Time to Play Unveils the 2013 Summer Playlist

During a press conference in New York City today, TimetoPlayMag.com, the number one resource for all things play, announced its 2013 Summer Playlist, a round-up of the top toys and children’s lifestyle products named by the editors to be among the most fun for children and their families this season. Designed to help parents and gift-givers easily discover the best new items hitting store shelves, the 2013 Summer Playlist features toys that keep kids active outdoors, exciting updates from classic brands, and a variety of action figures, playsets, and games based on this summer’s most anticipated films.

Hosted by Jim Silver, CEO and editor in chief, and Chris Byrne, content director aka The Toy Guy®, the press conference kicked off a day-long event celebrating the season’s best in play, with key industry players exhibiting a wide range of new toys, sporting goods, baby products, apps, and other children’s lifestyle products that make the most of spring and summer fun.

“With a wide variety of kid-friendly movies slated for release this summer, children will have plenty of cool movie-based toys to choose from,” said Jim Silver, CEO and editor in chief TimetoPlayMag.com. “And with no ‘sure bet’ on the horizon, any one of the films could become the summer’s break out hit, driving sales for licensed toys and lifestyle products.”

“This summer, we’re encouraging parents to create more time for unstructured, kid-directed play,” said Chris Byrne, content director TimetoPlayMag.com aka The Toy Guy®. “In addition to recent research from the University of Wisconsin that shows the benefits of unstructured time to develop cognitive abilities like enhanced memory, child-directed play builds creativity confidence. This crop of toys inspires physical, mentally stimulating, and social play with new innovations and classic play patterns.”

Named as some of the most fun and engaging items available for children this season, the products named to the Time to Play Summer Playlist appear in three categories: Outdoor Fun, Hot and New, and Movie Toys.

Outdoor Fun:

• Crayola Washable Sidewalk Chalk
• Little Tikes Bubble Machine
• Kixi Scribble
• Sky Ripperz
• Nerf Super Soaker Switchshot

Hot and New:

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutagen Ooze toys
• Tara Toy Doc McStuffins Activity Toys
• Minnie Mouse Bow-Tique Minnie’s Pet Salon and Minnie’s Pet Tour Van
• Lego Legends of Chima Cragger’s Command Ship
• Monster High Ghouls Alive dolls

Movie Toys:

• Marvel Iron Man 3 Sonic Blasting Iron Man
• Marvel Iron Man 3 ARC FX Mission Mask
• Man of Steel Quick Shots Flight Striker Superman and

  Man of Steel Quick Shots Flyin’ Fury General Zod

• Man of Steel Movie Masters Figures
• Disney/Pixar’s Monsters University Who’s Behind the Door?
• Imaginext Monsters University Scare Floor
• Despicable Me 2 Minion Dave
• Despicable Me 2 Agnes’ Fluffy Unicorn
• Despicable Me 2 Fart Blaster
• LEGO The Lone Ranger Colby City Showdown
• LEGO The Lone Ranger Comanche Camp
• Turbo Zip Line Stunt Race
• Turbo Ring of Fire

About Time to Play

TimetoPlayMag.com is the number one resource for all things play. From thousands of independent product reviews and a real-time price comparison tool with leading national retailers to a helpful gift finder and daily hot toy giveaways, Time to Play is a trusted resource for parents and gift givers. Led by CEO/Editor in Chief Jim Silver and Content Director Chris Byrne, AKA The Toy Guy®, the seasoned Time to Play editorial team reviews thousands of products each year providing comprehensive video and written reviews of toys, baby products, kids’ electronics, sporting goods, and family friendly video games, apps, books, and movies. The site also features frequent guest posts from popular parenting bloggers, seasonal stories, safety tips, and recall information. Time to Play hosts a media event in the spring and fall of each year which gathers manufacturers, entertainment companies, and retailers to showcase each season’s newest playthings and identify the industry’s most prevalent product and financial trends. The Time to Play team can be found online at Facebook.com/TimetoPlayMag,

Twitter.com/TimetoPlay, YouTube.com/TimetoPlayMag, Pinterest.com/TimetoPlay.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130430006700/en/