The Top 5 Toys of Christmas 2023
Barbie, Pokémon, Squishmallows, a six-thousand-piece castle and a game of Twister with a screen: five toys that mattered in Christmas 2023.
November 3, 2026 · ZABI LLC
The toy business had a mixed year in 2023. Dollar sales across the American market fell by 8 percent, according to Circana, and yet it was also the year of a Barbie film, released in July, with Mattel reporting a 16 percent rise in Barbie sales in the third quarter. A softer market with a very loud franchise in the middle of it.
That is a useful frame for the five toys below. None of them is a mystery. Each is a name with a long history or a large following, and each turned up on at least one of the lists we read. The interesting part is how differently they ask to be given.
The five
Documented on: 2023 DreamToys list; Barbie won 2023 License of the Year and Barbie The Movie Dolls won Doll of the Year (Toy Association)
Barbie Pop Reveal
Barbie's year began in July with the film, and by late October Mattel was reporting that Barbie sales had risen 16 percent in the third quarter. The company said it expected the Margot Robbie Barbie doll to be a hot toy on Christmas lists, as Fortune reported on October 25, 2023. The Toy Association's 2023 awards named Barbie The Movie Dolls Doll of the Year and the Barbie franchise License of the Year.
The doll on the DreamToys list was a different product: Barbie Pop Reveal, a scented, posable doll that comes with a squishy scented pet and fruit-themed accessories, for ages 3 and over. It suggests how a big property works in practice, with a headline doll and a shelf of smaller things around it. When choosing, check which Barbie the box actually holds, because the range is wide and the film doll is a separate product.
Documented on: 2023 DreamToys list; Pokémon listed first among 2023's top properties by Circana
Pokémon 151 Elite Trainer Box
The box is described by the DreamToys panel as a new take on the Pokémon trading card game, for ages 6 and over. For grown-ups who played in the playground, it is an easy product to understand, and for a parent who did not, it is an easy one to get wrong.
Circana's summary of 2023 listed Pokémon first among the year's top toy properties and named it as one of the main drivers of growth in plush. So the cards were part of a wider tide, not an oddity. A practical note: collectors tend to want a particular set, so find out which one before you buy rather than picking whatever carries the logo.
Documented on: 2023 DreamToys list; Squishmallows named 2023 Toy of the Year (Toy Association)
Squishmallows 7.5-inch Plush
Squishmallows are collectable plush animals, 7.5 inches in this size, and each has its own name and backstory, as the DreamToys description puts it. The maker is Jazwares, and the list gives the age as 3 and over. The appeal is simple: a soft thing that is easy to hold, with enough variety that one is never quite the same as another.
On November 20, 2023, the Toy Association announced Squishmallows as its overall Toy of the Year, chosen by a panel of expert judges, for the third year running. The 16-inch Squishmallows also won Plush Toy of the Year in the September category awards, and Circana's summary listed the brand among the top toy properties of 2023. For a gift, the sensible question is which character: a relative who gives a random one will be wrong more often than one who knows the favourite.
Documented on: 2023 DreamToys list
LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle & Grounds
The DreamToys panel put this castle on its list as a set aimed at adult fans, the so-called kidults. It has 6,020 pieces, minifigures and other characters, and an age rating of 16 and over. That is not a stocking gift. It is a project for several evenings, and it needs a table you are willing to give up.
It also lands in a year when Circana said building sets were the fastest-growing part of the US market. Circana credited LEGO Icons, LEGO Disney Classic and LEGO Speed Champions with that growth, which fits the picture of a castle arriving in a good year for bricks. If you are shopping for a Harry Potter reader of your own generation, this is the sort of present that says you remember.
Documented on: 2023 DreamToys list
Twister Air
Hasbro's Twister Air is a tech version of the party game. Players match poses shown on a screen using a smart device and wearable bands, and the list puts it at ages 8 and over. The mat is gone; the contortions remain.
It is on this list because it takes a game most households know and asks whether it needs a screen. Whether it does is a matter of taste, so before buying, check which devices it works with and whether your house has the room to stretch. For a family that already owns the original, this is a variation, not a replacement.
What the year tells us
Two other stories belong to 2023. Hasbro announced the return of Furby on June 22, 2023, in purple and coral, with more than 600 responses and a 25th anniversary to mark. We did not find a holiday list that placed it, so it is not one of our five, but you can read how the original arrived in our piece on the first Furby.
The other is how much of the 2023 list was a revival or a continuation. Even the new things came with a name attached. If you are curious how that looked a year earlier, the toys of 2022 make a good companion, and the toys of 2024 show where it went next.
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.
- 20 toys set to be big for Christmas 2023 (DreamToys), PA via RTE — DreamToys 2023 list and descriptions: Barbie Pop Reveal, Pokémon 151, Squishmallows, Hogwarts Castle, Twister Air
- DreamToys 2023: top toys for Christmas, Toys n Playthings — Date (Nov 8, 2023), panel, makers
- US toy industry sales decline 8% in 2023, Circana reports, Licensing International — 8% decline; top properties; building sets fastest-growing; Pokémon and plush growth
- 2023 Toy of the Year Awards category winners, The Toy Association (Sep 29, 2023) — Barbie The Movie Dolls (Doll), Barbie (License), 16-inch Squishmallows (Plush)
- Squishmallows from Jazwares takes home Toy of the Year award for 2023, The Toy Association — Overall Toy of the Year 2023, announced Nov 20, 2023, third consecutive year, chosen by expert judges
- Barbie sales mattel movie film doll, Fortune (Oct 25, 2023) — Barbie sales up 16% in Q3, film released in July, Mattel expects the film doll to be a hot toy
- Furby is back: Hasbro unveils the toy's iconic return, FOX 9 (Jun 23, 2023) — Furby relaunch June 22, 2023, colours, features, 25th anniversary