The Top 5 Toys of Christmas 2021
A bubbling cauldron, a soft food squad, a Star Wars starship, a camera-equipped Tamagotchi and a film-inspired playhouse: Christmas 2021 in five toys.
November 3, 2026 · ZABI LLC
Christmas 2021 was a season in which supply was part of the conversation. When the UK's DreamToys list was announced in November, the chair of the selection committee said the industry was working to overcome supply chain challenges so that toys would be on shelves for the festive weeks. An analyst from the NPD Group put it in plainer terms: if there is a toy someone is dreaming of, buy it early.
Against that background, a short list of toys became known as the ones to find. Here are five that appear in the documents we could read, with a note on what each one is and what to check before you buy. They are an editor's selection, and the hunt for them has long since ended, so read this as a record rather than a shopping list.
The five
Documented on: 2021 DreamToys list; 2022 Creative Toy of the Year (Toy Foundation); Toy Insider's 2021 popular list
Magic Mixies Magic Cauldron
The Toy Insider published a write-up of the Magic Mixies Magic Cauldron from Moose Toys on October 28, 2021. The set has a cauldron, a wand and numbered ingredients. A child adds each ingredient in turn, guided by lights and sounds, and writes the creature's name on a scroll that goes in at the end. Real mist then rises, and about thirty seconds later a plush Mixie pops out of a hidden compartment. The whole process takes around fifteen minutes. The write-up gives the age as 5 and over and suggests an adult helps with the spell book.
It is on the DreamToys list, and CBS News, reporting the Toy Insider's holiday list, noted that Magic Mixies was selling out fast. Revealed online in February 2022, the Toy Foundation awards named the cauldron Creative Toy of the Year. If you are weighing something similar, the practical things to check are the USB charging cable, space for the mist and an adult with fifteen spare minutes.
Documented on: Toy Insider's 2021 popular list (via CBS News); Squishmallows named Toy of the Year in February 2022
Squishmallows Food Squad
The Toy Insider listed Squishmallows first on its holiday list, naming the Food Squad from Jazwares: soft toys in a range of sizes with food-themed characters, such as a s'more, a burrito and a cupcake. CBS News reported the list on November 25, 2021, and noted that the toys had gained popularity on TikTok.
Then, in February 2022, the Toy Foundation named Squishmallows overall Toy of the Year, and also its People's Choice winner and Plush Toy of the Year. A plush is a modest object to sit in the middle of a supply-chain story, but the range is wide enough that nearly any age can be matched with a favourite, so the sensible question is about the character rather than the brand.
Documented on: 2021 DreamToys list; 2022 Playset of the Year (Toy Foundation)
LEGO Star Wars Boba Fett's Starship
LEGO's Boba Fett's Starship was one of the twelve on the DreamToys list, and the Toy Foundation named it Playset of the Year when it announced its winners in February 2022. Those are the two documents we can point to. The sources we could open did not describe the set, so we do not give a piece count or an age rating here; look at both on the box.
A starship from a long-running science-fiction series is a safe kind of gift for a Star Wars household, which may be part of why it turned up in more than one place. What you want to know before buying is whether the recipient likes following instructions or prefers to make up their own vessel. The set may no longer be in production, so listings today may come from other sellers.
Documented on: Toy Insider's 2021 popular list (via CBS News)
Tamagotchi Pix
The original Tamagotchi debuted in Japan in 1996 and reached America in 1997. In April 2021, Bandai America announced the Tamagotchi Pix, which keeps the egg shape and the three buttons and adds a full-colour screen and a built-in camera. According to a news report, the camera lets owners take pictures with their virtual pet and use it to paint or cook with the pet.
The Toy Insider included the Pix in its list of the season's most popular toys, for ages 6 and over, as reported by CBS News. For a parent who carried a Tamagotchi in a school bag in the nineties, it is the nostalgic object on this list. A good question to ask before buying one is whether the person receiving it will want to look after something every day; a virtual pet that is ignored does not fare well.
Documented on: Toy Insider's 2021 popular list (via CBS News)
Encanto Magical Casa Madrigal
The Encanto Magical Casa Madrigal, made by Jakks Pacific for Disney, was also on the Toy Insider's list. CBS News described a playset more than fifteen inches tall with three floors, seven rooms, a Mirabel doll, and lights and music. The age given is 3 and over.
It is the one Disney tie-in among our five. It sits here because of the Toy Insider's list and nothing else; we found no award or sales report for it. For a gift, the usual rule for playsets applies: check the space it takes up, and whether the household is likely to know the film well enough to want it.
What the year tells us
The NPD Group said toy sales were up 9 percent for the nine months to September 2021 compared with 2019, and that is a surprising number for a year people remember as one of shortages. The DreamToys committee chair called the list a blend of evergreen favourites and the year's biggest brands. Our five fit: a cauldron, a plush, a starship, a virtual pet and a playhouse.
For what came next, the toys of 2022 show Squishmallows and Gabby's Purrfect Dollhouse both on the lists, and the classics that outlived every craze is a good companion if you wonder which of these will still be in a cupboard in ten years.
Sources
Where the facts in this post come from. Rankings and lists belong to the people who published them; the selection and the stories are ours.
- DreamToys top 12 for Christmas 2021, Toys n Playthings — DreamToys 2021 list of 12, date, panel, longlist of 81, supply and NPD comments
- The 10 most popular toys this holiday season, CBS News (Nov 25, 2021) — Toy Insider list: Squishmallows Food Squad, Magic Mixies, Tamagotchi Pix, Encanto Casa Madrigal
- The Toy Foundation crowns 2022 Toy of the Year award winners, Licensing International — February 2022 awards: Squishmallows (overall, People's Choice, Plush), Magic Mixies Magic Cauldron (Creative), Boba Fett's Starship (Playset)
- Magic Mixies Magic Cauldron write-up, The Toy Insider (Oct 28, 2021) — How the Magic Cauldron works; age 5 and over
- The 90s-era Tamagotchi is back, this time with a camera, KTVZ (Apr 21, 2021) — Tamagotchi Pix description; original debut 1996 in Japan, 1997 in America