Good Housekeeping picks the best toys of the year

Good Housekeeping is calling this "The Year of Yuck." When it comes to the hot toys this upcoming holiday season, Good Housekeeping Institute chief technologist Rachel Rothman says the grosser the better. Pet and poop are the big trends this year.

The Good Housekeeping Institute tests thousands of toys for safety, durability, and educational value to find the best toys for you and your kids. Rachel says the testing is completely independent and unbiased.

The institute literally vets every toy that comes out in the United States. The ultimate deciders are 100 kids who come in and test the toys and board games to help assess the hottest toys of the year. These are some of their favorites:

Crayola's Scribble Scrubbie Pets are just $20 and are great for kids ages 3 and up. Each set comes with four characters that the kids get to color, plus a bath to clean off the color and start again.

Paw Patrol's Ultimate Rescue Fire Truck is $60 and is also appropriate for children 3 and older. The truck comes with Marshall the dog, sirens, flashing lights, plus a lookout cab that extends 2 feet.

Hasbro's Fur Real Ricky the Trick Lovin Pup is $130 and is a great way for kids 4 and up to learn about caring for animals. Ricky can do tricks like flipping a bone into his mouth. Kids can also feed him and, playing on that poop trend Rachel mentioned, if you rub his back his food comes out the other end.

For $20 the Hasbro Lost Kitties Blind Box Multipack lets kids 5 and older work on their fine and gross motor skills. The set comes with five packs. Each one has a surprise buried in the molding clay.

The Spin Master Air Hogs SuperNova is an indoor drone for just $40 that kids 6 and up control with their hands.

And last but not least, Skyrocket Pomsies just might be the hottest toy of the year. Appropriate for ages 4 and up, this $15 interactive pet that kids can tie around their wrist or backpack for hours of fun.

Good Housekeeping's Best Toy Award winners are here.

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