New toys are either smelly or just plain gross

Here are some of the hot trends and products featured at this week’s American International Toy Fair:

Gross toys: There are a slew of toys that are either smelly or just plain gross. Spin Master is offering 24 different Stink Blasters — kids can squeeze the heads of such characters as Garbage Truck Chuck or Barfin’ Ben, releasing foul smells. Jakks Pacific is coming out with Snot Shot, a plastic green play gun that shoots out green goo; and Goooze Spladders, which has one pound of the gooey compound in the shape of an eyeball, fried egg or teeth. Also from Jakks Pacific is Gut Bustin Flea, based on the Mucha Lucha animated Warner Brothers television show.

Decor: A number of toy makers are going after girls’ increasing interest in decorating their own rooms. Lego Systems has further expanded its arts and crafts kit called Clikits to include more room accessories like its Friendship frame or mirror or a designer desk set. MGA Entertainment, the maker of the highly popular Bratz dolls, is unveiling lamps and swinging chairs.

Jakks Pacific offers My Overstuffed Life, which is a single purse-shaped memory book that comes with enough pages, stickers and other accessories to complete a purse binder.

Retro: A number of toy makers continue to revive old toys. Play Along is bringing back the Cabbage Patch dolls, which were popular in the early 1980s; Applause is reintroducing Dream Pets, fuzzy animals originally brought to the United States in the 1950s from Japan. Mattel’s Fisher Price is bringing back Elmo again — this time, he’s dancing to E-L-M-O to the tune of the Village People’s disco-era hit ”YMCA.” – Sapa-AP