coverings are also very easy to wash should something happen to them. Another plus is that the animals are light weight for kids to carry around.

An adorable little backpack:

Giant stuffed animals on display:

Here is a creative setup of perfect petzzz:

These are super realistic sleeping animals that offer all the cuteness of a sleeping animal without any of the problems associated with a real pet. These little guys “breath” as well while they sleep. They offer many different dog and cat breeds, as well as pandas and accessories.

Here are some cute examples of products from peace toys:

The bunny and other stuffed animals are made from organic cotton, and the globe the bunny is on is one of the company’s hugg-a-planet line. The globe is the hugg-a-planet earth, while they also offer hugg-a-planet with moon, hugg-a-planet mars, and hugg america soft map.

MerryMakers had this stuffed toy of their character Skippyjon Jones:

Skippyjon is is a children’s book character – a Siamese kitten which pretends to be a Chihuahua superhero. Sounds cute to me!

Here are Totem Tribes:

These little guys are designed like animal spirits and can be stacked. They have a website, but it simply has a video of them and it says that the full sight will be coming in March.

Here are Pancake Puppies:

These little guys remind me of pound puppies, but mixed with pancakes. They should have their own cartoon…

Vamplets

Cute Christmas Gift Ideas

In seeing all the toy adds for the Holidays, I decided to put together a short list of adorable toys. I know I would have loved to play with these toys when I was little, and I still find them cute. Some of the cute “toys” I found are great for adults too.

1. Calico Critters of Cloverleaf Corners
While wandering around my local mall I happened upon a new toy store, which opened in an old KB Toy Store location, which now features more unusual toys. Prominently featured were these adorable little animal families:

This amazingly cute line of small animals features cats, rabbits, dogs, squirrels, and bears among other animals. They have homes, furniture, and various professions and situations which make the toys even more endering. For more information visit the Calico Critters website.

2. Playmobil
I had a number of different sets of playmobil toys when I was younger, and I absolutely loved them. I feel that this line of toys has a great varity of scenes and situations, sutable for both boys and girls. There are sets with animals, mythical creatures, doctors and hospitals, weddings, police officers, and many more.



To see more sets and to purchase these toys, see the playmobil website.

3. Littlest Pet Shop
I must admit, I liked these toys a lot better when I was younger — well, at least what they used to look like. They used to be life like, and now they have giant heads with disproportionate eyes. I do agree that these attributes are supposed to make the toys appear cute, I feel they followed the path of bratz dolls (which I find incredibility ugly). But after seeing some of my younger cousins playing with them, I understand their appeal. So they make my cute list:

4. Puppies In my Pocket
Again, another toy I used to play with that has been reinvented and rereleased. These too now have disproportionate heads and large eyes. I miss the realistic figures that these once were. However, the animals are still very cute and now they are fuzzy! If I could, I would collect these toys. I have one set – a family of rabbits, my mom gave it to me as an Easter present. I still have all my old puppies and horses from the first release of these toys. Maybe your kids will enjoy these fuzzy little guys as much as I enjoyed the old ones.


5. Zhu Zhu Pets
When I first saw these at a local Toys R Us, I did not think much of them. But they are one of the hottest and often hardest to find toys this Christmas season. Stores all over were putting limits on how many of these toys you could buy at a time, and the prices for them seem over inflated on ebay. Now that I really think about these toys, they are a wonderful alternative to a real hamster. A unique idea with all the charm of a hamster without the fear of it escaping into the house or dying within a week. Plus, they are expanding the line of accessories availble for these little guys, the habitats they fun around in, and more hammy styles.

6. Pillow Pets
These are both stuffed animals and pillows. I have seen these guys at mall kiosks and at Hallmark. Just a fun and cute idea available in a number of different animals and sizes.

7. Giant Microbes
Who knew that germs could be so cute? These might not be so kid appropriate, but they are great as a fun gift. They are a great conversation piece or can be a hilarious gift. With these cute little guys you can safely give swine flu, the regular flu, or even mad cow.

8.  Puchi Petites by Re-ment

These are tiny foods that come in a variety of different types and arrangements. They are incredibly life like, and great for dolls and doll houses. I found a website that sells these in collections as well as in individual sets. The collections offered show the variety of foods and include sets like: bread and butter, candy, doughnuts, European Grandmother’s dinner, and sushi. The company also makes tiny furnature and kitchen appliances. I simply love these little foods and things, they are so cute!

9. Penbo

I was looking around online when I happened to find the website for penbo, an interactive penguin toy that comes with a baby penguin. The mama penguin waddles around,  responds to touch and to her baby, and can play games.  I think they are both rather cute, but the baby ball of fluff is adorable.

1o. Giddyup N’ Go Pony

I saw a commerical for this toy and then happened to see a whole palate full of them at my local Meijer. I would have LOVED one of these as a kid. So much cooler than a simple rocking horse! As a child bounces up and down on the pony’s back it causes the pony’s legs to move and they can ride the toy around. Pressing the pony’s ears even makes different noises.

Teenie Beanie Babies are Back!

McDonald’s once again has a set of Teenie Beanie Babies! Well, Teenie Beanie Babies 2.0.

I will admit, I grew up in the midst of the Beanie Babies fad. I collected them, put tag protectors on their tags, and put the “valuable ones” in clear plastic boxes. I went to trade shows to buy limited edition or hard to find beanies. And when McDonald’s had Teenie Beanies, my family would stop by the restaurant at least once a week to see which ones we could collect.

Beanie Babies have transformed a lot since I was little. I have not purchased one in years, but I have seen the transition in stores from Beanies to Webkinz. An ingenious product really…with all the clothes that you can buy, the holders, the figures, the cards, and not to mention the ability to play with your new toy online. Ty had to respond to this new phenomenon. That response was Beanie Babies 2.0, where each Beanie comes with a code for a virtual version of your toy to play with online. Even the Teenie Beanies have codes which you enter at ty.com. Whether Beanies can hold up in the face of Webkinz is debatable, but McDonald’s did choose Teenie Eeanies as the toy to celebrate the 30th birthday of the Happy Meal.

The new set has 30 different beanies for the Happy Meal’s 30th birthday. The new set features:
1. Clipper the dolphin
2. Maiden the ladybug
3. Boomer the dog
4. Ronald McDonald
5. Jumps the frog
6. Woolsy the lamb
7. Quackly the duck
8. Aussie the koala
9. Streamers the bear
10. Fez
11. Pico the dog
12. Thirty the bear
13. Chill the penguin
14. Radish
15. Fluffball the hamster
16. Topper the giraffe
17. Rascal the dog
18. Yammy
19. Fable the unicorn
20. Ming the panda
21. Grimace
22. Skunkers the skunk
23. Hydrant the dog
24. Spurs the horse
25. Cargo the dog
26. Pops the guerrilla
27. Forstiness the polar bear
28. Oasis the tiger
29. Splits the flamingo
30. Celebration the bear

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I am no longer a big Beanie collector, but I must say that I would not mind having Fluffball, Chill, or Hydrant. Even if you never went though the Beanie fad, these little guys are still pretty cute and kids love them. Good luck collecting!

A couple websites to visit to learn more and read about others’ experiences of the Teenie Beanies visit teenies.peacebears.com, Beanie Universe, or the Beanie Babies Official Club.

If you want to download a desktop background of the new set visit happymeal.com.