Toy of the Year® Awards - Nominations & Selection Process

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Nominations are now open for the 2026 Toy of the Year® (TOTY®) Awards!

A TOTY Awards nomination and win is the chance to be recognized as the “best of the best” in the toy industry and to feature your company, leadership, and products in front of millions of consumers.

Questions? Contact [email protected].

Market Availability

All 2026 TOTY nominated products must have been introduced to the marketplace within the last two years and be available at retail in the United States on or before November 1, 2025. This can include a new version of an older product line, if the “new” product or reiteration has been introduced within the last two years.

If submitting a crowd-funded item, the product must be fully funded by June 1, 2025 with retail availability by November 1, 2025.

Intellectual Property Rights & Originality

The product manufacturer, private labeler, importer, or licensor of every product submitted for consideration for the 2026 TOTY Awards must own or have been granted permission to use all intellectual property rights. The submitted product must not infringe upon any other party and/or another party’s intellectual property rights. Court Orders involving infringement of intellectual property rights, the originality or lack or originality of a product submission will invalidate the product for TOTY consideration. A further qualification of an award can require verification at any time that the product submission is not in breach of this representation or is not subject to such Order(s).

Safety Reports

If a product is selected as a 2026 TOTY finalist, the manufacturer, private labeler, or importer of record must agree to provide copies of all relevant safety test reports to The Toy Association for reference should any safety issues be called into question by regulatory or consumer groups during the fourth quarter holiday shopping season or beyond.

Nominations may be submitted by any authorized individual on behalf of the manufacturer, licensor, company, or person. Toy Association membership is not a prerequisite for submitting a nomination. Each nomination can only be submitted in one category. Duplicate nominations will not be reviewed by judges and will be disqualified.

Each product nomination must include key product information and a brief product description. Consideration will be given to:

Innovation & Originality
Design & Quality
Play Value/Play Experience
Market Success/Relevance & Consumer Appeal

No product samples are required with the submission form. If a product is selected as a finalist, the nominator will be contacted for product samples.

Questions? Contact [email protected].

Nomination Fees:

Toy Association Members: $250 per nomination
Non-members with annual sales below $5M: $495 per nomination
Non-members with annual sales above $5M: $895 per nomination

Finalist & Winner Seal Fees:

Toy Association Members: $995 per seal per category
Non-members: $5,000 per seal per category

Product finalists will be selected by a panel of judges comprised of play experts, journalists, academics, retailers, and other toy experts.

The judges will receive all completed product category nominations submitted for review and individually rank each on a scale of 1-10 against the following criteria:

Innovation & Originality
Design & Quality
Play Value/Play Experience
Market Success/Relevance & Consumer Appeal

Following the individual evaluation, the panel of judges will meet to discuss and decide the 2026 TOTY finalists for each category.

No brand will be allowed to have more than one (1) finalist in a single category. Companies can have up to two (2) finalists, as long as they are not the same brand.

2026 TOTY finalist seals will be available for purchase by product category finalists when they are announced on Thursday, November 7, 2025. TOTY finalist seals are to be used exclusively and only for the marketing & promotions of TOTY finalist products (product packaging, e-commerce, and social media).

Every product finalist must be represented in-person by either the nominator or a designee at the TOTY Awards on February 13, 2026 in New York City.

Product Categories

The product category winners are determined by three ballots weighted equally: Toy Association members*, retailers and media*.

*Toy Association members and media will be allowed only one vote per company.

Toy of the Year

The Toy of the Year winner will be chosen by a panel of industry representatives who, using their professional expertise, will consider multiple factors in making their decision, including Toy of the Year votes, 2025 sales through December 31, 2025, and media buzz (traditional, online, and social). The winner will be announced at TOTY on February 13, 2026.

People’s Choice

The People’s Choice winner is determined solely by consumer votes on ToyAwards.org and will be announced at TOTY on February 13, 2026.