'Hot' Christmas toys go easy on the pocket

28th Oct 2009 14:00

We may be stuck in the longest recession on record, but there's little chance the children will notice this Christmas as toys costing under £50 prepare to dominate the best-seller lists.The Toy Retailers Association (TRA) today revealed the toys it thinks most kids want to find in their Christmas stocking.It split toys into six categories and chose the 12 it predicts will fly off the shelves in each category before deciding on a definitive 'Hot Dozen'.Toymakers have updated nostalgic characters and brands with a modern twist, according to chairman of the TRA, Gary Grant."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," he said.Parents will recognise many names on the list. Old favourites Monopoly and Lego feature, while others, like GO GO Pets Hamsters, the electronic interactive pets from Character, will be all too familiar come Boxing Day.Steve Buckmaster, sales director at Esdevium Games, distributor for collectible Pokemon cards and Gogo's Crazy Bones figures, said cheaper items are selling well.He also thinks this year's trend for Britons to holiday at home - the staycation - has boosted summer sales. In fact it's the company's best summer ever.Girls are expected to ask Santa for Princess Peppa's Palace, also from Character, and Zapf's new Baby Annabel 2009.For the boys, the TRA plumps for GX Racers Tightrope Terror Track set by Flair and the Battle Strikers Starter Set from Mega Brands. But parents might struggle to avoid tears on Christmas morning as industry experts warn of toy shortages."Retailers are nervous about Christmas and are unsure about how much stock they should commit to," Jeremy Healy, marketing director at Character Options told ShareCast."They're likely to have less stock in store than last year, which could lead to shortages of the most popular toys during the run up to Christmas."