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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Elizabeth Hulanick has turned to toys from her childhood to deal with worry and stress.
在新冠疫情期间，伊丽莎白·胡兰尼克求助于她小时候玩的玩具来应对忧虑和压力。
She started bringing Lego toys to work to build things out of the colorful blocks with her co-workers.
她开始带乐高玩具去上班，和她的同事一起用五颜六色的积木拼搭东西。
She also started playing with Silly Putty, a toy made of special rubbery material that changes colors.
她还开始玩Silly Putty，这是一种由特殊橡胶材料制成的会变色的玩具。
Playing with the Silly Putty, she said, brought her comfort.
她说，玩Silly Putty给她带来了安慰。
"I always need something to be tinkering with, and that's probably the safest bet for me to stick with a toy versus keep trying to figure out how to fix cars or something like that," said Hulanick, who is 37 years old and lives in New Jersey.
37岁的胡兰尼克住在新泽西州，她说：“我总是需要一些需要修修补补的东西，对我来说，最好的方法可能是坚持玩玩具，而不是一直设法弄清楚如何修理汽车之类的东西。”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many adults turned to toys to remember feelings from their childhood.
在新冠疫情之前，许多成年人会通过玩具来回忆童年的感受。
The stresses from the worldwide health crisis only grew that trend, said Jim Silver.
吉姆·西尔弗说，这场全球健康危机带来的压力只会加剧这种趋势。
He is editor-in-chief of TTPM, a toy review website.
他是玩具评论网站TTPM的主编。
Many toymakers see adults' interest in toys as a long-lasting thing, even after the pandemic fully ends.
许多玩具制造商将成年人对玩具的兴趣视为一件持久的事情，即使在疫情完全结束后也是如此。
This so-called "kid-adult" market is a big part of the toy industry.
这个所谓的“儿童-成人”市场是玩具行业的一个重要组成部分。
The market is the second-fastest-growing group after customers aged 12 to 17.
该市场是发展速度第二快的群体，仅次于12岁至17岁的消费者。
Some toy companies are creating new products, services and websites designed for the older group.
一些玩具公司正在为大龄群体创造新的产品、服务和网站。
For example, Mattel's American Girl Cafe recently added alcoholic drinks to their menu after seeing adults show up without children.
例如，美泰的“美国女孩咖啡馆”最近在他们的菜单上增加了酒精饮料，因为他们看到成年人没带孩子来咖啡馆。
American Girl makes popular, costly dolls.
“美国女孩”制作受欢迎的昂贵玩偶。
Last year, the company Build-a-Bear launched a website called Bear Cave for customers 18 and over.
去年，Build-a-Bear公司为18岁及以上的客户推出了一个名为Bear Cave的网站。
Products include a stuffed rabbit holding a bottle of wine.
产品包括一只拿着一瓶葡萄酒的毛绒兔子。
Even the fast-food restaurant McDonald's is marketing to toy-loving adults.
就连快餐店麦当劳也在向喜欢玩具的成年人推销产品。
It released its adult Happy Meals in October.
它在10月推出了成人快乐套餐。
McDonald's President and CEO Chris Kempczinski said the company sold half its supply of collectible toys in the first four days of the special deal.
麦当劳总裁兼首席执行官克里斯·肯普辛斯基表示，麦当劳在特惠活动的前四天就售出了一半的可收藏玩具。
The Lego Group has been increasing its products for adults since 2020.
自2020年以来，乐高集团一直在增加面向成年人的产品。
It now has 100 toys designed for older customers.
目前已有100款专为大龄客户设计的玩具。
Among the most popular toys for adults are Star Wars and Harry Potter-linked Lego sets.
最受成年人欢迎的玩具是《星球大战》与《哈利·波特》系列乐高玩具。
That information comes from NPD Group Inc., a market research company.
这些信息来自市场研究公司NPD集团。
Genevieve Cruz is senior director at Lego.
吉纳维芙·克鲁兹是乐高的高级总监。
She said, "The pandemic certainly served as a catalyst for this trend as adults found themselves stuck at home with nothing else to do with a lot of time [on] their hands."
她说：“疫情无疑是这一趋势的催化剂，因为成年人发现自己被困在家里，无事可做，有很多休闲时间。”
Cruz added, "We do believe that the trend goes beyond the pandemic."
克鲁兹还说：“我们确实认为，这一趋势超越了疫情。”
I'm Ashley Thompson.
阿什利·汤普森为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
