Are you dying to know the secrets of Elmo Live, one of the most popular toys this season?
Let me end the suspense here by saying that Elmo Live is a fantastic toy, and I don’t get to say that very often about the dozens of toys I handle every week.
I’m a seasonal toy vendor (for the sixth year in a row!) who spends tons of time explaining popular toys to customers. I also work in customer service, so I also find out what customers return.
Over the years, I’ve become something of a toy information broker. I receive unrestricted product reviews from kids and customers and pass them on to consumers who are about to open their wallets.
First off, Elmo Live is a super fun interactive toy designed for toddlers ages 18 months and up, though I’ve seen even younger kids light up, smile, giggle, and point as soon as they see Elmo Live on the shelf. That’s the power of the Sesame Street brand.
Here’s my list of Elmo Live features that I’ve personally tested (well, played with them). These comments also take into account customer feedback, which we receive in abundance at the store. Let these comments and real-world observations guide your purchase decision.
- Great quality. One of the criteria used by the toy industry to assess product success is the number of returns, which for Elmo Live has been surprisingly low. I say that because new toys that go beyond technology and, here, interactivity, are often brought back en masse. Usually my best time to play with a toy is when I’m repackaging a return (sorry, boss). Not this season. I had to get all my playtime from the Elmo Live demo model during coffee breaks.
- Perfect choice. Elmo is the main character of the Sesame Street brand. Parents and children trust and love it. As I said, even small children recognize it immediately. Elmo Live is flying off the shelves as much for trust and recognition reasons as for the advanced animatronics of him. So if he needs a quick gift for a young child, Elmo Live is the perfect choice.
- Total fun! Elmo Live talks, sings, laughs, jokes, tells stories and dances. Squeezing one of his pressure/tickle points such as his nose, foot, tummy or back will elicit different reactions, all of which are highly entertaining. He comes with a little blue plastic chair. When he sits down, he crosses his legs and tells a story. He waves his arms, tilts his head back, opens his mouth (in sync with speech), leans, and turns. He is the complete entertainment package.
- Elmo Live is the mirror image of his television personality. Fisher-Price really captured the essence of Elmo’s personality on camera. He is just as goofy, funny, loving, spontaneous, and crazy as he is on Sesame Street. I don’t often find this kind of perfect match in other toys/dolls/action figures trying to spin-off from the TV/movie to the toy store shelf. So the good news with Elmo Live is that you get exactly what you expect.
- Educational, too! Elmo Live’s expressions, speech, gestures and personality are so realistic that kids see him as a human too. You should see how engaged kids become when they play Elmo Live. It’s like they’re interacting with an actual family member who, in this case, turns out to be a red, furry baby monster. I mention this because of the real education and socializing features that Elmo Live offers. He is very polite, and he will teach that to your son, nephew, niece or godson.
- Batteries included! Yes, you read that right! Elmo Live comes with 6 AA batteries. Fisher-Price has also cleverly designed an off function into the toy. If Elmo Live doesn’t get attention for a few minutes. It will politely turn off to save battery.
The store where I work has a purchase limit for Elmo Live. You can’t buy more than two. This is to discourage the kind of hoarding and subsequent eBay reselling that happened with Tickle Me Elmo and other in-demand toys. With that being said, we have to continually restock Elmo Live throughout the day. Some days we have no stock at all. This is a very, very popular toy for the Christmas season. My strong suggestion is not to wait, especially as we head into December.
Best of luck and keep an eye out for my other toy article reviews. Thank you!