At TP Toys in New Rochelle, New York, owner Kemesha Salmon jokingly blames TikTok for NeeDoh popularity, and struggles to keep the squishy toys in stock. She lets loyal clients preorder and sets squishies aside for them; only what’s left makes it to the shelves.
Toy Republic, a small chain with stores in New York and New Jersey, posts NeeDoh updates on their web site to signal what they have—that’s how fast-moving squishies are. But the site comes with all kinds of disclaimers: If you run to one of their stores, they’re not guaranteeing a NeeDoh item will actually be available.
Meanwhile the adults looking to buy squishy toys are not just looking on behalf of kids. Grown-ups find squishies satisfying and good for stress relief, too!
Why is NeeDoh so hard to find?
NeeDoh is a line of squishy toys that work like stress-relief balls. NeeDoh comes shaped like an ice cube (that’s right, just a square that you squish), a gumdrop (shown), a raindrop, a cat, a ball, and so on. It’s not innovative, exactly, but the squishies are fairly addictive to squeeze. And unfortunately, even kids are brand-conscious. My fifth-grade niece swears she can spot NeeDoh fakes.
The toy maker, Schylling, has been around for generations, selling classics like Tonka Trucks and Sock Monkeys. The brand launched NeeDoh in 2017, as the fidget toy craze took off. Then this year NeeDoh went viral. Now, there just aren’t enough of them to go around.
If you are buying online, here’s my suggestion: Go to the NeeDoh page on Amazon or the NeeDoh store on Walmart and follow the links to see what real NeeDoh is currently in stock.
Or: Form a relationship with your local toy store to see if you can get an inside track. While websites have NeeDoh coming in and out, the demand means the prices are at least double what they should be.
More squishy toys worth checking out
NeeDoh is not the only squishy game in town. Other squishies abound. I was at a farmer’s market this week and a vendor was selling butter squishies from a basket alongside mums and pumpkins. (Seriously!)
Year of the Squishy
NeeDoh is one thing, but butter-shaped squishies are the toy trend we didn’t see coming. Gen Alpha sense of humor at work! Many are yellow, like real butter, but we’re also seeing a lot of tie-dye colored butter toys. Ages 10+
These stress tools are very, very squishy. The brand gets a thumbs-up from Deputy Editor Marisa LaScala, our toy guru and mom of a tween. Ages 13+
Squishy bread is often “slow rise” which means it takes its time returning to form after you squish it. For some folks looking for stress relief, that can be important! This is scented. Ages 6+
The “crunchy” kind of squishy is filled with beads, which you feel when you squish down. Salmon, a mom of two teens, says that soap-shaped crunchy squishies are popular in her store. Ages 3+
You don’t get to pick whether you get a pink, blue, yellow, or red squishy nugget, but they’re all equally squishable. We had these in our offices for toy testing and kids didn’t want to let go. Ages 3+
Online reviewers say this cloud gets more squishy the longer it is squeezed. The parent company is here in the US, though the stress balls are manufactured abroad. Ages 3+
Crayola’s small Globbles easily fit in a hand for fidgety stress relief that’s fairly discrete. There’s this pack of six or a pack of sixteen. Ages 4+
A version of Elmer’s Squishies won a Good Housekeeping Toy Award in the past. Kids pour a mix into molds to create 24 small characters to squish. Ages 6+
The cute thing about this squishy? It’s the shape of a Squishmallow! It’s sold in several colors; there’s also a KPop Demon Hunters Gelli Gels. Ages 4+
Because the market is flooded with companies jumping on the squishy toy trend, exercise “buyer beware” caution. Some squishy dumplings were recalled in the UK earlier this year over reports that they could cause chemical burns. Check reviews as best you can. And note that all squishies are for kids, tweens, or teens—not for toddlers or babies.
