Electrical ‘ride-on’ cars for kids and dolls’ houses are expected to be the top toys this Christmas, shop owners contacted by MaltaToday said.
Kids want their own set of wheels for Christmas, as a spokesperson for Mecca Toys confirmed, whose main investment this year are electric vehicles and maxi-toys.
While Christmas shopping is only a few weeks away, the window shopping has already started.
Toy retailers report that classic stereotypes are still prominent in toy choices for children. Dolls and toy houses are the common trend for girls, a Happy Kids representatives said, the number one toy faithfully remaining Gioci Preziosi’s life-like crying doll Cicciobello.
Mattel’s Barbie and Fisher-Price’s Dora the Explorer are also guaranteed to be favourites.
A Toyland representative also said the cartoon and movie heroes Transformers will surely be a hit. Other representatives from Pedigree and Junior’s Fun & Learn Centre added Ben10 and Power Rangers amongst top choices.
“Advertising and the great exposure some characters have will have a fair share in influencing kids’ want-lists,” one retailer said.
Educational toys such as the classic Lego also remain a favourite, but a new entry which parents may choose to stimulate kids’ creativity is expected to be V.Smile, aimed at kids aged three to nine.
V.Smile is an educational game system by Vtech which comes in the form of a game console into which children insert cartridges. For 2007, the product has been refreshed, with a microphone has bundled with the console, and a more featured joystick, which comes with a new drawing pad. Some of the games available include Bob the Builder, Winnie-the-Pooh, Dora the Explorer, The Backyardigans, Thomas and Friends, Cars, The Lion King and Scooby-Doo amongst others.
Last year’s definite hit toy was Cars, from the movie which bore the same name. This year the Disney-Pixar movie Ratatouille, the chef-aspiring mouse in a French restaurant, could be expected to feature on toys, lunch boxes, and school bags – yet another tentative present for Christmas.