Parents of Singapore, you have been warned: there’s a new toy that everyone’s talking about, and the kids are going NUTS for. And because it’s our duty to let you in on everything happening this Christmas, it’s time we all stop covering our ears and deal with the Hatchimal. If you remember the Tamagotchi of the ‘90s, this is the 2016 reboot, but in the form of an interactive all-singing, all-dancing soft animal, which hatches out of an egg. Before you get too excited, it’s pretty much sold out in the US and UK, and online from retailers. Here’s what you need to know, and if you’re suffering from FOMO, where you can get it here in Singapore – but expect to wait, or pay an arm and a leg…
Hatchi…what?
- It’s a plushie that hatches out of an egg. Once it’s hatched, your child can ‘feed’ and nurture their Hatchimal – it’s a pet that doesn’t poop!
- The eggs need to be rubbed, tapped, comforted and even burped before they hatch.
- The bird-like creature then needs to be nurtured through newborn stage and toddlerhood until it becomes a fully-fledged ‘kid’. This involves teaching it to talk, walk and dance.
- Hatchimals come in five different ‘species’: Pengualas, Draggles, Burtles, Owlicorns, and Bearakeet. Okay then…
- If your kid is freaking out that its Hatchimal is ‘growing up too fast’, you can reset it to baby mode. If only we could do that with our own critters…
- It will set you back SGD129 in store.
Here’s the official YouTube video to get your head around the toy people are obsessing over:
Now here’s the good news: another batch has gone into production. The bad? It won’t be available here in Singapore until Feb 2016. If your kids can cope with delayed gratification, it’s available for pre-order now at Toys’R’Us. For those hoping to order one online via Amazon or Target, I hate to break it to you, but it’s already sold out. Resellers, of course, are having a field day. We spotted one on eBay at an eye-watering $328 plus $70 postage to Singapore, and they’re going for an average of USD200 from resellers on Amazon. If you’re going down this route, be aware that the RRP in USD is $50.
Is it worth the hype? We do know that any family and friends in the US or UK will be earning MAJOR brownie points by getting their hands on one of these for you…
And if this all makes your hair stand on end, switch over to our guide to charitable Xmas gifts that mean the world to others…