Cheaper toys 'are Christmas hits'
28 October 2009
Steven Jackson (about the author)
Toys costing less than £50 will dominate kids' Christmas lists this year, according to industry research.
Toymakers have largely played safe with old favourites and TV and movie tie-ins, but have given them a technological or modern twist. Versions of Lego and Monopoly are on the list, along with Transformers figures and Princess Peppa.
The average price for the toys on the list is just over £26 - about £6 less than two years ago. V-Tech's Kidizoom Multimedia Digital Camera is the most expensive item on the list, with a recommended retail price of £49.99. "With licensed toys combining the fun and familiarity of popular characters as well as collectable, pocket money priced toys making a big comeback this year, we are in for an affordable, family orientated Christmas," said the association's chairman Gary Grant.
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"The list also reveals a trend towards nostalgic characters and brands which have been updated with a modern twist. Consumers are reverting back to heritage brands which will last longer than the Christmas season."
The Toy Retailers Association has compiled a list of this type for more than 40 years, and looking back shows how some brands have endured. The first Toy of the Year, announced at the start of 1966, was the James Bond Aston Martin Car, with the geometric drawing toy Spirograph, the Spyring board game and furry egg-shaped Gonks dolls also proving popular.
Another popular toy, the "V-rroom" roar maker fitted to bicycles, prompted complaints from the Noise Abatement Society, the association said. The following year Action Man - the first doll for boys - was the Toy of the Year.
'Tightrope terror'
In 2009, toy cars that perform stunts across tightropes and an action car that shoots powder-filled capsules joins some of the more traditional toys in the top 12. It marks a slight change from last year when the list included a Star Wars mask and a singing and dancing Elmo from Sesame Street.
Animals, such as hamsters and Peanut My Playful Pup, dominate the top 12 for girls. Dolls, including Barbie and the Sylvanian Families also feature strongly on the girls' Christmas list.
Action toys are common on the list for boys, which features "blasters", tanks and battle packs. The "Screature" toy also appears as the popularity of dinosaurs continues.
The Toy Retailers Association listed the following 12 toys that it expects to be most in demand:
Bakugan Battle Pack
Battle Strikers Starter Set
Ben 10 Alien Force Kevins DX Action Cruiser
Bendaroos Mega Pack
GO GO Pets Hamsters
GX Racers Tightrope Terror
Kidizoom Multimedia Digital Camera
LEGO Games Minotaurus
Monopoly City
Princess Peppa's Palace
Sylvanian Families Caravan
Transformers Movie 2 Voyagers Figures
Source: BBC News 
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