How to get your hands on Fingerlings, the hot toy everyone wants this holiday season
Kirsten Acuna/INSIDER
- Fingerlings are one of the hottest must-have toys for the holiday.
- The small interactive baby monkeys are small enough to wear on your finger and respond to touch, sound, and motion with over 40 different sounds and features.
- In addition to baby monkeys, baby unicorn and baby sloth Fingerlings are exclusive to Toys 'R Us and Walmart, respectively.
- They sell for $14.95 but are quickly out of stock in major retailers like Target, Walmart, and Toys 'R Us.
- You can sign up for in-stock alerts from Walmart or try your luck on Amazon but you may be spending upwards of $30-$40 for one of the little critters.
While you're on the hunt for the perfect toy for your kids this holiday season, make sure you add Fingerlings to your list if they're not there already.
Since their US release in August, the pint-sized robotic monkeys have landed on top toy lists of the year from retailers including Amazon, Target, Toys R Us, and Walmart.
Fingerlings were also one of the must-have toys at the annual Toys, Tots, Pets, and More (TTPM) Holiday Showcase INSIDER attended in September.
Never heard of Fingerlings or aren't sure where to get them? INSIDER got a peek at the toys earlier this summer. Here's everything you need to know about the little critters that are flying off shelves.
What are Fingerlings anyway?
Kirsten Acuna/INSIDER
Fingerlings are small, interactive robotic pets from toy manufacturer WowWee. The five-and-a-half inch tall figurines are small enough to carry around on your finger — hence the name.
Honestly, they're just kind of cute to look at.
After launching overseas in the spring, six of them were released in the United States August 11. They're recommended for kids ages five and up and the lightweight toys can hold onto your finger with their hands and feet or cling onto you by their tail.
WowWee
If you don't want to do either of those, you can hang them from other things like straws, backpacks, and pens or buy playsets which allow them to sit and hang by themselves.
The real appeal though are the over 40 sounds and animations the little toys make once you turn them on. And, yes, batteries are included.
OK so they're cute, but what do they do?
Kirsten Acuna/INSIDER
The baby monkeys respond to sound, motion, and touch. For instance, if you blow the monkey a kiss, it's supposed to blow one right back. If you clap, it will respond with some sort of noise. If you hang it upside down, it may giggle or shake its head in disapproval. Cradle it in your arms and it will simulate sleep noises and start to shut its eyes. If you put two fingers down on its head and hold them there it will make a fart sound.
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If you have more than one, they'll interact together.
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If you're worried about all the noise, they go into a sleep mode after five minutes of nonplay. If you can't wait that long, there's a nice little off switch on the back of the toy's head to give you some peace and quiet.
Good news for parents is that they're affordable — if you can find them at retail price. Each individual toy costs $14.95, but they've been going for as much as $54 online right now.
There aren't just monkey Fingerlings
WowWee / INSIDER composite by Kirsten Acuna
If you can't get your hands on a Fingerlings baby monkey right now, WowWee released a baby unicorn named Gigi to its line that's exclusively available at Toys 'R Us.
Friday, WowWee is releasing a Fingerlings sloth named Kingsley. He may be the cutest of the bunch.
There are also glitter versions of the baby monkeys available on Amazon.
Where can I get one?
Kirsten Acuna/INSIDER
This is where you're going to have a tough time. If you head to websites for Target, Walmart, and Toys 'R Us, you may find that Fingerlings are out of stock in your area. Walmart allows you to sign up for an email alert to let you know when the toy is back in stock. You can do that here.
Target
You can still find the toys on Amazon, but you may spend a bit more. I've seen the majority of Fingerlings range from $35-$55 on there. If you shop online, beware of knockoffs from other brands. I've seen ones from Palpill and Kocome.
If you're looking for the six original Fingerlings, here are Amazon links that should point you in the right direction:
- Fingerlings Sophie: White monkey with pink hair
- Fingerlings Finn: Black monkey with turquoise hair
- Fingerlings Bella: Pink monkey with yellow hair
- Fingerlings Zoe: Turquoise monkey with purple hair
- Fingerlings Mia: Purple monkey with white hair
- Fingerlings Boris: Blue monkey with orange hair
I wouldn't recommend spending much more than $14.99 for one. While cute and interactive, it's not the sort of toy I see a child spending more than a few minutes with at a time. It just doesn't keep your attention for much longer than that.
A Target employee told INSIDER they received a shipment of just five to their store recently. Demand is so great that the store was limiting one per household. INSIDER was told by a company representative that WowWee is "working closely with retailers to make sure shelves will be stocked for holiday shoppers."
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