Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Will be a big stretch
Shocking cost of the year’s must-have stocking fillers
THE toy industry has unveiled its top 12 plays of Christmas and hard-stretched parents will need a lot of L.O.L.LY to keep their little ones happy.
While The Original Stretch Armstrong will have mums and dads pulling faces with his £21.99 price tag, this year’s runaway must-have, L.O.L. Surprise!, really is no laughing matter.
A single Series 2, doll, with its seven layers of surprises, costs £9.99.
But there are more than 45 dolls to collect in Series 2, and some parents are buying them by the boxload.
And the real prize this Christmas is the LOL Big Surprise!, with 50 goodies inside, which costs £59.99.
Made by MGA Entertainment, UK managing director Andrew Laughton revealed its success had “caught us on the hop”. Industry analyst Frederique Tutt of the NPD Group said: “It is in short supply and my advice to parents is, if you see it, buy it.” An updated version of last year’s hit Hatchimals Surprise for £74.99 was also named a musthave by the Toy Retailers Association, along with a Furreal’s £135 interactive tiger, Roarin’ Tyler, from Hasbro.
This year’s list favours traditional over technology, with screen-based toys out of favour.
The Original Stretch Armstrong, which has been around for decades, makes the list along with Lego’s Star Wars: BB-8 and Paw Patrol Sea Patroller. And a game called Toilet Trouble that squirts players with water from the bowl if they mis-time the flush, is set to be a hit. Though it might just be a flash in the pan. Argos toy expert Linzi Walker said: “Sales of board games are up 30% and this year the focus is on play. Parents want their children to play with the kinds of toys they had fun with and seem to be rebelling against screens.” Industry figures show we will blow £1.2billion on toys this Christmas. The Mirror’s toy experts Summer Meyepa and George Davies, both aged nine, have picked their Christmas crackers and turkeys. Summer of Bishop’s Stortford, Herts gave L.O.L. Surprise! 10 out of 10. She said: “It’s exciting.” And George, from Hoddesdon, Herts, gave Lego’s BB-8 a big thumbs-up. He said: “It’s so cool.”