Toys for Grown-ups a Growing Market
2022-12-25
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1During the COVID-19 pandemic, Elizabeth Hulanick has turned to toys from her childhood to deal with worry and stress.
2She started bringing Lego toys to work to build things out of the colorful blocks with her co-workers.
3She also started playing with Silly Putty, a toy made of special rubbery material that changes colors.
4Playing with the Silly Putty, she said, brought her comfort.
5"I always need something to be tinkering with, and that's probably the safest bet for me to stick with a toy versus keep trying to figure out how to fix cars or something like that," said Hulanick,
6who is 37 years old and lives in New Jersey.
7Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many adults turned to toys to remember feelings from their childhood.
8The stresses from the worldwide health crisis only grew that trend, said Jim Silver.
9He is editor-in-chief of TTPM, a toy review website.
10Many toymakers see adults' interest in toys as a long-lasting thing, even after the pandemic fully ends.
11This so-called "kid-adult" market is a big part of the toy industry.
12The market is the second-fastest-growing group after customers aged 12 to 17.
13Some toy companies are creating new products, services and websites designed for the older group.
14For example, Mattel's American Girl Cafe recently added alcoholic drinks to their menu after seeing adults show up without children.
15American Girl makes popular, costly dolls.
16Last year, the company Build-a-Bear launched a website called Bear Cave for customers 18 and over.
17Products include a stuffed rabbit holding a bottle of wine.
18Even the fast-food restaurant McDonald's is marketing to toy-loving adults.
19It released its adult Happy Meals in October.
20McDonald's President and CEO Chris Kempczinski said the company sold half its supply of collectible toys in the first four days of the special deal.
21The Lego Group has been increasing its products for adults since 2020.
22It now has 100 toys designed for older customers.
23Among the most popular toys for adults are Star Wars and Harry Potter-linked Lego sets.
24That information comes from NPD Group Inc., a market research company.
25Genevieve Cruz is senior director at Lego.
26She said, "The pandemic certainly served as a catalyst for this trend as adults found themselves stuck at home with nothing else to do with a lot of time [on] their hands."
27Cruz added, "We do believe that the trend goes beyond the pandemic."
28I'm Ashley Thompson.
1During the COVID-19 pandemic, Elizabeth Hulanick has turned to toys from her childhood to deal with worry and stress. 2She started bringing Lego toys to work to build things out of the colorful blocks with her co-workers. She also started playing with Silly Putty, a toy made of special rubbery material that changes colors. Playing with the Silly Putty, she said, brought her comfort. 3"I always need something to be tinkering with, and that's probably the safest bet for me to stick with a toy versus keep trying to figure out how to fix cars or something like that," said Hulanick, who is 37 years old and lives in New Jersey. 4Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many adults turned to toys to remember feelings from their childhood. The stresses from the worldwide health crisis only grew that trend, said Jim Silver. He is editor-in-chief of TTPM, a toy review website. 5Many toymakers see adults' interest in toys as a long-lasting thing, even after the pandemic fully ends. This so-called "kid-adult" market is a big part of the toy industry. The market is the second-fastest-growing group after customers aged 12 to 17. 6Some toy companies are creating new products, services and websites designed for the older group. 7For example, Mattel's American Girl Cafe recently added alcoholic drinks to their menu after seeing adults show up without children. American Girl makes popular, costly dolls. 8Last year, the company Build-a-Bear launched a website called Bear Cave for customers 18 and over. Products include a stuffed rabbit holding a bottle of wine. 9Even the fast-food restaurant McDonald's is marketing to toy-loving adults. It released its adult Happy Meals in October. McDonald's President and CEO Chris Kempczinski said the company sold half its supply of collectible toys in the first four days of the special deal. 10The Lego Group has been increasing its products for adults since 2020. It now has 100 toys designed for older customers. Among the most popular toys for adults are Star Wars and Harry Potter-linked Lego sets. That information comes from NPD Group Inc., a market research company. 11Genevieve Cruz is senior director at Lego. She said, "The pandemic certainly served as a catalyst for this trend as adults found themselves stuck at home with nothing else to do with a lot of time [on] their hands." 12Cruz added, "We do believe that the trend goes beyond the pandemic." 13I'm Ashley Thompson. 14The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. 15_______________________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17stress -n. a state of mental tension from pressure 18trend -n. something that is currently popular or fashionable 19review -v. to report one's opinion about the quality of some product 20comfort -n. a state where a person is at ease and is not feeling any pain 21tinkering -n. the activity of trying to fix something by making small changes 22customer -n. a person who buys goods or services 23menu -n. a list of the things offered at a restaurant 24catalyst -n. a person of thing that brings about a change or starts some kind of action 25______________________________________________________________ 26We want to hear from you. 27We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 28Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.