If your kids need any help filling out their holiday wish lists (yeah, right…), ChiTAG is here to help. Otherwise known as the Chicago Toy & Game Fair, the two-day event is ground zero for all the coolest toys and games of the season—including some that haven’t even hit store shelves yet.
ChiTAG is fully interactive—no “do not touch” signs here!—and lets kids engage with fun products, as well as the men and women who have invented some playtime faves like Roominate, JUKEM and Bop It!
The fair also features some special events, such as the Young Inventors Challenge for kids who might have a million-dollar idea that would change the whole toy and game scene. Or, if The Force is with your littles, you’ll want to attend the Star Wars Luncheon, an out-of-this-world buffet that includes photo ops with beloved characters. (It will be good prep for when The Last Jedi comes out.)
If you need to take a break from all that playing, there’s entertainment like magic shows, bubbles and performances from the always-popular Jesse White Tumblers.
And while the scenes usually staged in your family’s playroom might not conjure up images of white doves and linked hands, the theme of this year’s ChiTAG is “Play for Peace.” It includes a large-scale, 3-D motorized sculpture that has some fun water elements—and it will pretty much be the cherry on top of your family’s playful, weekend-long sundae.
If you go
Chicago Toy & Game Fair
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 18; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 19
$15, $8 kids 3-12, free kids under 3
Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave., Festival Hall A, Chicago
