UGCStarsThe short version
Toy brands want creators, often parents, who can film a child or family actually playing with a toy, showing what it does, how long it holds attention and what is in the box. The big retailers released their holiday toy lists in early October, toy sales jumped during the October sales event, and Target is even building video reviews and toy demos into its digital catalog. Real play is the proof parents look for.
For toy brands, that means the brief should center on play, not product shots.
Why brands are casting for it now
Retailer lists are out
Target released Bullseye's Top Toys List on October 5, a curated set of 50 toys starting at $4.99, with more than half exclusive to Target. Its trends include sensory toys with unboxing and collectible fun, build and discover sets, interactive characters, play kitchens and vanity sets. Target says its digital Holiday Kids Catalog features nearly 500 items, including video reviews and toy demonstrations.
The same day, Amazon said its Holiday Kids Gift Book is back for a ninth year with more than 600 toys and gifts, organized by age group from babies to kidults and by categories such as building sets, STEM, crafts, plushies, games and collectibles.
Sales are already moving
Toy sales jumped during the October Prime event. Adobe data reported by Digital Commerce 360 showed toy sales up 158% during the event, with video game sales up 90%. For the full holiday season, Adobe forecasts online toy sales of $9.6 billion, up 9.6% year over year, and expects toy discounts of up to 29%, with the best toy deals landing on Black Friday.
Adobe's expected top toys include Beyblade X, Jellycat plush, KPop Demon Hunters toys, LEGO Pokémon, NeeDoh, Pokémon Pikachu Puppetronic, Tickle Me Elmo Giggle Max and Toy Story toys. Circana's holiday study also lists collectibles among the gift categories shoppers are drawn to.
What ties these lists together is the kind of toy parents and gift givers are reaching for: things that are collectible, sensory, buildable or tied to a favorite character. Each of those is easier to understand on video than in a product photo. A squish toy, a build set or an interactive plush needs to be seen moving to make sense.
What brands ask creators to film
- Unboxing with a child's first reaction, unedited.
- Play session: the toy in use for several minutes, cut down to the best moments.
- Parent review: what the parent liked, what it cost and how setup went.
- Sensory close-ups for squishy, stretchy or slime toys.
- Build-along for sets, sped up with the finished result at the end.
- Gift guide by age, with the age range on screen.
Toy content is one of the few categories where the creator is often not the main person on camera. The child's play is the story, and the parent's voiceover explains it.
How to brief creators for toys
- Child safety and consent first. Agree what can be shown, such as faces, names and locations, before filming.
- State the age range clearly and cast creators with children in that range.
- List what is in the box and what is sold separately, including batteries.
- Ask for honest play, not a staged script. Let the child lead.
- Give the price and where it is sold, including any retailer exclusive.
- Plan delivery early so content can post before Black Friday.
You can browse parenting creators on UGCStars and look for creators who list Unboxing, Product Reviews or Vlogs.
Formats at a glance
| Your goal | Format to ask for | What the viewer learns |
|---|---|---|
| Show excitement | Unboxing with first reaction | Whether kids are drawn to it |
| Prove lasting play | Play session | Whether it holds attention |
| Build parent trust | Parent review | Setup, value and durability |
| Sell sensory toys | Close-up product demo | How it feels and moves |
| Help gift givers | Gift guide by age | Which age it suits |
A parent review paired with a short play session gives you both sides of the decision: the child's interest and the parent's view on value.
Ask for the unedited play footage as well as the final cut. Toy brands often reuse short clips of real play across ads, retailer pages and their own channels, and a natural moment of a child figuring out a toy is hard to recreate. Make sure your usage agreement covers that reuse and respects anything the family asked you not to show.
What creators should show
- Your child genuinely playing, including the moment they lose interest if it happens.
- Setup time and anything that needs an adult.
- The full contents of the box.
- How the toy holds up after a few days.
- Who you would buy it for, by age and interest.
Creators, parents watching these videos are trying to avoid a gift that gets ignored. Honest notes about attention span and durability are more useful to them than excitement alone. Say how many days the toy has been in your home when you film the review.
Mistakes to avoid
- Scripted reactions from children. They read as fake and can feel uncomfortable to viewers.
- Leaving out the age range.
- Skipping the box contents and extras that cost more.
- Filming in a way that shares more about the child than the family agreed.
- Missing the window. Holiday toy buying is already under way.
If you have more than one child, show how the toy works for different ages, or how siblings play with it together. Gift givers who are not parents, such as grandparents, aunts and uncles, often rely on this kind of video to choose a toy for a child they do not see every day.
Where to start
Brands, pick the toys on retailer lists or your own hero products, define the age range, and brief parent creators for an unboxing and a play session. Creators, film a short, honest play review with your family and add Unboxing and Product Reviews to your profile. You can find parenting creators or browse gaming creators for game and console content on UGCStars.
UGCStars creators for this trend
UGCStars lists 265 parenting creators, with a median starting rate of $150 per video (UGC Rate Index method). Brands ask them for unboxing, product reviews, vlogs, product demos.
Featured parenting creators
- Top Creator
- Rising Star
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- Makeup
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- 10K–50K Instagram
- Top Creator
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- Top Creator
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- Top Creator
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- 250K+ TikTok
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- Top Creator
- Beauty
- Makeup
- Fashion
- 50K–250K TikTok
- 50K–250K Instagram
Sources
- Target, 5 October 2026
- Amazon, 5 October 2026
- Digital Commerce 360 (Adobe data), 8 October 2026
- Adobe, 28 September 2026
- Circana, 8 October 2026
About this report
Written by Murat Bo, founder of UGCStars, for the October 2026 edition of UGC Trends, and published on 19 October 2026, then updated on 20 October 2026. It’s based on the sources above. Figures appear only as their source states them, with a link, and every link was checked when the report was published. Creator counts and rates come from UGCStars on the day you read this. Report a mistake.