Everyone knows that trends come and go faster than most people can get on board, so we're scouting out the year's hottest toy trends early so that you can gift your kids with the coolest toys of the year. From robots and unicorns to mermaids and bottle-flipping, these are the brand-new toys rolling out in 2017 that if gifted will prove you actually know what's up!
This RC BB-8 will talk to your child, listen to commands, sense motion, and follow along behind wherever your child goes with the remote.
Buy it here: Star Wars - Hero Droid BB-8 - Fully Interactive Droid ($229)
Big Mouth jumped on the doughnut craze with the introduction of their donut lunch tote in March.
Buy it here: Big Mouth Donut Lunch Tote ($15)
Just in time for Spring break, Big Mouth introduced mermaid tail pool floats, guaranteed to be the Instagram hit its swans were last year.
Buy it here: Big Mouth Toys Mermaid Pool Float ($20)
This Spring, Hatchimals took on a new shimmery persona by hatching with glittery fur out of glittered eggs.
Buy it here: Glittering Garden Hatchimals ($60)
The line of scented Pillow Pets contains a mini Leonardo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It smells like pepperoni pizza.
Kids can reenact Star Wars: The Force Awakens while wearing Poe Dameron's helmet. Simply press the earpiece they can hear real sounds from the film, including droids talking, battles, and more.
Buy it here: Poe Dameron X-Wing Helmet ($80)
It doesn't get much cuter than these Shimmer and Shine headphones that quickly transform your tot into their favorite characters.
This electric board — in skateboard and longboard versions — moves at various speeds and brakes thanks to a wireless remote and has a full-power battery. The best part? It still works when it's dead.
Buy it here: RazorX Cruiser Electric Skateboard ($180)
These mini Hatchimals are much easier to crack open and reveal over 70 mini Hatchimals collectibles. They come in blind bags and are the perfect mini treat.
Buy it here: Hatchimals Colleggtibles ($9)
This sweet doll responds to touch and sound, has over 90 phrases, and loves to sing and tell stories. She'll be your child's snuggly new BFF.
Buy it here: My Little Pony: The Movie My Magical Princess Twilight Sparkle ($130)
Turn your child's bath water into a slime or a gel-like substance with special packets — don't worry, the kits come with another substance you mix into the concoction to turn it back into water.
Buy it here: Zimpli Kids Slime Baff ($12) and Zimpli Kids Gelli Baff ($13)
A little bit of science, a little bit of cosmetology, Alex's DIY Bath Bombs allow tweens to make six heart and round balls using baking soda, corn starch, food coloring, and essential oils.
Buy it here: Alex Toys Spa DIY Bath Bombs Kit ($15)
You don't have to pack tacos in Big Mouth's adorable Taco Truck Lunch Tote, but it sure would be cute.
Buy it here: BigMouth Inc Taco Truck Lunch Tote ($15)
Classic pillow pets are back with a twist — they smell delicious! This fluffy unicorn smells just like cotton candy and hits shelves this Summer.
Buy it here: Pillow Pets Sweet Scented Pets - Cotton Candy Unicorn ($20)
In two hours your child can build their M.A.X. robot in one of three ways, allowing them to gain robotics and engineering skills. M.A.X. learns and remembers things about your child, can act as a calendar for your child's important dates, has a motion sensor, and even tells jokes.
Buy it here: Meccano-Erector – M.A.X Robotic Interactive Toy with Artificial Intelligence ($150)
Your child can learn about physics with this pong game that poses challenges that teach about trajectory. It's going to be the perfect game for Summer fun!
Buy it here: Educational Insights Smash Pong! ($22)
Get ready for Kamigami robots to take over your home this Fall. Kids first build their robots from sheets of bendable plastic, program their robots via an app, and then battle it out as the robots attack each other.
Buy it here: Kamigami Ladybug ($50)
This UL-certified safe hoverboard balances itself as soon as it's turned on, has a lithium battery that gives it a long lifespan, and is available to purchase now.
Buy it here: Razor Hovertrax DLX 2.0 Self Balancing Electric Scooter - Galaxy ($480)
This show pony parades, plays, signs, makes noises, and interacts with your child with emotive eyes and by performing.
Buy it here: Zoomer Show Pony with Sounds and Movement ($80)
This sequencing and sorting game requires little ones to think critically and follow instructions.
Buy it here: Go Go Gelato Logic Game ($18)
With three modes of play, Fisher Price's Think & Learn Teach 'n Tag Movi encourages tots to follow directions and listen.
Buy it here: Fisher Price Think & Learn Teach 'n Tag Movi ($50)
Ever want to cuddle with a baby tiger? You will after meeting the adorable FurReal Friends Roarin' Tyler. He purrs, opens and closes his mouth, plays with his squeaky toy, and even responds when you roar at him. He just may be the cutest "pet" your kids have ever had! Roarin' Tyler will be available in Fall 2017.
Buy it here: FurReal Friends Roarin' Tyler ($117)
These little guys make bath time a pool party with on-trend pool accessories. The best part? These toys have twist-off tops that make the easy to clean.
Buy it here: Sago Mini Easy Clean Bath Squirters ($30)
The bottle-flipping craze isn't showing any signs of dying down, so we might as well make it more interesting. Lightning Flip, which will be out in time for Summer, adds some fun dimension to the game by adding a lightning piece into the bottle so it lights up every time the bottle hits the ground.
This teeny drone is an entry level to drone-flying for little ones. This Fall, your child can safely learn to fly indoors or outdoors in beginner mode, then move onto advanced mode when they're ready.
Buy it here: Air Hogs DR1 Micro Race Drone ($40)
This sweet unicorn cape available in March has Velcro spots for rainbow pastel patches and turns any situation into a magical one.
Buy it here: Seedling Littles Magical Hero Dress Up Cape ($30)
This building playset is five robot models in one and works with an app to teach your kids about coding.
Buy it here: Lego Boost Creative Toolbox ($160)
Paper Punk's line of craftable paper kits will expand to include My Little Pony by the end of Summer 2017. The Fold Your Own Pony Castle comes with everything kids need to create their own castle and accompanying ponies.
This holographic Barbie is your child's digital BFF. Your little one can talk to her, ask her the weather, have her store important dates in their calendar, dance with her, and more — she's the perfect high-tech nightlight for your kid's night table, but don't worry, you can apply parental controls to make sure Barbie isn't talking all night long.
Buy it here: Hello Barbie Hologram ($225)
From the upcoming Transformers movie, RC Sqweeks the Vespa dances, makes sounds, has emotive eyes, and when necessary, engages in blaster battle mode.
Buy it here: Transformers: The Last Knight Remote Control Action Figure - Autobot Sqweeks ($80)
Beauty and the Beast fans can not only play with the new Dance Code Belle can also program her dance moves via a free app and watch her follow them when she moves. Belle says over 100 phrases and sings seven songs from the film.
Buy it here: Beauty and the Beast Dance Code Belle ($100)
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! If your kid is obsessed with the bottle challenge, they're going to want to take things to the next level with this challenge game that adds levels of difficulty to a typical bottle flip.
Buy it here: Flip Challenge ($9)
Logan, American Girl's first boy doll, is a musician who plays the drums alongside his girl pal Tenney Grant, a singer-songwriter from Nashville.
Buy it here: American Girl Logan Doll ($115)
Unicorns and frosting combine to create a fun and tasty treat with Unicone. Just fill the unicorn with your favorite frosting, layer in your colors, and swirl it into a provided cone, a cupcake, or right onto a spoon!
Buy it here: Unicone Rainbow Swirl Maker ($20)
This Spring, this playset with lights, slides, gears, reversible rooms, magic interaction points for mermaid figures, and sounds is going to create hours of play for your little one.
Buy it here: VTech Go! Go! Smart Friends Shimmering Seashell Castle ($40)
This extremely cool 24-inch-tall Batman has a voice-changing feature, pop-out wings, a working elevator behind his chest armor, and a secret foot compartment for the Batmobile to pop out of.
Buy it here: Imaginext DC Super Friends Batbot Xtreme ($100)
No sewing skills are needed to create these fun shark and mermaid tails. Simply knot the precut fleece fabric to craft the perfect tail.
Buy it here: DIY Knot-A-Mermaid ($27) and DIY Knot-A-Shark ($27)
Consider the forthcoming Pokémon Trainer Guess Game to be 21 Questions for Nintendo fans. The IQ game asks a series of questions to help narrow down which character you're portraying.
Buy it here: Pokémon Trainer Guess Game ($19)
Princess Twilight Sparkle can sing on her own or go cheek to cheek with her friend Spike to sing a duet.
Buy it here: My Little Pony Princess Twilight Sparkle Spike The Dragon Friendship Duet ($25)
Your child can take their Splashlings to the next level this Fall with a number of adorable playsets that are the perfect size for little Splashlings and their mermaid friends.
In the new My Little Pony movie, the ponies of Equestria venture out to a new land, Seaquestria, where they meet ponies who are able to turn their hind legs into mermaid tails!
Buy it here: My Little Pony: The Movie Canterlot & Seaquestria Castle ($100)
Learn shapes, numbers, colors, and more with Tot Bot, a robot your child can build themselves over and over.
Buy it here: Learning Resources Count and Build Tot Bot ($10)
The Barbie Dream Horse is a voice-activated horse with touch sensors that canters around, performs, and dances to three songs.
Buy it here: Barbie Dream Horse ($90)