Video: A hugging Elmo and Zoomer the robot dog: meet the US toy of the year finalists With Christmas just around the corner the US Toy Industry Association has announced it's Toy of the Year nominees, including a Disney doll that talks to animals and a bracelet making kit. There are also several nominated games that blur the lines between video games and figurines, such as the Battroborg fighting robots, toy robots controlled with a joystick. Toy sales are up one percent so far this year, according to a market research firm. Year to date the toy industry overall is performing well at retail up one percent. What's really driving that this year is the doll category which is performing very well. One of the primary drivers at retail this year and through the holidays. Items like Monster High, Lalaloopsy, My Little Pony is doing very well, that category in particular is up 6 per cent for the year and we expect it to do just as well over the holidays," said researcher David Riley. The US Toy of the Year nominees are voted on by toy makers, retailers, media and consumers. Winning products are selected based on popular votes from consumers and announced in February.