NeeDoh lava lamps light up Salina Christmas shopping
SALINA, Kan. — Two of the year's squishiest and glowiest brands share a box this Christmas, and Salina shoppers are already spotting it.
Schylling, the Massachusetts toy company behind the viral NeeDoh sensory toys, also owns the Original LAVA brand. The company has packaged a full-size 14.5-inch LAVA lamp with one of three NeeDoh squishies inside the same box. The lamps come in pink and blue styles, and the boxes are marked "1 of 3 NeeDoh included" and "This lamp is not a toy."
A mash-up built for the gift pile
NeeDoh became one of 2026's hardest toys to keep in stock. Paul Weingard, Schylling's chief executive, said the company sold through a full year's NeeDoh inventory in the first nine weeks of 2026. Shoppers have lined up for restocks, and holiday NeeDoh calendars have sold out quickly. The Toy Association named the Nice Cube Swirl, a marbled cube in the same line, a Specialty Toy of the Year finalist.
Pairing that craze with a LAVA lamp is a natural fit for Schylling. English engineer Edward Craven Walker designed the motion lamp in 1963. It launched in the United States in 1965 after entrepreneurs formed the Lava Corporation in Chicago. Schylling acquired the LAVA brand in 2018 and marked the brand's 60th anniversary in 2025.
Each collaboration box holds a working 14.5-inch LAVA lamp and a surprise NeeDoh. The lamp itself is an electric novelty light, not a children's toy, and the packaging carries the warning "This lamp is not a toy."
For Salina families building a Christmas list around this year's hottest sensory toys, the glowing lamp-and-squish combo is one of the season's more playful finds.
