The National Toy Hall of Fame revealed the 12 finalists for its 2026 class, and once again my favorite childhood toy . . . illegal fireworks . . . was robbed.
The 12 finalists this year are: Bingo . . . Bop It! . . . Care Bears . . . Mahjong . . . Monster High dolls . . . the board game Mouse Trap . . . PokémonTrading Cards . . . Polly Pocket . . . the Slide (an actual playground slide, which is considered a “toy”) . . . the board game Sorry! . . . Tickle Me Elmo . . . and Yahtzee.
The winners will be voted on by toy industry experts . . . Three of the 12 toys will wind up getting inducted. They’ll be announced in November.
Tickle Me Elmo was also nominated LAST year, but didn’t make the cut. The three that did make it in last year were: Battleship, Slime, and Trivial Pursuit.