Dear Mummy, I visited the London Toy Fair for the first time this year as the organisers hosted a dedicated Influencer Day for us little Kid YouTubers. The Toy Fair is massive and housed within a beautiful glass roofed exhibition hall in Kensington Olympia. The annual three-day event runs from 22-24 January, organised by the British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA).

It attracts some of the most recognised toy brands in the world, exhibiting alongside distributors and industry associations. It was a great opportunity for me to tag along and see the latest toy releases, meet up with PR companies that I work alongside and network with new brands.

I couldn’t wait to see what was on offer, especially as I’d potentially be involved in the toy testing, reviewing and marketing stages. We had some appointments booked with toy manufactures and PR companies and I was really grateful that they managed to squeeze me into their busy show schedule.

We had fun exploring the little know brands in the Green House zone too, a dedicated area for start-ups and inventors looking to crack into the UK toy market. In this area we met a great company called Pillowfight Warriors from K-Play International (see them in action on my YouTube Video below). A superb twist on pillow fighting but with the opportunity to let our imaginations truly let loose! I thought this was a brilliant example of creativity and innovation.

The sheer scale of the stands and the attention to detail of the exhibitions was amazing. With some toys and prototypes hidden under lock and key. Big giants like Lego, Spin Master, Bandai, Flair, Character and Playmobil offered appointment only slots for press to see the toys in action.

A lot of these new toys were still under embargo so I’ve kept them in my memory bank but check out our video to see what we got up to with the ones we could share!

The organisers did a great job making sure I was catered for with my own dedicated Content Creation Zone for filming clips from the show. This was a great way for me to get my hands on new releases and showcase them on site in the fun atmosphere of Olympia. Plus it gave me the opportunity to give my feedback directly to the toy representatives in person.

As I walked around the stands I saw so many wonderful toys but my eyes were drawn to the soft toys and I loved the Sunny Bunnies plushies on the Posh Paws International stand. These big (and little) jiggly bunnies vibrate when you press them and had us all in stitches!

I had a tea party with Paddington Bear on the Rainbow Designs Ltd stand in celebration of the new Adventures of Paddington toy range that will be launching this autumn! I also had a sneak peak of the new Paddington bear series coming out on Nickelodeon, There were so many famous characters walking around the show! It was great to have the opportunity to high five and cuddle some of the many characters I have grown up with and still watch today.

The London Toy Fair was a great introduction to the many toys that will be on the market soon. And offered a first look at the trends and crazes tipped to be big in 2020 before the New York and Nurnberg Toy Fairs. It also gave me great insight into what I might want for my Birthday and Christmas, hint hint!

It was also a great place to catch up with other mini kid influencers and chat about our channels. It’s not often that you get to see all the leading UK Kid YouTubers in one place and as I’m still new to all of this, it’s great to learn from my friends and peers who have been doing this for much longer.

At the London Toy Fair the return of nostalgic toys from my mummy’s childhood had her rubbing her hands with glee and she loved the Care Bears and My Little Pony products on the Basic Fun stand. It was clear that the collectible toy trend is set to continue and the popularity of movie inspired toys like SCOOB (Scooby Doo), SpongeBob SquarePants and Trolls 2 was everywhere at the Toy Fair.

We also saw lots of STEAM learning toys at the London Toy Fair with science kits, coding, interactive games and digitally enhanced play which is on the rise due to the use of tablets and mobile devices. It was great to get hands-on with these products and we were especially excited about Tori from Bandai Namco Entertainment. #toriworld

ToriCrafty is a game system that’s aimed at kids, complete with some clever educational elements and customisation. You move a object (like a spaceship or catapult) around in front of your tablet, and the movements are mimicked by the game. Clever use of magnets and a slate pad makes your object come alive on screen!

The toys at the show covered every age group from newborns, pre-schoolers, tweens/teens and even adult collectors. My daddy would have loved all the retro inspired toys on the Basic Fun stand like the mini PacMan games and all the Funko Pop collections!

Some toys earned a spot on this year’s “Toy Heroes” list, an annual set of predictions compiled by retailers and experts detailing the products they expect to be in hot demand over the next 12 months. The list was unveiled at the Toy Fair and each of the toys awarded “hero” status was selected by an independent panel of experts. See below!

BHTA Hero Toys 2020

The full Toy Fair’s Hero Toys list is:

Exhibiting Name	Toy Name		RRP
Character Options	Heroes of Goo Jit Zu Marvel Superheroes		£12.99
CLEMENTONI	Dynamix – My Flexible World – Wearable 4-in-1		£24.90
Coiledspring Games	Wrebbit 3D: Hogsmeade™ – The Three Broomsticks™		£33.99
Epoch Making Toys	Sylvanian Families – Adventure Tree House		£54.99
Flair Leisure Products PLC	Hairmazing		£24.99
Golden Bear	Duggee’s Adventure Bus		£29.99
Hasbro	NERF Ultra One		£49.99
Hornby Hobbies	Scalextric Spark Plug Batman vs Joker Race Set		£149.99
Interplay UK Ltd	Drone Home		£19.99
Keel Toys Ltd	KeelEco Plush Range (Turtle, Whale and Orangutan)		£7.99 / £12.99
LeapFrog Toys	Yum 2-3 Toaster		£17.99
Learning Resources	24-Hour Demonstration Number Line Clock		£45
LEGO®	LEGO Hidden Side Haunted Fairground		£44.99
Mookie Toys	Popcorn Poppin’		£14.99
Moose Toys Ltd	Kindi Kids ™ The Doctor Corner!		£14.99 – £39.99
MV Sports & Leisure Ltd	Trolls 2 Funky Hair 14” Bike		£149.99
PLAYMOBIL UK LTD	Playmobil Back to the Future DeLorean		£49.99
Posh Paws International	Sunny Bunnies “Giggle and Hop” Boo Feature toy		£16.99
Ravensburger	Big Money		£19.99
Ridley’s Games	Drawsome People		£20
Spin Master	BATMAN 12-Inch Rapid Change Utility Belt Deluxe Action Figure with Lights and Sounds		£19.99
Tactic Games UK	15 Minutes to Self-Destruct		£24.99
Tobar Group Trading Ltd	ZURU Pets Alive Fifi The Flossing Sloth		£24.99
University Games	In the Night Garden Board Game – The Great Garden Adventure		£14.95
Vivid Toy Group	Power Pux Challenge Pack		£9.99

So what do you think of our coverage of the London Toy Fair?

Who knows maybe we’ll see some of these toys on our YouTube channel soon. What’s your favourite toy from the ones above?

Love Bella x