Walmart started a new holiday tradition last year. It starts in the summer: the company invites a test panel of 1,000 children of all ages to play with a variety of toys, then rate how fun they are. About a quarter of the toys make the chain’s annual list of the 20 hottest toys, which Walmart then stocks up on, and Walmart shoppers might pick up after their Black Friday towel-grabbing frenzy. Maybe.

This year’s list includes toys at a variety of prices that do everything from fly to bark to making mobile phone cases. No, we’re not kidding: there’s a craft kit that lets kids mold silicone to make custom phone cases. I’m not sure whether this is more or less useful than the woven cotton potholders that I made and gave away at that age, but at least it doesn’t leave tiny rubber bands everywhere.

On the hot list, there’s also a cool flying car from Hot wheels, a robopuppy, a bunch of licensed toys from the movie “Frozen,” a remote-control dinosaur that’s so awesome that it’s already sold out, and a $60 smartwatch for kids, that, as far as I can figure out, actually has more features than the Apple Watch.

At least Walmart has the sense to not let the children in their focus group develop the toys. We all know where that leads.

Walmart’s Kid-Approved 2014 Holiday Toy List Reveals New Trends [Press Release]
To Find Hot Holiday Toys, Walmart Turns to Kid Testers [Bloomberg Businessweek]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.