Christmas 2008’s Leading Toys
Christmas is always an expensive if exciting time, especially for families with young children. With children being targeted by TV advertising, it is no easy task to sort the wheat from the chaff and to spend our hard earned money wisely.
Many of the UK’s leading toy shops are members of the British Toy Retailers Association, representing over 150 companies responsible for selling over 90% of the toys sold in the UK. It is an independent body based on 50 years experience and it acts as the retailer’s voice and spokesman to take into account what customers are requesting, what excites children and keeping abreast of the latest trends. Each year, after the major toy fairs where all the latest innovations are introduced, they produce a list of what impressed them and what they forsee as the top sellers the following Christmas.
Now when I was a lad the highest of high-tech was a Triang electric train set. These days we can find amazing toys such as life-sized puppy dogs that respond to your spoken command, dollys that drink, sleep, eat, cry and even pee !! and a whole plethora of the latest electronic gadgets which range from consoles to voice changing masks to strange little machines that can find weird mutants loitering in the very air that we breathe.
Let’s have a look at three toys from this year’s British Toy Retailers Association award winners and we’ve simply got to start with that lifelike puppy. It’s made by FurReal and named “Biscuit - My Lovin’ Pup“. It costs a a hefty £119.95, but this astonishing life-sized Golden Retriever puppy obeys your spoken commands. He lies down, sits, offers you his paw, begs and has umpteen sensors that tell him when you’re stroking him so that he can wag his tail and make strange “puppy-like” noises. Leave him undisturbed for a minute or two and he nods off and starts snoring.
Let’s move from cuddly and cute to high-tech, sci-fi and totally weird. The Catcha Beast is a little hand held, battery operated toy that detects invisible beings that live in the air that we live and breathe. Once found, the monster has to be reeled into the machine. It’s pretty to describe, if you click on the following link, there’s a video that shows the gadget in use. The Catcha Beast retails at £17.95.
Let’s finish with something 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 sit on a chair telling stories whilst crossing and uncrossing his legs or waving is arms around as he sings a song. He isn’t voice controlled like Biscuit the dog, but he has a number 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 great gifts.
