EDITOR'S NOTE

Good morning. My dear Watson, are companies pandering to a society incapable of growing up in order to maximize profits, or has achieving financial security become so tenuous that rational mature persons find solace in collecting toys instead of securing a mortgage? Turns out, it could be both, or neither, or something else entirely.

The concept of "kidulting" pervades the globe. So, today, we're exploring the economic geography of the phenomenon with Kidult Brew, including its origins, the toys and collectibles currently enthralling the planet, and the inroads kidulting has made into the restaurant scene and even television meant for grownups.

For those who approach it with open minds and hearts, kidulting is about so much more than your useless nephew Kevin who keeps buying Power Rangers off eBay.

BUSINESS

Kidults are saving the toy industry by spending billions

Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images

Whatever you thought adults of the G12 nations were responsible for probably wasn't this: A recent Circana report found that adults (over age 18) accounted for toy sales of $1.5 billion over the last three months of 2024. That made the 18+ demographic the toy industry's most important age group, as they officially spent more on themselves than on its former most important category: toddlers age 3 to 5.

Toy sales overall have struggled in recent years, but sales to kidults have gone up and to the right.
Circana found that kidults account for 28% of global toy sales, an increase of 2.5% since 2022.

Kidults going ham for toys may signify an increased desire to find stress relief in simple pleasures and a decrease in the stigma associated with being childish. Collectibles are also hugely popular, so some kidults may even live with the veiled hope that, unlike their moms' Beanie Babies, these collections will make bank someday. Here are some collectibles raking in lots of cash from adults:

Labubu. It's been a big year for these li'l fellas. These monster toys at the heart of a TikTok phenomenon, which cost about $30 each, were seen publicly with Rihanna, were at the heart of a $30,000 inventory heist in SoCal's Inland Empire, and generated $670 million in revenue for toymaker Pop Mart in the first six months of 2025 alone.

Jellycat. Gen Zers around the world go wild for this soft toy brand. Contrary to the name, the plushies take multifarious forms, including a crescent moon, a capybara, and a coffee bean. Thanks to adults clamoring for "jellies," as these dolls are lovingly referred to, Jellycat doubled its annual profit in 2024.

Hot Wheels. Adults have long appreciated the Mattel brand because of its commitment to authentic representation of cars. Hot Wheels sales grossed about $1.6 billion in 2024. Sales of its Collector series, which is marketed specifically to adults, have tripled since 2017.

Lego. Turn off your mind, relax, and build with blocks. Adults have increasingly turned to buying and completing Lego sets themselves as a means of coping with anxiety. The company launched its Botanicals collection in 2021, inspired by designs that employees made each other as gifts. They have become one of Lego's best-selling products. As of last year, Lego had 142 sets specifically for adults, accounting for about 15% of its products. Lego's 2024 revenue was $10.9 billion, an increase of 13% from 2023.

It is not dying…the trend forecasting company WGSN says that the global collectible-toy industry could be worth $35.3 billion by 2032, thanks to children's toys designed to evoke nostalgia.—HVL

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CULTURE

The surprisingly poignant origins of kidults

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You may think kidults are a distinctly 21st-century phenomenon, but GI Joe sold over $1 billion worth of action figures by 1989, and Snoopy became the first beagle on the moon (kind of)—thanks to some serious adults of yesteryear believing character merch could represent more than just playthings.

The term "Kidult" dates back to at least 1960, when the television industry coined the portmanteau to describe shows like Flipper and The Flintstones that were meant to appeal to adults and kids alike.

Around the same time, perfectly respectable adults began buying children's toys for themselves, sometimes for heart-wrenching reasons:

In 1964, Hasbro released the first GI Joe action figure, which was 12 inches tall and featured articulated body parts. Vietnam War veterans collected the dolls, according to pop culture historian Roy Schwartz, to "reconnect with their Army days" once they were home.
In 1967, Hasbro debuted the first talking GI Joe, voiced by Bill Corsair, who went on to fight in Vietnam in 1969. This helped solidify the doll's reputation as something more than a children's toy.

Good grief

The 1960s also heralded the golden age of Charles Schulz's Peanuts comic strip—which flipped the kidult script by featuring kids with a distinctly adult outlook.

As Charles Schulz biographer David Michaelis wrote, "Children are not supposed to be radically dissatisfied…Schulz gave these children lifelong dissatisfactions, the stuff of which adulthood is made." But that was part of their charm, and their broad appeal:

Sports writer Luke Epplin compiled Peanuts cartoon strips about Snoopy's and Woodstock's fruitless attempts to find their lost mothers, which echoed Schulz's own mother dying of cancer while he was being shipped off to World War II. Such adult themes may have helped grownups reading the newspaper seek them out.
The TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas came out in 1965, cementing the franchise as an American institution. And a lucrative one—the show's massive success led to surging demand for Peanuts merchandise. By 2010, the franchise's merch was responsible for $2 billion in global sales annually.

The Peanuts are still flying the kidult flag: You likely know at least one septuagenarian who will shamelessly buy themselves a Snoopy doll. That's no surprise, since the brand has been dialed into the adult market for a long time. In 1967, it already had merch meant specifically for adults, like this felt banner of Lucy Van Pelt screaming, "I'M FRUSTRATED, INHIBITED AND NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ME!"—HVL

FOOD & BEV

Growing up doesn't mean dining like an adult

Lagana, Funny Bar, and Play Playground

The latest sector to get into the kidult game is *checks notes* fine dining. No, the server doesn't demand you finish your vegetables; instead, establishments are getting imbued with games and whimsy—and adults filming the fun for TikTok.

In London, the latest restaurant trend is to cater to patrons' inner child. And a joint that serves sea bass ceviche while diners are encouraged to color all over the table is among the spots capturing the attention of tastemakers and social media. Lagana offers a typical Greek menu, but on a menu that looks anything but typical.

And that's just the beginning of the doodling theme, with the tables covered in white drawing paper and crayons liberally dispersed. Shree Narain, the brand strategist behind the restaurant, told British GQ that some of its drawing clientele "surprise us—there've been full-blown portraits of chefs, and love notes" but also, "let's just say we've seen penises in every shape and size."
It also features a cocktail menu where drinks are identified by colors, not fancy names. As reviewer Angela Hui put it for British GQ, "There's something freeing about ordering a drink called 'Orange' instead of pretending to know your way around a wine list."

Meanwhile, across the pond…

No one hits the kidult-to-restaurant sweet spot like US fast-food establishments. But the trend is also spreading beyond dinner you get in a bag or box:

Funny Bar in New York City is the American equivalent of Lagana.
Play Playground, which has locations in Nashville and Las Vegas, offers light fare, drinks, and "larger-than-life memory, physical, and puzzle games." Adults can slurp up "party pouches"—in essence, large, alcoholic pouches designed to evoke the Capri Suns of childhood—while spinning around on indoor playground spinners or galloping in place on mechanical kiddie ride horses.
And if you've ever been to a Dave & Buster's, Topgolf, or Lucky Strike, you have technically kidulted.

Big picture: Jennifer Worthington, the CEO of Play Social, which operates Play Playground, said the locations offer "an environment for people to come and connect. I think it is very healthy for people right now, and comforting." And, as GQ's Hui wrote, "Eating in a restaurant that feels like a playground is cheaper than therapy."—DL, HVL

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ENTERTAINMENT

The YA show that captivated As

The launch party for 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Season 3 filled Bryant Park in NYC this July. Valerie Terranova/Getty Images

In the months before the Kelce–Swift engagement, a single YA adaptation drove most of the gossip about engagement ring size among 30-year-old women.

The Summer I Turned Pretty, an Amazon Prime Video series based on a trilogy of young adult novels by Jenny Han originally published over 15 years ago, wrapped up its third and final season in September.

The story was prime YA content: a teen girl in a love triangle with two brothers. At one point, she runs away to Paris! Sacrebleu! The show also zeroed in on its target audience of millennial women with a soundtrack stuffed with…Taylor Swift.

The first two episodes of the final season garnered 25 million viewers, with most of those viewers aged 25–54, according to the New York Times.
During the run of its final season from July through September, the show snagged 6.57 billion viewing minutes, according to Nielsen.

Author Jenny Han (who was also a creator and executive producer of the series) and Prime Video also announced this fall that there would be a feature-length movie to officially wrap up the series. Details about the project are sparse, but critics predict it will premiere in 2027.

Big picture: This show was seemingly everywhere online. Swedish Fish actively picked sides in the love triangle, bars hosted packed watch parties, and the show inspired countless fan theory videos. But it also captures the first-love drama of late '90s–early aughts TV shows like Girlmore Girls, Dawson's Creek, Gossip Girl, and the popular YA adaptations of the early 2010s that a lot of the audience grew up on.—MM

BREW'S BEST

Play: An easy-to-grasp dice game for crossword lovers.**

Peruse: These Beanie Babies might actually be worth some money today.

Read: A book that takes a closer look at Disney adults (and their purchasing power).

Revisit: "Gross out your sister. Embarrass your dad" with this classic toy.

Admire: The basketball card that sold for $12.9 million.

Watch: Kids and adults alike can appreciate a good Rube Goldberg Machine.

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