The festive season is always an expensive if exciting time, especially for those of us with children. With youngsters being bombarded by advertising on TV and the printed media, it is an almost impossible task to decide what toy to purchase with our hard-earned cash.
The British Toy Retailers Association represents over 150 members in the toy industry with its members selling over 90% of the toys sold in the UK market. Being an independant body established over fifty years ago, it acts as the voice of retailers taking into account what customers are requesting, what excites children and keeping an eye on the latest trend in new products. Every year, after the international toy fairs where all the latest innovations are shown to the toy trade for the first time, they produce a report of what they found to be exciting and what they expect to be the top selling toys for Christmas that year.
In days long gone the highest of high-tech was a clockwork train. These days we can find amazing toys such as toy dogs that obey your spoken command, dollys that drink, sleep, eat, cry and even pee !! and a whole plethora of the latest electronic gadgets consisting of voice changing masks to games consoles to funny little gadgets that detect weird mutants floating around the ether.
Let’s take a look at a few of this year’s stars and we just have to begin with that amazing puppy. It’s called “Biscuit – My Lovin’ Pup”, made by FurReal. It certainly isn’t cheap at £119.95, but this astonishing full sized Golden Retriever puppy obeys your spoken commands. He lies down, sits, offers you his paw, begs and has umpteen sensors that know when you’re stroking him so that he can wag his tail and make strange “puppy-like” noises. Leave him undisturbed for a few minutes and he falls asleep and starts snoring.
It's time to move from cute and lovable to sci-fi high-tech and totally weird. The Catcha Beast is a hand held electronic toy that finds invisible beings that inhabit the air that we live and breathe. Once the monster is detected then it has to be reeled into the machine. It’s very difficult to explain, so I’d advise that click the link and watch the video of the toy being used. The Catcha Beast retails at £17.95.
Our final offering is priced midway between the two earlier toys. Elmo Live is a much loved character from Sesame Street and costs £59.95. He’s another outstanding introduction with the ability to speak, sing, sit and stand together with crossing his legs whilst seated on a chair telling stories. He isn’t voice activated like Biscuit the dog, but he performs a variety of actions if you squeeze his foot, tummy, back or nose.
So there we have it. Three of the toys voted as the best of the year by the toy industry. Check out our top toy website for lots of other fine gift ideas.
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