2026 is the year of the squishy. These tactile collectibles have taken over our lives. The elusive Needoh and RMS Dumplings escape our visits to Walmart, Target and Five Below. Our kiddo, Leigh, even has his grandparents on the pursuit to find them, my mom making special trips to stores, giving her flashbacks to when she’d drive me over to Gamer’s Paradise in the Harlem and Irving Mall in search of the latest Beanie Babies.
When it came time to pick his Halloween costume, Leigh decided he wanted to make himself into a Needoh – specifically the packaged box they come in. He’s obsessed with packaging design down to the smallest detail (maybe one day he’ll be a graphic designer?). We got a big FedEx box, wrapped it in black vinyl paper and carefully drew the letters on neon poster paper before tracing them in black Sharpie, carefully cutting them out and adhering them to the box around holes cut for Leigh’s limbs. He wore an oversized bright orange Carhartt sweatshirt, a color so bright you typically only wear for safety purposes. It was the best costume we made for him yet. Completely unique, Leigh transformed into a Needoh with such confidence. People either didn’t know what he was (grandma included) or they screamed out, “Look! He’s a NeeDoh!” He proudly took home first prize in the 5th-grade Halloween costume contest at school and was awarded a trio of Fugglers (another hot toy this holiday season).
Typically, Leigh has a Christmas list we can easily fulfill because each item is accessible and easy to find. His list this year is loaded with squishies. And not just any squishy will do. He wants the in-demand Needoh Advent Calendar (something I had to meet someone in a parking lot to purchase, like a genuine drug exchange – “Show me the goods before I give you the cash!”). This is the first year we’ll have to really work to find the things he wants. Only once in a while is there a toy so exclusive as the Knitten Holiday Needoh that we have to stand in line and hope they don’t sell out before we get to the register. It makes me feel nostalgic for the days when Furbies were the hot commodity and I just had to have one. Now it sits in our basement, freaking Leigh out whenever he catches sight of it (but Fugglers are okay?).
The search is part of the fun. It has boosted Leigh’s social skills, as he doesn’t hesitate to ask store employees about what’s in stock. And when you find the real thing, they aren’t expensive (usually $5-10). Oddly, the fake ones will cost you big bucks. We bought several fake dumplings for more money than I’d like to share, and we ended up throwing them out after reading that they contained toxic ingredients, exposing us to overpriced, risky elements we unknowingly brought into our house.
The excitement on our kid’s face when he finds a squishy in stock is priceless. When we do get there too late, Leigh has been desperate enough to ask for the cardboard box the product was displayed in. The salespeople, happy not to have to break it down and lug it to the back of the store for recycling, usually give them to him. He has his Needoh collection organized in a display box in his bedroom, each squishy stored properly in its packaging until he wants to play with them.
Wish us luck as we navigate the holidays with a kiddo who is getting old enough to realize Santa also has to do some searching when it comes to filling his sleigh with the most popular toy of Christmas: Needoh!
