I haven’t said anything about Toy Fair yet this week, and it’s not because I don’t care—it’s mostly because I was grumpy that I don’t get to go. I mean, come on, don’t you think that Toy Fair should be considered required research for a Toy Box Mommy? I certainly do. But there’s that whole matter of living a thousand miles away and my kids needing me and all of that. Hmph.

(Yes, it’s true. Sometimes your mom just wants to run away and go play with toys. Don’t worry; it’s just a fantasy.)

Anyway, yesterday I finally sat down to look over some of the coverage online. As usual, the buzz is coming along fast and furious, but I like to look at just a few trusted sources to get an overall feel for what happened this week in New York City. If you want the scoop, well, select from the following choices:

Want just the facts, ma’am? Msnbc has a slideshow of projected hot toys for 2008. It starts out with the most terrifying Elmo yet (his mouth is hanging open and he appears to be either dancing or writhing in agony) and goes from there. I felt better once I got to “Taters of the Lost Ark” (the Indiana Jones-themed Mr. Potato Head), though.

Want the TDmonthly perspective? They’ve been covering everything Toy Fair in a special section that includes daily exhibitor and retailer tips. That would’ve been more useful while the show was still going on, I guess, but they have some nice photos from the show floor, as well as some commentary.

And finally—you know how I like to save the best for last—friend of Ty’s Toy Box Chris Byrne, a.k.a. The Toy Guy, has been doing some awesome Toy Fair coverage on his blog. The jewel-encrusted Hot Wheels car pictured above was auctioned off for charity, he reported as part of a Mattel recap. In the Hasbro recap we learn of an upcoming wiimote-based Nerf blaster for use with the Nintendo wii (awesome). The Jakks Pacific post has news from Nickelodeon Slime to Hannah Montana—clearly, all the based were covered!

I do love checking out all the new toys, even if I didn’t get to go see them on the showroom floor….

There’s been a rash of toy recalls this year (”Really,” you say, “you noticed that?”) and most parents are understandably antsy when it comes to shopping for safe items for their kids, now. No one purposely buys something for Junior that could potentially choke or poison him. (Um, no one I know, anyway.) The assumption used to be that anything you found in the store, certified safe for children, really was. Recent events have shaken that belief.

There’s no shortage of information on the ‘net about what’s happened, what’s being done, what you should do, etc. If you’re concerned—and I’m not going to minimize this; if you’re a toy-buying consumer, you should be concerned—avail yourself of these resources. If you’re shopping here at Ty’s Toy Box, they now have a Frequently Asked Question area addressing toy recall concerns, which encourages consumers to check out the Toy Industry Association’s dedicated site, ToyInfo.org, to stay informed.

My children are past the put-everything-in-their-mouths stage of life, so I have not personally been touched by any of the recent toy recalls. But as a parent I do want to stay abreast of the issue, lest I unwittingly bring an unsafe product into my home. (But then, I feel that way about all sorts of products. I still think I’m more likely to burn the house down with our toaster than my kids are to decide to eat pieces of a craft kit. Maybe I’m naive.) And I know that sometimes the information we want and the information we actually get are not one and the same.

So here’s something to think about: Recently Liz over at Mom-101 was contacted by someone doing PR for ToyInfo.org. You should read her whole post to get the backstory, but the end result was that Liz has been given the opportunity to ask Toy Safety Industry VP Joan Lawrence whatever burning question she feels best represents parents’ current toy safety concerns. Liz is soliciting suggestions over on her entry. It’s good reading even if you don’t have a burning question, but if there’s something that really on your mind, go visit Liz and tell her about it. Your question might end up being answered by The Powers That Be.

In the meantime—use common sense about the toys you bring into your home. Pay attention to the age ratings, and pay attention to your kids when they play. Send in product registration cards and take away broken toys and all those other things you already do. You need to be aware of these things, but you don’t need to buy into the hype that nothing’s safe anymore, because that’s an overstatement of reality.

There’s a difference between being vigilant and being scared. Which, if you think about it, is probably a good motto for parenting as a whole.

I suppose after yesterday—and sitting around talking about a movie not due out until mid-2009—a nice little discussion about hot holiday toys should seem positively timely. I mean, hey, Christmas is right around the corner, right?

(Let’s just pretend that it wasn’t 90 degrees here today….)

Anyway, it’s about time for the people in the know to start talking about what’s hot this year, and what people will be scrambling to get for their little darlings when it’s time for holiday gift-giving. The verdict? Power Rangers, Pokemon, Transformers… and a new take on the old Rubik’s Cube, say experts.

“I don’t see any one huge thing coming along that’s going to take all the attention like T.M.X (Elmo) did last year,” said independent toy industry consultant Christopher Byrne.

“Whenever there’s not one big hit, it’s really good for classic toys across the board and that means people have to — heaven help us — pay attention to what their kids really want.”

(You can always count on our friend The Toy Guy to come through with the money quote. Nice work, Chris!)

I myself have never understood the “one big hit” phenomenon, so I’m relieved to hear that this year may be free of any form of Elmo-mania. Or insert-item-here-mania. Reading that things may be calmer and more varied this year almost alleviated my annoyance over the dire importance of discussing this in September.

The piece goes on to discuss why Pokemon is so hot right now (though it does manage to leave out the most pivotal reason, which is that my son is on a mission to own every piece of Pokemon paraphernalia available in the free world), as well as other recent trends in toy development.

Towards the end of the piece there’s a cursory discussion of recent toy recalls and what impact they may have on consumer buying behavior, moving forward. No discussion is devoted to whether any of this will prompt parents to, I don’t know, buy less or even start emphasizing non-toy or homemade gifts. (I guess that would just be going too far.)

Hey, at least they didn’t end it with “Only X more shopping days!” That would’ve made me want to hit someone with a Tickle-Me Elmo.