MELANIE NOTKIN, TOY EXPERT AND AMERICA’S SAVVY AUNTIE®, REVEALS THE 30 COOLEST TOYS OF THE YEAR

The 9th annual "Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Awards" is only top toy list designed to help cool aunts, great-aunts, godmothers, and all women who love kids, be the heroes at the holidays season and all year 'round.

New York, NY – November 3, 2017 – Melanie Notkin, lifestyle personality, bestselling author, and founder of Savvy Auntie, the media and lifestyle brand heralded as a celebration of modern aunthood, announces the 9th Annual Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Award winners in advance of the holiday toy shopping season. Notkin shares her holiday season toy list so that aunts, and all secondary caregivers, know which toys and games the children they love will covet most.

Since 2009, the Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Awards winners list has been designed with the PANK® - or Professional Aunts No Kids, in mind. PANK is the demographic term coined by Notkin in 2008 for the growing demographic of female consumers who are not moms, by circumstance, choice, or challenge, and have a special bond with a child in their life. According to The Power of the PANK, the 2012 joint-study by Savvy Auntie and Weber Shandwick, there are 23 million child-loving PANKs in North America – that’s one-in-five women ages 18+. On average, these generous aunts spend $387 on each niece and nephew, each year, with 76 percent spending over $500. Collectively, PANKs spend $9 billion each year on the children in their life, baseline just one child per PANK. 

Throughout the year, Notkin meets with toy manufactures, industry experts and analysts to discover the latest ground-breaking toys, and adding her own “Savvy Auntuition” to complete her list of award winners. This year, many of the winners feature the 2017 trends in play, including: STREAM (Science, Technology, Robotics, Engineering, Arts and Math); Makers; Nurturers; Nostalgia; and Surprises - "blind bag" style.

Melanie Notkin’s modern celebration of aunthood is also trending; Savvy Auntie, PANK, the Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Awards, and Notkin herself, were ranked together in Euromonitor International’s Top 10 Global Consumer Trends for 2016.

THE 2017 SAVVY AUNTIE COOLEST TOY AWARD WINNERS

Below are all 30 winners, listed by age-range. For more detailed information on each winning toy or game, and “Why Savvy Auntie Loves It,” visit SavvyAuntie.com/ToyAwards:

Babies and Toddlers

Playskool Friends Tickle Me Elmo

Teddy Ruxpin Official Return of the Storytime and Magical Bear by Wicked Cool Toys

Preschooler

Ages 3+

PJ Masks Rival Racers Track Playset by Just Play

Vampirina Scare B&B Play House by Just Play

Disney Junior Doc McStuffins All-in-One Nursery by Just Play

Barbie® DreamHouse® Playset with 70+ Accessory Pieces by Mattel

DC Toddler Doll - Wonder Woman by Jakks Pacific

Kid Trax® Custom Car 6V Ride-On – White

Baby Alive Sweet Tears Baby Doll by Hasbro

Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Magical Oven by Hasbro

Fisher-Price Think & Learn Teach 'n Tag Movi Interactive Learning Robot

Imaginext DC Super Friends Batbot Xtreme by Fisher-Price

Fisher-Price Thomas & Friends Super Station Playset

Ages 4+

Soggy Doggy Game by Spin Master

FurReal Roarin’ Tyler, the Playful Tiger by Hasbro

Stikbot Zanimation Studio Pro Set by Zing

School Age Kids

Ages 5+

Hatchimals Penguala by Spin Master

Shopkins Happy Places Grand Mansion Playset by Moose Toys

Nerf Nitro Motofury Rapid Rally 

Hot Wheels Super Ultimate Garage Playset

Fingerlings Interactive Baby Monkey by WowWee

Ages 6+

L.O.L Surprise! by MGA Enterntainment

JoJo Siwa 10-inch Singing Doll by Just Play

Shopkins Squish-Dee-Lish Blind Foil Bag by Jakks

Ages 7+

LEGO Boost Creative Toolbox 17101 Building and Coding Kit 

Ages 8+

R2-D2 App-Enabled Droid by Sphero - Star Wars 

digiloom™ Starter Kit by WowWee

Ages 9+

LEGO The Batman Movie The Batwing

Tweens and Teens

Ages 10+

Meccano-Erector M.A.X Robotic Interactive Toy with Artificial Intelligence by Spin Master

Ages 16+

DropMix Music Gaming System by Hasbro

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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, heralded as a modern celebration of aunthood. Notkin launched SavvyAuntie.com in 2008 and it remains the first and only resource for this demographic, and specifically the PANK® or Professional Aunt No Kids market niche. Savvy Auntie includes a popular and engaged social media following, Auntie’s Day® - a national day celebrating aunts and godmothers, 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. http://SavvyAuntie.com
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For additional information on the Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Awards or on-air and talent inquiries: Press@SavvyAuntie.com.