Christmas can be a stressful time of year, especially for parents presented with an extensive list of must-have goodies. In order to make the mammoth task of buying the ideal Christmas present for your child a little easier, the Toy Retailers Association have compiled a list of the expected best sellers this year, thus giving anxious parents a little longer to beat the crowds at toy stores.
Toy manufacturer Hasbro is expected to profit greatly from the festive season this year, with four of its new products making the top thirteen. These include a Spiderman figurine that shoots webs from its hands, a nerf gun which fires foam darts at targets up to 75 feet away and a modern spin on the classic Twister game called Twister Dance.
Those with good memories may also remember Hasbro’s highest ranking toy from the nineties – the Furby, which proved so popular on its previous launch that toy retailers nationwide were forced to create waiting lists for the mechanical pets.
Furbies retail at £59.99 in most toy stores, and reached number two on the list.
A Hasbro spokesman said; “Furbies are good value for what you get. A Furby isn’t just for Christmas, it’s for life.”
Any parent who decides to purchase their child a Furby for Christmas may wish to retain the instruction manual, however – they talk in their own language, often at all hours of the day and night, meaning that knowing how to remove the battery may prove to be invaluable by New Year’s Day.
However, Furby is not the only retro toy hitting the Top 13 this Christmas, as pipping it to the post at number one is the seventies favourite Cabbage Patch Kids, manufactured by JAKKS Pacific.
Lego has proven to be an enduring brand, with at least one product usually appearing on wish lists of children every year. This year, two different items have made the Top 13 – a Lord of the Rings themed set, and a new addition to the Lego Friend’s franchise entitled Olivia’s House.
Managing director of Lego UK and Ireland, Drew Brazier, said that 2011 was the company’s “best ever year” since its establishment in 1949.
He continued; “Lego products remain popular because they allow children to be creative.
“Lego is a classic toy – you can build what is on the front of the box or you can break it down and build something from your imagination.
“We have a wide range of prices from £1.99 mini figures you can buy with your pocket money to £69.99 for our Lego Friends house, which would be a big gift at Christmas.”
The wide range of prices offered by companies such as Lego may come as a welcome relief to many parents this year, especially as most budgets remain tight as the nation recovers from recession.
While the UK toy market is still the most successful in Europe, 34 per cent of annual sales – or £1 billion – comes from the Christmas rush. Last year, for example, the Toy Retailers Association claims that 110 million toys were purchased, which is a huge amount for a country in the grips of a recession.
It is perhaps fortunate, then, that none of the toys on the list cost more than £100, although tablet computers do feature heavily and as such boost the average price somewhat. Both the InnoTab 2 by Vtech and the LeapPad 2 by LeapFrog Toys are expected to achieve huge sales this year, as children become more and more engrossed by the wide range of technological toys available for all ages.
Ulrike Wingenter-Davey, toys and games expert at Amazon UK, says; “Early buying indications for the festive season lead us to believe that educational devices such as the Vtech InnoTab 2 and LeapFrog LeapPad 2 Explorer Tablet will be popular choices for customers this Christmas.”
Christmas is always a hugely profitable time of year for toy retailers, and many will be hoping that the festive season in 2012 will provide a welcome turnaround from the struggles many faced during the recession. No matter what you choose to get your child, the old cliché will invariably stand – young children will always prefer the box their present came in.
Oh, and for anyone considering the Furby, the best present this Christmas for you may well prove to be a nice pair of earplugs and a large sherry.
What are you planning on buying your children or young relatives this Christmas? Do you tend to follow the advice of bodies such as the Toy Retailers Association, or do you prefer to make your decision based on what you personally believe your child would enjoy most?
