Choosing A Christmas Gift – Trendy Or Traditional?

Christmas comes but once a year – and when it does, it is a very important time for retailers. It can mean the difference between a good year and a bad year. So it's no surprise that so much effort goes into predicting what the best selling items will be every year.

The toys and games sector is especially reliant on strong Xmas sales figures. Every year it seems that there is one special must have toy. In the past we have seen toys such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Beyblades, Cabbage Patch Kids, Buzz Lightyear, Tickle-Me-Elmo and Furbies take top spot at Christmas.

As a general rule, these toys will spend one year only as the best seller. Clearly a lot of these toys are still around – but they won't claim the number one slot this year. A lot of them won't even break into the top twenty best sellers.

Fads and fashion notwithstanding, there are some toys which are popular choices every year. They have withstood the test of time spanning different generations of children in many cases. For example, and again in no particular order – Monopoly, Lego, G.I. Joe, train sets, Cluedo, Scrabble and Barbie have all been around for years. They may not top the best sellers list this Christmas – but they will be in the top twenty or thirty toys year on year.

Based upon the current volume of sales, this year's top toy looks like being Zhu Zhu Pets – small, robot hamsters which interact using artificial intelligence. However, as in previous years, demand seems to be outstripping supply. It's already hard to find them in the stores. You can however, find them on eBay – at prices way above the ticket price. This seems to happen every year and toy suppliers have been accused of artificially limiting supply to create a buzz on more than one occasion in the past.

Whether or not this is a deliberate ploy by businesses is debatable. It does seem to have become part of our Christmas tradition for some reason or another. Often, no more than a few weeks after Christmas, last year's top selling toy will have become yesterday's news. On the other hand, the more traditional toys will still be in use and will be enjoyed for a long time to come. Many such toys will be cherished and passed from one generation to the next. That's why toys like Lego, Hornby Dublo train sets, Scrabble etc. are such good value for money and are always a good idea at Christmas.

Click here to see if the Zhu Zhu Pets are still available – or discover the pleasure of a very traditional Christmas gift – a Hornby Dublo train set.