Across the United States, a noticeable shift is taking place in how families spend their evenings. After years of screen time creeping further into children's daily routines, more parents are looking for an alternative. Not strict bans, but toys that help a child put the device down on their own. The toy industry has officially named this one of the defining trends of 2026. The Toy Association, which runs the country's largest toy trade show, Toy Fair, introduced this year's trend under the name Cozy Culture. According to their data, demand is rising for toys that feel intentional, calming, and human centered. It marks a direct shift away from the loud, fast paced toys tied closely to screens that dominated shelves for the past decade. A response to screen time anxiety Pediatricians and child psychologists have spent years warning about the effects of excessive screen exposure on sleep, attention, and emotional regulation in young children. What is new in 2026 is how directly parents have started acting on that advice. I see this every day in my own work. A few months ago a mom from Texas wrote to me. She told me that every evening had turned into a fight over the tablet, and bedtime ended up with tears and shouting instead of calm. She decided to try replacing the device with a simple instant print camera, the kind that prints photos right away. The first evening felt like an experiment she didn't expect to work. But her daughter got so absorbed in printing her own photos that she asked to put the phone away the next day herself. This is not an isolated story. I hear versions of it from parents across different states almost every week. What screen-free toys actually look like The category spans several familiar formats, reimagined with intention. Screen-free cameras that let kids capture memories and express creativity without a phone in hand. Instant print models have become especially popular as a genuine alternative to giving a young child a smartphone. Sensory and light-based building sets, like magnetic tile kits, that combine hands-on STEM learning with the kind of quiet, repetitive play that naturally settles an overstimulated child. Toys built specifically for the bedtime routine. Soft lighting, gentle sound, calming characters, designed not for daytime excitement but for the last twenty minutes before lights out. What unites them isn't a single product type, but a design philosophy. No jarring characters, no aggressive marketing tactics, no artificial urgency. Just play that is allowed to be quiet. Why this is more than a passing trend Skeptics might file this under the usual toy industry cycle, nostalgia dressed up as innovation. But the numbers point to something more lasting. According to the Toy Association, adults and parents making purchasing decisions for themselves now account for a significant share of the U.S. toy market. In 2025, 81 percent of parents planned to buy a toy for themselves as well, up from 72 percent the year before. Buying decisions increasingly hinge on emotional and developmental value rather than flash or franchise tie-ins. A similar picture is unfolding beyond the U.S. In the UK, the term screen-free overtook educational toys as a search query for the first time during the 2025 Christmas shopping season, and the share of parents who factor in the absence of a screen when choosing a gift rose from 31 percent in 2019 to 68 percent in 2025. When I started SleepToy, I built it around one simple idea. The more intentionally a child plays during the day, the more peacefully they sleep at night. That's not a marketing line. It's simply what parents keep telling me, and now what the industry's own data confirms as well. The bigger picture As American families continue to rethink their relationship with screens, the toy aisle has become an unlikely battleground for a very human question. How do we help our kids, and honestly ourselves, slow down. For now, a lot of parents are landing on a surprisingly simple answer. Fewer screens, more soft light, and a toy that no one wants to put down the moment the fun is over.

TAGIE Voting Opens Today through October 21   CHICAGO, IL | September 22, 2026 — People of Play™, a division of The Toy Association™, has announced the finalists for the 19th annual Toy & Game International Excellence (TAGIE) Awards, which recognize the inventors, designers, suppliers, retailers, marketers, and PR teams whose imaginations and ingenuity fuel the toy and game industry. Winners will be celebrated at an awards ceremony on Friday, November 6 at Joe’s Live Concert Venue in Rosemont, IL.   This year’s TAGIEs will also kick off the Star Wars 50th anniversary celebration with the theme “The Force of Play,” which will honor five decades since Star Wars: A New Hope debuted on May 25, 1977. Adding to the celebration, Ashley Eckstein — actress, entrepreneur, and fashion designer best known for founding Her Universe and voicing and originating the role of Ahsoka Tano across several Star Wars animated series — will host the evening.   Public voting to determine the award winners in 10 categories opens today, September 22, and runs through Wednesday, October 21. Industry professionals and consumers are encouraged to cast their votes online. The Game Changer and Lifetime Achievement Awards are selected exclusively by the TAGIE Awards Committee and the Lifetime Achievement Committee. “Every year, we are inspired by the talent of the TAGIE finalists,” said Mary Couzin, senior vice president and founder/leader of People of Play at The Toy Association. “These innovators are risk-takers and dreamers who have turned ideas into toys and games that bring joy to millions, and this year, we’re adding a little extra ‘force’ to the celebration as we kick off 50 years of Star Wars. We can’t wait to bring everyone together for an unforgettable night in November!” The 2026 TAGIE finalists are listed by category below: TOY INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR - AGES 0 – 13 Hapiko's Product Team for Stickerbox ZipString for ZipString Aracna Robert Schwartzman, Peter Williams, & Mike Lynders for Team Barbie Roll and Reveal Fat Brain Toy Co. Product Development Team (Adam Carson, Kevin Mathis, Kyle Gutzmann, Jess Norman, Yuli Xu, Tijil Arora) for Air Toobz Evo Alex Wilde, Cody Hampton, & Jessica Kaups for Disney: Batuu Adventure Buddies, Ewok Matt Nuccio & Steven Rausch for Turbomax Lot-a-Loops: 30 Looper Brandon Sopinsky, the Moose Toys CrunchLabs by Mark Rober Team, & the CrunchLabs Team for The Crunchinator Zack Bailey & the ZB Designs Team for Wigglitz Tree Town Toys: Brent Oeschger, Laura Morrison, & Michelle Delacourt. Nextoy: Robert Fuhrer & Rufus Seder (inventor) for SpinAnimator Studio™ South Beach Bubbles for Bubble Goalz Crazy Aaron's Team for Crazy Aaron's Better Butter Thinking Putty® by Goliath JMP Creative Team & Sky Castle Toys for Sticki Rolls Stickimates   TOY INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR - AGES 13+ Inna Yankelovich from IDEO for Blooms by Play Doh Crazy Aaron's Design Team with David Yakos and Tim Walsh for Pinchies Mattel Building Sets Design Team for Mattel Brick Shop Mitch Silver for Pizza Flow Carl Kampf for National Geographic 4-Cylinder Engine Building Kit Working Model Clickeez Team for Clickeez Series 3: Bubble Pops The Play Initiative & Design Edge (Matt Nuccio) for U Build It!   GAME INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR - AGES 0 – 13 Joe Barron, Sophia Ricciardi, David Yakos, Brady Peterson, Danielle Standring, & Grant Lyon for Cross the Line Brady Lang, the Moose Games Team, and CrunchLabs for CrunchLabs Squirrel Dash Game Peggy Brown for Down the Waterspout Jordan Goddard & Vango for Gummy Grab Raul Rios & Dominic Yard for Drop n Roll Seven Towns (Inventor Studio) for Pooch On The Loose David Yakos of Streamline Design for Queen Swarm from Mindware   GAME INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR - AGES 13+ The Spin Master Games Team with Inventors Don Ullman & Bob Driscoll for Murder Phone Catapult Concepts LLC for Swing Shot Tower Thijmen de Schipper (Team Lead) for Hitster Music Bingo Bob Driscoll & Don Ullman for Murder Phone, Rubik's Rush and Jumanji Ultimate Level Electronic Board Game Product Development and Design Team at Educational Insights for Kanoodle Party Jordan Goddard for Trash to Table (Hasbro), How Long Is (Relatable), Gummy Grab (Vango), & Smack & Cheese (Vango) Richard MacRae & Corey Myckan for Centrix, The 3D Tiered Pyramid Board Game with Rotatable Levels   LICENSED PRODUCT INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR Sky Castle Product Development Team for Sticki Rolls Minecraft Agnes Lee for ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Collectible Trading Cards Stephen Zelin & Paramount Team for Magic the Gathering x Paramount IP Chris Gollaher, Director of Product Design, Disney Consumer Products for LEGO Star Wars™ SMART Play Building Sets Jan-Maurits Duparc for The Floor Board Game Carl Kamph, Faya Higgs, & Chandra Brown for Barbie™ Chemistry Activity Lab Fraser Paterson, the Moose Toys Bluey Design Team, BBC Studios, & Ludo Studio for Bluey’s Light & Surprise Heeler Home   YOUNG INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR Garrett Weaver for Baseball Card GM Bryce Mikolajczak for Cell Quest   MOST INNOVATIVE DESIGNER OF THE YEAR - ART & VISUALS Play Doh Brand Creative Team (Nikki Luther & Vanessa Milo) for Blooms by Play Doh Paulo Kang for Disney Animal Kingdom Tree of Life Playset Matthew Inman and the Exploding Kittens Team for Dead Therapist Wheels & Action Brand Design Team for Hatching Yoshi, Tech Deck: Free Riders, Monster Jam: Chomping Megalodon, HEX: Explodeapede, & How to Train Your Dragon: Trial of Flames line Zack Bailey & the ZB Designs Design Team for Wigglitz Mattel Action Figures Team (Tyler Russell, Brian Ostroff, Stacey Lloyd, Chloe Mun, Elizabeth Sweeney, Jam Jiang, Stephen Lo, Ray Chen, Joseph Zacate) for Jurassic World Hammond Collection 25th Anniversary Comic-Style Velociraptor Amanda Jenson for Seeker of Spells Amanda Norman for Mahjong Playing Cards Artwork   MOST INNOVATIVE PR & MARKETING TEAM OF THE YEAR Molly Hampton, Katie Buford, Christopher Nadeau, Nick Hayes, & Sarah Larkin for Uno Social Club The Op Games for The Op Games Marketing Team Sara Rosales & Michelle Wong for Squishmallows on Campus: Squish My School Campaign at Vanderbilt University Gamegenic Marketing Team for Magic: The Gathering x Marvel Super Heroes Accessories Marketing Campaign Amanda Rubinos Luna & Ali Way for Disney Lorcana: Curator's Collection, Heroines Edition — A Disney Park & Disney Store Exclusive Hasbro Brand Publicity Team for Blooms by Play Doh Launch Stephanie Haggerty, Mallory Van Laeken, Logan Stone, Claudia Vine, Marcus Taylor, Justin Escalante, Victoria Hagan, Jack Warnecke, & NVE Experience Agency for Gui Gui PR & Marketing Team - Gui Gui Glow Up Tour at VidCon   SALES INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR Tyler Williams & the ZB Designs Sales Team for Wigglitz Amy Sullivan, VP Retail Licensing and Entertainment at Authentic Brands Group, for Care Bears Collaborations with Universal, Warner Brothers, Zuru, MGA Entertainment, and Just Play (Happy Haul) Eric Brendel Claudia Bettson-Burdett & the Lucky Egg Sales Team   MOST INNOVATIVE PARTNER OF THE YEAR Jordan Goddard for Flat Earth (Exploding Kittens), Cat Condo Cornhole (Exploding Kittens), Sam and Colby Spirit Box, Just a Theory (Walmart only), & Veritasium The Game Salient Technologies Inc. Creativity, Inc. for Product Development Bang Zoom Design for Pikimo, Bitzee Interactive Aquarium, & PAW Patrol Megasaurus Dino Vehicle Edoardo Kulp for Product Development Steve Rad & Abacus Brands Team Amanda F. Turner for Toy-mation Stop-motion Shorts   Founded in 2008, the TAGIEs celebrate the outstanding achievements of toy and game industry leaders from around the world. The awards ceremony takes place annually in the fall in conjunction with People of Play’s annual POP Week (November 5 to 8 in Rosemont, IL), including the Global Inventor Pitch & Innovation Conference, Young Inventor Challenge, and Chicago Toy & Game Fair.   People of Play recognizes the generous support of this year’s event sponsors, including Presenting Sponsor Disney and Supporting Sponsors Hasbro, Mattel, Duracell, University Games, Longshore Ltd., Super Impulse, KenKen, Nextoy, The Play Makers, Backdrop.com, Brown Creative, Baby Paper, and Design Edge.   Click here to purchase tickets for the 2026 TAGIE Awards. Click here for more information about the awards program and follow for updates on social media using #chitag2026, #tagie, & #peopleofplay. About the TAGIE® Awards chitag.com/2026-tagie-awardsFounded in 2008, the Toy & Game International Excellence (TAGIE®) Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of toy and game industry leaders from around the world, by honoring masters of innovation. The annual event also pays homage to industry professionals who differentiate themselves with their spirit for fun, philanthropy, inventor advocacy, creativity, and humanitarianism. Inventors, designers, manufacturers, retailers, suppliers, media, public relations and marketing professionals, and the general public come together for this prestigious annual gala event. The TAGIEs are hosted annually in the fall in conjunction with the Toy & Game Inventor Pitch and Innovation Conference, Chicago Toy & Game Fair, and the Young Inventor Challenge.   About People of Play™ peopleofplay.com People of Play (POP), a division of The Toy Association™, leads the global toy and game industry in promoting innovation, creativity, and connectivity. A one-stop source of community for industry professionals, aspiring inventors, and people of all ages who love to play, People of Play hosts a play platform packed with resources and connection points as well as a wide range of events including the Chicago Toy & Game (CHITAG) Fair, the Toy & Game International Excellence (TAGIEs) Awards, the Young Inventor Challenge, the Toy & Game Inventor Pitch and Innovation Conference, Thought Leaders Summit, Toy Takedown and more.   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: People of Play PR Madelyn Jones919.923.3259madelyn@carvecomms.com