Moms scrambling to find 'hottest toy of the year' as it sells for 3 times as much on Amazon

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Sure, Santa Claus is coming to town — but he can’t afford to do all the gifting on his own.

So, when it comes to snagging the hottest toy of the season, the Cookeez Makery oven, moms like Danielle Evans launched a weeks-long hunt to find the $34.99 goody — which Grinch-like online resellers are hawking for upwards of $125.

“It took me over a month to finally find this freakin’ toy at a decent price,” Evans, 33, a mom of three from Dayton, Ohio, told The Post with a laugh. 

“It’s been sold out everywhere like at my local Walmart and Target,” continued Evans, an airline employee, “and on Amazon people were selling it for three times the original cost — I’m not paying that!”

In October, the millennial mama kicked off her exhaustive search for the highly-coveted oven set, the latest buzzy offering from Moose Toys. 

Unlike other snazzy playthings this holiday, such as the Star Wars Grogu plush or the 2023 Barbie pool party dream house, Cookeez Makery is an interactive toy which invites kids ages 5 and up to mix together magical ingredients that transform a lump of dough into a sweetly-scented stuffed animal after just 90 seconds of baking. 

Once the timer chimes, indicating that the cooking process has been completed, shocked tots open the oven’s door to find their Do-It-Yourself plushy in the shape of either a puppy, bunny or kitten. Each snuggly creation is warm to the touch and makes adorable sounds during play. 

“It offers a sense of magic,” Ronnie Frankowski, the global president of Moose Toys, tells The Post. “It creates great theater and empowers kids, putting them in charge of creating their favorite plush.”

“On social media, the surprise reveal really wows kids and parents.”

Unsurprisingly, the faux cooking appliance immediately became a Christmas list staple for Evans’ two youngest daughters, Sadie, 7, and Harper, 8, who’ve pined over the popular item since first seeing it advertised on YouTube in late July. 

Since the must-have’s official rollout in August, its hashtag has garnered a staggering 121 million TikTok views. 

And much like the Magic Mixies Magic Cauldron craze of Christmas 2021, which viral saw moms and dads from the Upper East Side to Southern California scrambling to find the $69.99 mystic pot in stores and online, this year’s quest for Cookeez Makery is driving parents wild.

“This is literally sold out everywhere and it’s being resold for so much,” groaned Canadian mom of two Ginette Claudette in a TikTok post dedicated to the trendy toy, for which the price was jacked up to nearly $40 at her local Walmart. 

Pam Elliott, 39, a mom of three, also took to the app to gripe over the price-gouging she’s seen while seeking out the hot commodity, saying, “[On Amazon it costs] $95.45, $99.97, $126.26,” while showcasing ads from resellers on the retail giant’s site.

She ultimately found one toy oven for $49 at Walmart and guarded it with her life as she sprinted towards the checkout line. 

“I wouldn’t even put it in the cart,” confessed the no-nonsense shopper. “I carried it in my arms because I was afraid someone was going to take it from me.”  

Parents still on the hunt can now find a Cookeez Makery oven for just under $30 on Amazon — the lowest price the toy has been offered on the site in the last 30 days.

Evans struck gold while on a random shopping trip to an Aldi grocery store in her hometown. She was doubly lucky to score the fiery find at a discounted $25. 

“I was shocked when I saw it on the shelf,” she told The Post. 

“I’d been looking for it for so long and to see it in person was an ‘Oh my god’ moment,” she laughed. “Once the shock wore off, I felt sheer relief because I knew I wouldn’t have to pay a fortune to get one for my girls.”

And Evans, who has previously waited in long lines at Target and Toys R’ Us to spend hundreds on all-the-rage dolls for her now 13-year-old daughter Allana, says she’s grateful to have nabbed the most in-demand toy for a steal. 

“The search [for the Cookeez Makery] was difficult and I’m glad that it’s over,” she said. “But I can’t wait to see the happiness in their eyes when they open it on Christmas.”

“They’ll be just as happy as I was to find it on sale.”

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