The Toy Retailers Association has revealed its annual list of top Christmas toys, as selected by a panel of leading toy retailers in a list consisting of eight categories from which the top 12 are then picked.
The categories include: Build It, Make It, Do It; Games Galore; Licensed to Thrill; Lights, Camera, Action; Little Treasures; My Best Friend; Top of the Tots; and The Christmas ‘Wow’ Boxes.
For Gift retailers the Games and Puzzles Dream Toys ‘super-category’, which grew 24% last Christmas and boosted the entire toy market by £31 million, is well worth checking out.
The top ten games as selected by the panel include: Giggle Wiggle, Pie Face Sky High!, Pokemon TCG: Island Guardians Tin, Speak Out Kids vs Parents, Spin to Sing, Toilet Trouble and Who’s the Dude.
Games and puzzles have also made up the fastest growing category in the toy market every month so far this year.
This year’s top 12 hot picks for Christmas are:
Enchantimals Playhouse Panda Set – Jazwares/WowWee (£32.99)
Fingerlings – Mattel (£14.99)
Fur Real Roarin’ Tyler – Hasbro (£94.49)
Hatchimals Surprise – Spin Master Toys (£79.56)
Laser X – 2 Player Pack – Character Options (£49.99)
L.O.L. Surprise Series 2 – MGA Entertainment (£9.99)
NerfNitro LongshotSmash – Hasbro (£19.99)
Paw Patrol Sea Patroller – Spin Master Toys (£55.99)
PJ Masks Headquarters Playset – Flair Leisure Products (£39.99)
Star Wars: BB-8 – LEGO (£84.99)
The Original Stretch Armstrong – Character Options (£22)
Toilet Trouble – Hasbro (£17.99)
Gary Grant, chair of the DreamToys committee and owner of The Entertainer independent retail chain, said: “From the biggest collectible trends and licenses of 2017 to exciting action products and board game sensations, this year’s list is incredibly diverse and with price points to suit all budgets.”
Frederique Tutt, global industry analyst for market research company the NPD group, said: “With £1.2 billion spent on toys for Christmas – the equivalent of one third of total annual toy spend – the toy industry is all-systems-go as the 25th December draws closer. The list chosen by the 2017 DreamToys panel reflects the increased popularity of traditional play patterns with games and puzzles, plush and dolls as the fastest-growing categories to date.
