Gifts & Gift Ideas

Every October the Toy Retailers Association give us a sneaky peek at their predictions for the most wanted toys for the coming Christmas.

This year there’s a great mix of characters new and old such as Fireman Sam, Elmo and Star Wars. You’ll also find a mix of technology based toys, soft toys and good old fashioned board games.

Here are the Top 12 Dream Toys for Christmas 2011

Kidizoom Twist
Discover who’s the David Bailey in your family with this camera designed just for kids

Moshling Treehouse
A dolls’ house shaped like a tree for Moshin Monsters to hide and play in

Ninjago Lego Fire Temple
Plastic Lego bricks clash with Japanese dragons and ninja warriors this christmas

Fijit Friends
Imagine a Teletubby crossed with a furby and you have a joke-telling, dancing Fijit

Star Wars Ultimate Force Tech Lightsaber
May the force be with you…

Monster High Lagoona’s Hydration Station
Barbie meets Buffy

Fireman Sam Pontypandy Multi Rescue Set
Be a hero with a welsh accent

Doggie Doo Game
Scoop that poop – and make it fun!

LeapPad Explorer
A kid-friendly computer – tablet style

Milky the Bunny
Your very own electronic pet

Let’s Rock Elmo
Join Elmo’s rock band and make some music

Nerf Vortex Nitron Blaster
Protect your territory with the latest multi-disc blaster. It’s their fastest one to date

The Lego brand continues to take over the Christmas Toy list as it has done for the past few years.

This years Lego offering focuses on their popular Ninja range. The Japanese style Fire Temple comes complete with Lord Garmadon and his ghoulish skeleton army. Boo! Hiss!

Amazing Amazon sell the Lego Ninjajo Fire Temple for £61.99. You may even get free UK delivery.

The Moshi Monsters don’t sound like they live in a treehouse, but apparently they do! It’s essentially a plastic dolls house in the shape of a tree. The collectible Moshi Monsters live in their own little hollow in the tree branches but behind the greenery they have a hidden playroom.

It’s easy enough for an 8 year old to assemble and looks like it’d amuse any child with an imagination.

The cheapest place I’ve found the Moshling Treehouse for sale online is at Amazon for £20.

Your kids’ll go snap happy with the Kidizoom Twist. It’s an easy-to-use, robust camera for kids so no need to worry about getting Petit Filous all over your real one!

The 2 megapixel camera has a twisting lens which lets them take self portraits but it also records and has a games function. Sounds like it’ll keep someone occupied over the festive season and beyond!

Buy the Kidizoom Twist Camera from Firebox.com for £47.99 with free delivery.

There are 4 Fijit Friends. Sage, Logan, Serafina and Willa. They’re cute, plastic, active toys that’ll more than likely become your childs best friend – and you won’t have to worry about them letting off stink bombs in the house.

These all-singing, all-dancing and all-giggling toys are like mini robots and you can have your very own Fijit from Amazon.co.uk for £41.25.

The staple Lightsaber makes a welcome return on the list this year. This new and improved weapon has super duper light and sound effects and still continues to delight Star Wars fans from all decades!

To activate the lightsaber and become a Jedi simply press a button to light up the handle. Nifty little motion sensors will then trigger the special sound effects when swung around – sorry – used in battle.

If this is on your little boys wish list I can guarantee the whole family will be playing it by lunch time on Christmas Day.

It took me a while to figure out what this dream Christmas toy was all about, but after a little research I’ve discovered that Lagoona (full name; Lagoona Blue) is a character from the fictional school Monster High. And Lagoona has got herself on this years Top 12 Wanted list.

It’s a line of fashion dolls that have been created. Imagine Barbie dressed as Morticia Adams and you get the idea.

The complete Monster High: Lagoona Hydration Station is £39.29 from Play.com

It seems a bit odd to have a plastic multi disaster playset as a 2011 top selling christmas present but this is apparently what the kiddies want, especially when it’s Fireman Sam performing the rescues. And not a kitty cat in sight! Oh – apparently there is.

Open the set and put out the fires with the hose, save Norman when he gets stuck in the railings, and rescue the moggy from the tree! It’s a fun Fireman Sam Rescue set for under £30.

This has to be one of the most bizarre games I’ve seen! A throw of the dice dictates how often you squeeze your pooches lead after feeding the dog a bone. Each squeeze will push doggie doo (thankfully made from brightly coloured plasticine) from his bottom.

The person holding the lead when the doggie doo plops to the floor has to ‘poop the scoop’ and the first to have 3 piles of poop wins the game.

A fun gift for the family for under £25 – the Doggie Doo game

Kids can now have their very own tablet to help them improve their computer skills (and play lots of games too!) The LeapPad Explorer is the newest electronic gadget specifically aimed at 4-9 year old kids.

Parents all over the land will be breathing a sigh of relief knowing that their own tablet is safe from the clutches of grubby fingers. It looks cool and yet is practical, sturdy and best of all wipe-clean!

Hours of entertainment are guaranteed with this green and white gadget – and not just for Christmas – but through to 2012 as well. So while the LeapPad Explorer costs £112.99 I reckon it’s a winner.

An electronic pet that’s cute, soft and cuddly but with an element of surprise attached thanks to his random play function that’ll leave you guessing what he’ll get up to next.

He’s totally adorable and you can have him all to yourself for a snip at £44.99. Get Milky The Bunny from Amazon.com.

Let Elmo rock your world! The coolest muppet of all time is ready to rock your socks off. He comes complete with his own instruments (a tambourine, drum set and microphone) and looks pretty sharp in his rockin’ outfit.

A great Christmas gift for young and old folk as everyone will remember him. What a rock hero!

For kids from 8 to 98, the Vortex Nitron Blaster is the latest in the Nerf range. The battery operated disc blaster has an amazing array of functions for optimum firing power whilst in battle with the enemy.

You can reload faster than ever, shoot quicker than ever with a push of the acceleration trigger and an enviously precise aiming capacity when using the flashing electronic sniper scope.

Cash can get a bit tight around Christmas time, especially when it comes to buying Christmas gifts but there’s one site that may have come up with a great solution.

Buy Cheap Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Premium

Find Me A Gift are selling Personalised Letters from Santa for just 95p and a 10% discount for the next 48 hours if you add the code SAVER10 on checkout. Making it just 94p for a limited time!

You just need to fill in a few details and the letters will be sent out from 1st December 2011. Each letter comes with a sprinkling of magic…