My toddler loves to watch those YouTube videos where creators make pretend ice creams and model kitchens using Play-Doh. And you can bet that she’d ask to get one every time she sees it at the store.
Kids learn from imitation, and in a world where zero screentime is next to impossible, YouTube is where they learn and discover. While Miss Rachel teaches them songs and the alphabet, Ryan Kaji shows them new toys to explore. And when the holiday season comes around, YouTube Kids inspires what goes into kids’ letters to Santa.
Whether it’s a Christmas-themed LEGO set or a new Labubu doll, creators on the platform are influencing what kids wish for this holiday season. In this post, I explore just how deep YouTube Kids shapes toy demand and media consumption habits.
In a world that’s going through a rapid technological transformation, there’s an interesting juxtaposition between the appeal of low-tech toys and high-tech everything else. Think: people discovering a nostalgic '90s-inspired toy on YouTube, letting Alexa order it for them, and watching it get delivered through their Nest camera.
Holiday wish lists also reflect this, featuring a blend of innovative tech-y toys and viral low-tech ones inspired by nostalgia.
Take, for instance, the return of the Beanie Bouncers, bounceable plush toys from the makers of the ‘90s classic Beanie Babies. These new toys combine an element of play with a collectible appeal. And with a low selling price, they’re quickly becoming a favorite among kids and adult collectors alike.
Expert buyers at Hamleys also predict that these bouncing plushies will become one of the must-have toys for Christmas 2025? And what’s driving this craze? Strategic nostalgia marketing coupled with seasonal partnerships with YouTube Kids creators. Ty was already partnering with creators like Nastya to market the toys for Christmas 2024, generating over 8 million views.
The video featured a challenge-style story where Nastya had to escape “Christmas layers” to collect Beanie Bouncers. This fun, gamified narrative appealed to viewers, helping the bouncing plush toys bounce (pun intended) to the top of their wish lists.
The nostalgia-inspired toy wish list seems to extend to other popular franchises and characters as well. Think: limited-edition Barbie dolls and holiday-themed LEGO sets. You had creators like Nikie’s Toybox reviewing the 2025 Holiday Barbie, for instance.
Meanwhile, MandRproductions did a whole unboxing and review of the 2025 LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar.
Although these channels aren’t necessarily a part of YouTube Kids, they’re well-known in the toy collector space and appeal to both kids and adults. So their content helps to inspire buying decisions, especially around the holidays when toy demands tend to spike.
But it’s not just nostalgia that’s driving toy demand over the holidays. Scarcity and virality are also helping to shape children’s Christmas wish lists.
As such, you’ll also find viral toys like Labubus being in popular demand this year. Largely owing to strategic marketing techniques like blind boxes (which add mystery and excitement) and limited-edition drops (which add a scarcity and urgency component) contributed to the massive success of these collectibles.
Additionally, creators on YouTube Kids also added to the Labubu craze. For instance, channels like Toys and Colors featured the viral ugly-cute dolls in a Christmas-themed adventure video. The video was published on 20 December and got over 222k views within just one day, so you can imagine the kind of influence it might have on last-minute toy purchases.
Based on these content trends from leading YouTube creators, Christmas this year is all about nostalgia and low-tech (or no-tech) toys. In fact, Ty is positioning their Beanie Bouncers as a simple, no-tech toy that gives you a sensory break from the digital overload.
Continuing into the nostalgia trend, creators on YouTube are also helping to shape holiday watchlists by bringing back Christmas classics.
Channels like Mouse Talk, which mostly create content about Disney and Universal, put together a video series on the “Top 25 Christmas Movies of All Time.” In this series, the creators discussed classic movies like “A Year Without a Santa Claus,” “The Polar Express,” “Elf,” and other Christmas favorites that should be on everyone’s holiday watchlist.
Meanwhile, Disney’s official Disney Kids channel also republished full episodes of seasonal classics like “Mickey’s Christmas Carol.” So families could tune into these themed movies and shows over the holidays. This particular video already has 12 million views in a span of one month.
They also shared short clips from other Christmas movies like “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas” and “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas” to further drive views for these movies on Disney+.
These trends in toy demand and classic Christmas movies reflect a desire to go back to the “good old days,” taking time off from a world that’s drowning in overconsumption, be it digital content or high-tech products. And as ironic as it may seem, creators on YouTube are the driving force behind these trends.
Even outside of the holiday season, it’s clear that YouTube Kids influencers are shaping what kids do, be it the toys they want or the movies they watch. But simply getting these channels to feature your brand or product in their videos isn’t going to cut it. You’re speaking to a very special audience group, which needs a very strategic approach.
For instance, a highly technical review full of jargon and words won’t resonate with a young audience. So let’s take a look at the content formats and angles that work for brands.
Kids love watching and listening to stories as it gives them the chance to explore an imaginary world and engage their curious minds. A straightforward video showing what’s in a certain toy box may bore them. But they may get hooked to a video that plays out a story based on the characters and items in the box.
So adding roleplay into your unboxing videos is a great way to introduce a narrative arc and keep your young audience entertained. Have them follow along as the creator explores a secret island full of obstacles to get to the treasure chest (read: the box of toys), for instance. Or show the creator “saving Christmas” by using the toys as tools to solve problems.
YouTube Kids influencers interacting with viewers as they play with toys can also be a great way to engage your target audience. This approach combines an interactive learning experience with a fun play element, making it engaging for both parents and kids. So you get to reach two audience groups – the end user and the person buying the product.
Have viewers “choose” which way to go as the creator navigates through a maze, for instance. Or have creators pretend that the audience is helping them to choose between two toy options.
While kids may find reviews boring, parents still need this type of content to make informed buying decisions. This is especially important for toys with a higher price tag.
So keep the in-depth reviews to show parents that your toys are worth the purchase. But make them more engaging for kids with exciting demos where the creator adds sound effects and visual edits or puts together short sketches that young viewers can follow along.
Building a successful partnership with YouTube Kids influencers is more than just knowing which influencers to work with and which content formats to use. Here are some of the top dos and don’ts to help you navigate your partnerships.
Sure, a one-off partnership with a leading creator will get you some visibility for a short while. But if you want viral-level success, you need to sustain that visibility.
That’s why recurring partnerships are essential, so you can keep getting your brand in front of the right audience. Tap into your influencer performance analysis to find out which creators are driving the best results. Then sign them on for a recurring partnership. As these creators keep featuring your brand in their videos, it helps you stay top of mind and sustain your initial success.
Creativity and authenticity are elements that make top content creators resonate with their respective audiences. When creators lose these characteristics, they also lose their appeal. So it’s important that your sponsored content retains these features if you don’t want to lose audience trust. That’s why you need to let creators be in charge of what content they create, even if it’s for your brand.
Give them plenty of creative freedom without losing your brand messaging. Provide them with some guardrails—which may include themes, hashtags, and messaging points, so they don’t go off-track. But let them be in charge of the creative direction and storytelling, as they know what their audience likes best.
I hate watching videos where it’s clear that someone’s trying to sell me something. If there’s a hint of sales-y messaging in the videos I watch with my kids, I quickly switch to another video. We just wanted to be entertained, not sold to.
And I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who feels this way. No one likes being sold to, especially if it involves stuff for their kids. So make sure that your content partnership doesn’t include over-commercialization. A little bit of promo here and there doesn’t hurt. But you don’t want to be too pushy if you want to retain parents’ attention.
A creator writing a script for their own video? Pretty normal. Inserting a branded dialogue into that script? Not a good look. Branded dialogues tend to feel out of place and forced when you try to work them into a creator’s own script. So it can break immersion and feel inauthentic, which means losing audience engagement.
The best thing you can do is let creators have the freedom to write their own script without forcing any dialogue. If you absolutely need them to include something specific, give them a few talking points that they can naturally work into the script. That way, it feels more natural and authentic instead of rigid and out of place.
Beyond knowing these dos and don’ts, agencies also need to carefully navigate partnerships with YouTube Kids influencers. You’re working with channels meant to reach kids, which means you need to tread even more carefully.
Your usual briefs are for influencers creating content for a general audience. Creating content to engage a younger audience needs a different approach.
At the bare minimum, the content needs to be playful, imaginative, and emotionally safe. So your briefs need to highlight these requirements without being too rigid. Make sure to have a dedicated content brief kit that’s tailored for parent-led channels. You can then customize it this for each creator and campaign as needed.
Long-term partnerships are essential when you’re trying to engage a young audience. The recurring exposure is what will give you sustained brand recognition.
And you need to reward creators appropriately. This means building an incentive structure that goes beyond one-time payments and instead gives them a reason to stick with your brand. Consider licensing agreements and merch splits that will reward influencers for their long-term collaboration.
Finally, anyone who’s creating content targeting kids needs to maintain COPPA compliance. This protects the online privacy of children and requires parents to consent to data collection. Consult your legal team to ensure that the YouTube Kids influencers you partner with are following COPPA guidelines, so you can avoid expensive fines and legal issues further down the line.
Targeting a young audience is more than just knowing what types of content resonate with them. It’s also about ensuring legal compliance and sustaining the trust and attention of parents. Make the most of the tips and ideas shared above to build a successful relationship with YouTube Kids influencers.