Stocking fillers
This year’s Christmas sellers
Goodbye Frozen, hello Paw Patrol and Rubik’s Cube. The age-old Christmas list is fast-changing, and while a couple of old favourites make a comeback this year, it seems children are getting quite specific about what they’d like to see under the tree.
Last year it was wooden trains, sand and water play tables, trampolines, and (of course) Frozen. This year it’s Nerf blasters, Paw Patrol playsets and Hatchimals.
Forbes has even named Hatchimals – large plastic eggs with trainable baby birds inside of them – the ‘‘hottest toy of the holiday season’’. And, as a result, has a price tag to match – setting you back $130.
‘‘Kids seem to be very keen on raising their own toy pet friend this year,’’ TradeMe spokesman Logan Mudge said.
‘‘The five species of Hatchimals are one of the ‘it’ toys around the world this year, with reports they are virtually impossible to get hold of in North America and the UK.
‘‘The message to parents is: don’t muck around.’’
And this message echoes that of Lonnica Van Engelen, the Lead Category Manager of Toys for The Warehouse.
‘‘The clear favourite this year has to be Hatchimals – demand has been phenomenal, we’ve sold out across the country,’’ she said.
‘‘Little Live Pets My Dream Puppy and the Shopkins series have also flown off the shelves in recent weeks.
‘‘Ongoing favourites Nerf, Lego and Zuru Bunch o Balloons products also continue to be popular sellers this year.’’
Based of TradeMe data and international trends, its likely Santa’s sack will also be jam-packed with Lego Technic, Nerf blasters, the next-generation Furby, scooters, Paw Patrol toys, Shopkins, Rubik’s cubes, FurReal Friends, and Sylvanian Families.
Mudge said Lego was a permanent fixture on the Trade Me kids’ toys Christmas list – the only surviving toy brand from last year’s list.
‘‘While many toys are making a comeback this year, Lego has never left.’’
He added that the ‘cult of Nerf’ was also going strong.
‘‘Nerf guns have been there or thereabouts in our top kids’ gifts lists for the last few years, and was bubbling under just outside the top 10 last year.
‘‘They’re popular with young and old and the ‘cult of Nerf’ is alive and well.’’
However, kids weren’t venturing far from the oldie but goodies, he said.
‘‘There’s been a clear resurgence, or reimagining, of some old favourites with retro toys like Sylvanian Families, Furby, Rubik’s cubes and scooters all in the mix.
‘‘Scooters have been a favourite of kids around the world for a century, but especially since the 70s and 80s and they’re still cool in 2016,’’ Mudge said.
‘‘Meanwhile, it’s pretty amazing to see the ongoing popularity of everyone’s favourite Japanese anthropomorphic animals, Sylvanian Families, has made a huge comeback.’’
The surge in demand for Rubik’s cubes could be down to it celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, which had ‘‘seen its popularity jump amongst new users and nostalgic parents’’, he said.
‘‘We’ve seen a spike in searches and sales onsite.
‘‘We put this down to the anniversary but also the work the cube inventors have done to reinvent the popular toy.
‘‘They’ve brought out new versions...and it doesn’t hurt that the likes of Justin Bieber fancy themselves as Rubik’s gurus.’’
Wish lists were ‘‘getting very specific’’, Mudge said.
‘‘We’ve seen from this year’s list the ebbs and flows of kids’ interests and how some toys can battle back from relative obscurity (and just as quickly disappear again).
‘‘From last year things like kinetic sand, Frozen and quadcopters appear to have had their day – trampolines and swing sets remain very popular but outside the top 10,’’ he said.
Whatever the reason for it, TradeMe is expecting an influx of listings. In the lead up to Christmas last year, more than 648,000 listings went onsite in one day while 52,000 were sold.