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"  Toy Fair, the country&amp;#039;s biggest annual toy trade show, kicked off at the Javitzs Center in New York City on Sunday - and, per usual, the show reminds me of how lucky I am to have a job that lets me play with toys (among other cool things) for a living! Toys showcased ranged from the big (Ravensburger had a 32,000-piece puzzle spanning 17&amp;#039; by 6&amp;#039;) to the small (lots of mini-collectibles from the likes of Lego and Playmobil). With over 100,000 toys on display, there is definitely something for everyone. A summary of the notable trends thus far at Toy Fair:   Green. Sustainability was an ever-present trend on the showfloor this year - from ecological material choices to those products communicating sustainability. Some examples includeCrayola&amp;#039;s solar-powered pens, Educational Insights compost bin kit, and Alex&amp;#039;s EcoCrafts (a kit offering 20 eco-friendly projects).   Social Media/Community. Apps were omnipresent and Twitter hashtags littered the floor. Social aspects weren&amp;#039;t just digital though; Lego introduced Ninjago, the first time a social and competitive aspect has been brought to Lego building sets. The lineup features a spinner and challenge cards along with Lego&amp;#039;s mainstay - building sets.   Aspirational. These are toys that inspire kids to act in positive ways - ranging from toys catering to career goals to those with charitable-giving aspects. Some examples includeLearning Resources Pretend Play line (I loved the pro Chef one), Karito Kids&amp;#039; Kids Who Care, and Go Go Sports Girls. My personal favorite was Computer Engineer Barbie from the Mattel line of I Can Be Barbies.   Collectibles. With the economic downturn of the last few years, it&amp;#039;s no wonder people are looking for affordable toys with staying power. I saw a host of companies offering collectibles - tiny, inexpensive items that will pique the interest of kids and adults alike. People like the idea of having something that no one else does - so many companies are offering limited runs on their lines of collectibles so it will provide an added sense of novelty.   Active. Last year we featured Fisher Price&amp;#039;s Dance Star Mickey - and the new RockStar Mickey definitely ups the ante prompting kids to get up and rock out with this character. And Wild Planet showcased a host of active toys - expanding on their successful line of Hyper games (three new active play games were introduced at Toy Fair) and introducing a new line called Torx - products promising high energy active play.   Tech. Kids can be just like their parents and have their very own tablets and digital cameras - at much more affordable prices and with more appropriate content. For instance, the VTech InnoPad is a kid-friendly tablet that features learning activities and ebooks. And Fisher Price has a ruggedized Kid Tough Camera that lets kids take photos not only of their friends and family, but their selves too with the convenient swivel lens. And Fisher Price also introduced a case for the iPhone, so you won&amp;#039;t have to be nervous to hand over your very adult iPhone to your child. It even comes with a block so your child won&amp;#039;t be able to hit the menu button and rattles on the side to keep infants amused.   New Twists on Classics. One of the iconic toys gets a design refresh with Mattel&amp;#039;s Hot Wheel Wall Tracks - a Hot Wheels track that you can mount to the wall. Teaming with adhesive giant 3M, mothers can rest assured the walls won&amp;#039;t be damaged. And kids will love the new wall d\u00E9cor - better than boring wallpaper! Other notable old-school revamps include new Uno games in celebration of its 40th anniversary like Mattel&amp;#039;s Uno Roboto.  Some other notable trends include voice-enhanced toys (like Ken feeding you smooth lines to Legos that make sound), brands based on digital media (the Angry Birds app has been brought to physical life by Mattel ), movie tie-ins (franchised products from Cars 2, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, Twilight, and Green Lantern were everywhere), magnetic products (like Be Amazing Toys&amp;#039; Living Putty which is just like normal putty, but magnetic), and robotics (like Bossa Nova&amp;#039;s Penbo and friends).   My favorite part of the day? Posing with Lego&amp;#039;s life-save version of Johnny Depp built out of Legos! Honestly, with all of the exciting new toys coming to the market, I don&amp;#039;t know who is more excited about our annual testing for our Best Toy Awards - the kids or me!   "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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