Dream Toys 2014: Top Toys for Christmas

Ooooh, have you seen that the list of Dream Toys for Christmas has been published? And with a certain retailer holding a 3 for 2, and another offering Boosts, I'd say now is a good time to make sure you place your orders and get stock of your child's much-wanted item. Sadly I don't think you can buy the life-sized Lego characters but that's probably just as well as I think they'd be a bit tricky to wrap up and fit under your tree....

As a previous Toy Buyer (have I mentioned that before?!), I like to keep interested in the toy industry, and this week I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Dream Toys 2014 exhibition. It takes place annually, is set in an old church, and is organised by the Toy Retailers Association. They announce the Top 72 toys which they believe will be heading up children's lists this year, and from that they select the Top 12.

So without further ado, here is the Top 12 and their Recommended Retail Prices (in alphabetical order):

Bop It! Beats                                                                        Hasbro                 £21.99
Disney Frozen Snow Glow Elsa                                          Jakks Pacific        £34.99
Disney Frozen Sparkle Doll (assorted)                                Mattel                   £16.99
Kidizoom Smart Watch                                                        Vtech                   £39.99
Little Live Pets Bird Cage                                                    Character             £19.99
Minecraft Figures (assorted)                                               Character             £7.99
My Friend Cayla                                                                  Vivid                     £58.99
Nerf Demolisher 2-in-1                                                        Hasbro                 £44.99
The Lego Movie - Benny’s Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP!   LEGO      £79.99
Toot-Toot Animals Safari Park                                            VTech                   £39.99
Transformers Stomp & Chomp Grimlock                            Hasbro                  £89.99
Zoomer Dino- Boomer                                                        Spin Master          £99.99

Having had a closer look at a few of these, I can definitely recommend the Frozen Snow Glow Elsa. Great value and sure to make those Frozen fans super happy. 

My girls are both huge Minecraft fans so I know they'd be happy to see the Minecraft Figures in their stockings, along with the Little Live Pets which we've been lucky enough to review earlier this year. I was actually quite impressed with how much My Friend Cayla can do and although my girls have probably passed the ideal target age for this, I'm sure they would still appreciate one.

There are probably more toys of interest to us in the Top 72 rather than the Top 12 - you can read the full list of those at the www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk website. Tilly has been asking for the Teksta kitten... but seeing as we have real ones now, I think we will give this a miss!

2014 is predicted to be a bumper year for toy sales, the biggest since 2010. Are any of these Top 12 on your child's wish list for Christmas? For my girls, it's all about Minecraft, Sims, Shopkins and My Little Pony......

Disclosure: I was not given any payment or specifically asked to write this review. All views expressed are my own.