Holiday toy frenzy for Magic Mixies is worse than Tickle Me Elmo
NYC dad Ernest Baker wanted to make magic happen for his five-year-old daughter Frances this Christmas. And all his doe-eyed darling wanted was the spellbinding, mist-making Magic Mixies Magic Cauldron toy set.
But, poof — they were all gone!
“I swear, Magic Mixies is harder to get than a Tickle Me Elmo in the ‘90s,” Baker, 32, lamented to The Post, referencing the vicious 1996 holiday hunt for the then-popular Sesame Street doll. “I have never seen a more in-demand toy in my life.”
Baker, a father of two from the Upper East Side, has spent the last eight weeks ransacking online and concrete shops for the ever-elusive mystic play-pot — which retails for about $69.99 (although third-party online resellers are currently hawking the hot Christmas must-have for upwards of $200).
The interactive novelty, rolled out by Moose Toys in October, invites kids ages five and older to magically create a cuddly stuffed animal out of special potion recipes inscribed inside of the “Magic Mixies Spell Book.”
After dumping the magical ingredients — like the “Crystal Gem” or the “Fizz Flower,” which are included in the play set — into the multicolored vessel, the child taps the cauldron with a magic wand, a cloud of smoky mist effervesces and a winged plush toy miraculously appears.
And tikes can recreate the playtime sorcery as many times as they please.
“In past years we’ve seen surprise-reveal toys that let kids make some cool trinket one time. And once they’ve unveiled the trinket the thrill of the toy is gone,” said Toy Insider toy expert Marissa Silva.
“But Magic Mixies allows kids to relive the magic of the toy over and over again,” she added, noting that children are able to repeatedly reset the cauldron, brew different poisons and create new surprise-reveals that they can perform for family members and friends.
The kiddie kettle has earned top-billing on Amazon’s annual “Toys We Love” list and Toy Insider’s “Hot 20 Holiday Gift Guide” this year, amongst the popular likes of the “Snackin’” Baby Yoda and the four-foot-tall Disney Princess Ultimate Celebration Castle.
And Baker finally snagged one for $109 last Sunday.
“I almost started to wish that I had a magic wand to make a Magic Mixies Cauldron appear for my kid,” the exhausted gift hunter joked. But, even without any bippity-boppity-boo powers, he was able to purchase the toy from digital retailer BrownOutdoors.com — which is currently offering the plaything, in various colors, from $99 to $279.
“I’m not thrilled that I spent more than the market retail price,” Baker continued. “But the extra spending and stress will be worth it when Frances is smiling on Christmas because she got the toy that she and every other kid wants this year.”
But Katie Beatty, a mom of three from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, hasn’t been so lucky.
“I’ve looked everywhere for this freakin’ toy and it’s nowhere to be found,” said Beatty, 30, with a frustrated chuckle.
After weeks of combing through Target and Walmart toy aisles, and stalking the toy’s fleeting availability online, she’s resorted to begging her 16,700 TikTok followers for help finding a Magic Mixies for her five-year-old daughter Lily.
“Anyone on TikTok, if you know where I can find [a Magic Mixies Magic Cauldron] that’s not a million dollars, let me know!,” pleaded Beatty, known on social media as @KatieCapeCod, in an early November video post.
She’s hoping to secure the sought-after gaud for a decent price during her Black Friday sale shopping.
“I’ll pay a little extra, but I don’t want to be price gouged just because it’s one of the hottest toys this year,” Beatty said, who says the most inexpensive Magic Mixies she’s found on the internet was $200.
“I knew toys were going to be in short supply because of the pandemic and the shipping issues,” Beatty admitted of the ongoing global supply chain crisis which has diminished the production and distribution of goods throughout the last year. “But I had no idea finding a Magic Mixies would be nearly impossible.”
The coveted cauldron’s limited stock notwithstanding, Magic Mixies’s maker assures parents that the hot commodity will be more accessible in the coming weeks.
“We have been working closely with our suppliers to come up with creative solutions to get the product out quicker,” said chief marketing officer of Moose Toys, Ronnie Frankowski.
“There is still lots of inventory coming throughout the holiday season,” he added with a caution to procrastinating shoppers. “But as soon as the product hits shelves, online and at traditional brick and mortar retailers, it sells quickly. So if you see Magic Mixies in stock, get it before it disappears.”
This post first appeared on Nypost.com
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