Top 10 Christmas Toys 2012
What will be the top kids toys at Christmas 2012?
Want to know the hot toys for Xmas 2012? So do we!
Our Christmas toy gurus are packing their cases and heading off to various toys fairs over the next three months, to bring you the inside news on the latest hot toys.
We'll also be keeping our eyes open for those all-important major toy retailers predictions lists, as some came out as early as July last year!
So, keep an eye on this site for the best new toys news, views and videos, and some top toys predictions for Xmas 2012 of our own.
NEW! Best Toys for 2012 Revealed
The Best New Toys Awards 2012 were announced at the annual British Toy & Hobby Association Toy Fair in London in January 2012. 25 different toy manufacturers, including UK company Hornby Hobbies, Character Options, Flair and Vivid Toy Group share the honours for the 32 winning toys, as voted for by a panel of independent toy retailers.
This year, a new category of 'App Toys' was created to reflect the growing trend of online and offline play integration (that's linking real toys with virtual equivalents, to you and me!). For full details, take a look at the list on our XmasGiftGuru blog.
Our Christmas toy gurus went to the London Toy Fair to check out these and hundreds of other new toys for themselves, so watch this space for our top picks and exclusive review videos.
What are the top toys for Christmas lists?
Every year, major toy retailers try to predict what the top toys for Christmas will be from the thousands of toys available. In the past, these lists have usually been released as part of their normal Christmas toy catalogue, or tied with special offers in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
For most toy shops, the season of list release usually starts with the Dream Toys for Christmas list, produced by the Toy Retailers Association and released in the last week of October. (Last year, the Dream Toys for Christmas list was released on October 26, 2011.)
However, over the last few years and certainly for 2011, this pattern appears to have changed, with major retailers releasing their Christmas lists really early, starting with Hamleys Christmas in July event! So, our Christmas gift gurus here at dreamtoysforChristmas.co.uk were kept exceedingly busy trying to keep up with the top toy lists and hot toys for Christmas suggestions that seem to be released on an almost weekly basis!
How to find the top toys for Christmas before everyone else
We'll pick the best Christmas toys lists as they are released, and research the toys carefully to give you full details of the hot toys for Xmas 2012. Our special price comparison panels ensure you can compare prices for toys for Christmas 2012 from major retailers such as Amazon, Play.com, Iwantoneofthose.com, Toys R Us, John Lewis, Hamleys, and supermarkets including Sainsbury's and Asda.
Why do online stores release top 10 Christmas toys lists?
Let's be honest here, online toy shops don't do it out of the goodness of their heart! Their toy buyers probably saw the toys first at International toy fairs in January, and probably decided what would be at the core of their Christmas toy collection by Easter. After all, they needed to order their toys from the toy manufacturers, who then have to have them made and shipped to the UK in time for the release of the Christmas shopping lists.
Therefore, each toy retailer has a vested interest in listing the top Xmas toys that they have ordered, so their lists will inevitably be a little biased towards their own stock! Where all these Christmas toy prediction lists start to get really interesting is where they overlap, and you see the same toy appearing on several lists. This is usually a very strong indication that this is a *very* hot toy for Christmas!
What were the hot toys for Christmas 2011?
In 2011, there were two or three strong contenders for the best-selling Christmas toy of the year, and once we've got some official figures, we'll publish them here. From our own experiences, the top three bestsellers were the Fijit, the Doggie Doo game and Milky the Bunny. See our 2011 Christmas toy archive page for more details.
What are the hot toys for Christmas 2012?
We'll be touring the toy fairs to discover the potential best sellers, as well as scrutinising those toy retailers prediction lists as they are released. Bookmark this site, and you'll be the first to know!
How much do the top toys for Christmas cost?
As almost every savvy shopper knows, the recommended retail prices of top toys for Christmas are not necessarily the prices you will have to pay. As Christmas approaches, every retailer tries to entice you to buy your presents and toys from them through special offers or discounts. Not every store will offer the same discount at the same time, and some online stores may never discount the toys that you want to buy, so keeping up with the best deals can be a nightmare!
Don't worry - our Price Comparison panel compare prices for each Christmas toy from available online from UK retailers. Our price comparisons are updated automatically, so you can be certain the price you are looking at is the best price you can get from those readers retailers on the day you're buying.
If toy retailers offer discount toys for Christmas, should I buy early or wait?
We always suggest you buy your hot Christmas toys early for one very good reason; top toys often sell out very quickly. No parents needs to be reminded of the rush to buy the latest and greatest toy for Christmas, followed by the endless disappointments of driving from store to store trying to buy one when all stocks have been sold out. (Lalaloopsy dolls being a classic example in 2011.)
By buying from our selected toy retailers online, you can have all the hot toys for Christmas delivered direct to your door, without having to battle through city centre queues, crowded car parks, or freezing cold late-night toy shopping. You will also be able to get the best price going at the time of purchase, so you can feel very smug while other parents are panicking!
What is your team's top Christmas toy tip?
We're so glad you asked that! We'll put together our own top 10 Christmas toy list, based on our experience of selling toys online and, to be honest, toys that catch our eyes but may not appear on other lists. You'll find our 2011 XmasGiftGuru Xmas Toy List here, and we'll be updating it with some real sales info at some point in January.
Out of all the toys we bought for our families for Christmas 2011, our favourite is still those Air Swimmers. We just can't get over how beautiful these toys are in action and how something so simple could be so graceful. It's not often that we write the words 'graceful' and 'toy 'in the same sentence, but these toy airships really are absolutely gorgeous in action. Our Chief Gift Guru's 55 year old brother adores his, even if opening the gift of a cylinder of helium first rather confused him....
Every year, major toy retailers try to predict what the top toys for Christmas will be from the thousands of toys available. In the past, these lists have usually been released as part of their normal Christmas toy catalogue, or tied with special offers in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
For most toy shops, the season of list release usually starts with the Dream Toys for Christmas list, produced by the Toy Retailers Association and released in the last week of October. (Last year, the Dream Toys for Christmas list was released on October 26, 2011.)
However, over the last few years and certainly for 2011, this pattern appears to have changed, with major retailers releasing their Christmas lists really early, starting with Hamleys Christmas in July event! So, our Christmas gift gurus here at dreamtoysforChristmas.co.uk were kept exceedingly busy trying to keep up with the top toy lists and hot toys for Christmas suggestions that seem to be released on an almost weekly basis!
How to find the top toys for Christmas before everyone else
We'll pick the best Christmas toys lists as they are released, and research the toys carefully to give you full details of the hot toys for Xmas 2012. Our special price comparison panels ensure you can compare prices for toys for Christmas 2012 from major retailers such as Amazon, Play.com, Iwantoneofthose.com, Toys R Us, John Lewis, Hamleys, and supermarkets including Sainsbury's and Asda.
Why do online stores release top 10 Christmas toys lists?
Let's be honest here, online toy shops don't do it out of the goodness of their heart! Their toy buyers probably saw the toys first at International toy fairs in January, and probably decided what would be at the core of their Christmas toy collection by Easter. After all, they needed to order their toys from the toy manufacturers, who then have to have them made and shipped to the UK in time for the release of the Christmas shopping lists.
Therefore, each toy retailer has a vested interest in listing the top Xmas toys that they have ordered, so their lists will inevitably be a little biased towards their own stock! Where all these Christmas toy prediction lists start to get really interesting is where they overlap, and you see the same toy appearing on several lists. This is usually a very strong indication that this is a *very* hot toy for Christmas!
What were the hot toys for Christmas 2011?
In 2011, there were two or three strong contenders for the best-selling Christmas toy of the year, and once we've got some official figures, we'll publish them here. From our own experiences, the top three bestsellers were the Fijit, the Doggie Doo game and Milky the Bunny. See our 2011 Christmas toy archive page for more details.
What are the hot toys for Christmas 2012?
We'll be touring the toy fairs to discover the potential best sellers, as well as scrutinising those toy retailers prediction lists as they are released. Bookmark this site, and you'll be the first to know!
How much do the top toys for Christmas cost?
As almost every savvy shopper knows, the recommended retail prices of top toys for Christmas are not necessarily the prices you will have to pay. As Christmas approaches, every retailer tries to entice you to buy your presents and toys from them through special offers or discounts. Not every store will offer the same discount at the same time, and some online stores may never discount the toys that you want to buy, so keeping up with the best deals can be a nightmare!
Don't worry - our Price Comparison panel compare prices for each Christmas toy from available online from UK retailers. Our price comparisons are updated automatically, so you can be certain the price you are looking at is the best price you can get from those readers retailers on the day you're buying.
If toy retailers offer discount toys for Christmas, should I buy early or wait?
We always suggest you buy your hot Christmas toys early for one very good reason; top toys often sell out very quickly. No parents needs to be reminded of the rush to buy the latest and greatest toy for Christmas, followed by the endless disappointments of driving from store to store trying to buy one when all stocks have been sold out. (Lalaloopsy dolls being a classic example in 2011.)
By buying from our selected toy retailers online, you can have all the hot toys for Christmas delivered direct to your door, without having to battle through city centre queues, crowded car parks, or freezing cold late-night toy shopping. You will also be able to get the best price going at the time of purchase, so you can feel very smug while other parents are panicking!
What is your team's top Christmas toy tip?
We're so glad you asked that! We'll put together our own top 10 Christmas toy list, based on our experience of selling toys online and, to be honest, toys that catch our eyes but may not appear on other lists. You'll find our 2011 XmasGiftGuru Xmas Toy List here, and we'll be updating it with some real sales info at some point in January.
Out of all the toys we bought for our families for Christmas 2011, our favourite is still those Air Swimmers. We just can't get over how beautiful these toys are in action and how something so simple could be so graceful. It's not often that we write the words 'graceful' and 'toy 'in the same sentence, but these toy airships really are absolutely gorgeous in action. Our Chief Gift Guru's 55 year old brother adores his, even if opening the gift of a cylinder of helium first rather confused him....
