This morning I’ve been in London at the 2016 Dreamtoys event, to find out what the top toys are this Christmas. Each year a panel of “leading toy retailers” come together to look at the latest and greatest toys, and to predilection which dozen toys will be the best sellers for the Christmas period.
I had a lot of fun chatting to lots of different toy companies and checking out all the latest toys. I saw a lot that Lydia and Georgiana would be delighted with. I met up with Sophie from Life as Mrs D, and her baby girl Isla who is adorable. It was lovely to spend a morning with them – we were great friends in high school.
These are the picks for 2016, and I am sure that more than one of my readers will already have a few of them on their Christmas list!
The Dreamtoys 2016 Top 12
Friends Amusement Park Roller Coaster – LEGO Company – £89.99 RRP – Georgie has her eye on this one and I don’t blame her. I’m not 100% convinced on the Friends body shape still but this rollercoaster is seriously cool, and the ferris wheel is awesome.
Shopkins Chef Club Hot Spot Kitchen – Flair Leisure Products – £24.99 RRP – The girls both really love their shopkins, but they haven’t had any play sets yet. This kitchen looks really fun – the girls love baking so a set where they pretend to cook with the little shopkins characters looks great.
Hatchimals – Spin Master Toys – £59.99 RRP – No surprise here! My Facebook feed is full of parents trying to track these down to make their kids happy on Christmas morning. The good news is I spoke to them and more stock is arriving in stores late November. Hatchimals are interactive creatures which peck their way out of their eggs and then need looking after by their new owner. Super cute and very popular right now!
Silly Sausage – John Adams Leisure – £19.99 RRP – I had a play with the Silly Sausage at the Blog On conference and it was great fun – and definitely lived up to the “silly” bit of its name. It is a large red plastic sausage which you have to twist, shake, dip, stretch and poke to play. It’s a great for family time which is perfect for Christmas.
Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage – Mattel – £89.99 RRP – Lydia is getting a Hot Wheels advent calendar and would love this! It is has parking spots for 36 cars, with several action zones, and comes with
Snuggles My Dream Puppy – Character Options – £49.99 RRP – I had a look at Snuggles on the Character stand and it is adorable. He is so cute, falling asleep and gently breathing, making happy puppy sounds, and opening and closing his eyes. Both girls would LOVE one of these.
Nerf N-Strike Elite Hyperfire – Hasbro – £49.99 RRP – The Hyperfire blaster shoots darts at a rate of 5 per second and looks great for any fans of the brand. It has a 25 dart drum, and comes complete with 25 elite darts.
Speak Out – Hasbro – £19.99 RRP – This looks like a great party game for groups – players try to say different phrases while wearing a mouthpiece that won’t let them shut their mouth, which makes them look ridiculous.
Paw Patrol Air Patroller – Spin Master Toys – £39.99 RRP – Lydia and Georgie are big Paw Patrol fans and would love this toy. It has rotating propellers, and transforms from a helicopter into a plane, with real lights and sounds.
Star Wars Rebel U-Wing Fighter – LEGO Company – £69.99 RRP – James would LOVE this. Great for Star Wars and LEGO fans of all ages, this U-Wing fighter model looks brilliant. The wings fold back to make a bigger model, and it includes 5 minifigures. This ship is from the new LEGO Star Wars Rogue One range.
SelfieMic – Worlds Apart – £19.99 RRP – SelfieMic lets you create your own music videos by singing along to “thousands of your favourite songs” with the free StarMaker app. It is basically a combination of a selfie stick and a microphone and looks like fun for any budding popstar.
Thomas & Friends Trackmaster Sky-High Bridge Jump – Mattel – £99.99 RRP – I know one of Georgie’s friends wants one of these and it is very cool. It’s really big and sends Thomas flying high off the tracks and into the air.
As well as these 12 blockbuster toys, they had a great selection of toys on show at DreamToys.
Here are some of my favourites…
Ty Beanie Boo Buddies – both girls love anything small, squishy and cuddly, and these Ty toys fit the bill. They had a pretty big one too which Isla made friends with.
Finding Dory Coffee Pot play set – I love this Dory play set, it depicts a great scene from the film and is a funny gift idea.
Fisher-Price Code-a-Pillar – this one looked interesting, a toy to help kids started with basic coding skills.
DC Super Hero Girls Action Dolls – they had these in two sizes and they are great fun. It’s nice to see the female super heroes being represented! Georgie already has the smaller Wonder Woman figure and loves it, and I’m very tempted to get Lydia the Supergirl figure for her stocking. She is a huge Supergirl fan so it would be ideal.
