Recently ParentDish revealed the first of the expert predictions of what will be the most popular toys this Christmas. Since then, several more retailers have also released lists of what they hope will be under your tree this year.
But now, hopefully this is the definitive list, since it's been compiled by the massed expertise of the Toy Retailers Association. I can tell that the toy industry is excited about this one, because ever since this list was released (and it's only been a few days), I've been receiving excited press releases from toy companies saying "We made the list!". Honestly, you'd think they'd made it to the Mummy Bloggers' Roundup - now that really is an honour.
With reference to the ubiquitous credit crunch, all the toys on this list are under £50.
So here's the 2009 Dream Dozen. Will any of them be in your stocking?
- Bakugan Battle Pack, Spin Master (RRP £19.99)
- Battle Strikers starter Set, Mega Brands (RRP £9.99)
- Ben 10 Alien Force Kevins DX Action Cruiser, Bandai (RRP £29.99)
- Bendaroos Mega Pack, Spin Master (RRP £19.99)
- GO GO Pets Hamsters, Character Options (RRP £9.99)
- GX Racers Tightrope Terror, Flair (RRP £22.99)
- Kidizoom Multimedia Digital Camera, V-Tech (RRP £49.99)
- LEGO Games Minotaurus, Lego (RRP £17.99)
- Monopoly City, Hasbro (RRP £24.99)
- Princess Peppa's Palace, Character Options (RRP £39.99)
- Sylvanian Families Caravan, Flair (RRP £44.99)
- Transformers Movie 2 Voyagers Figures, Hasbro (RRP £22.99)
It's quite a good mix of updated classics and newer trends. Very heavy on the plastic - but at least no forests will suffer for Christmas 2009. I'm quite surprised that the Playmobil Egyptian set isn't up there - I predict a few pyramid shaped parcels this year. And now that Disney seems to be catching up on the huge popularity of Club Penguin, there'll be many more puffles popping up in Christmas stockings this year. And what about the Play Doh Ice Cream Factory - that's a lovely toy, with plenty of play potential.
So which (if any) of these are your kids asking for? Or what else do you predict will be big this year?