It'll be Christmas before you know it - many of us have already started to think about what gifts to buy this year. It's always wise to buy early for Christmas - and that's especially good advice this year.
Last year many retailers over stocked. They then had to offer heavy discounts in order to clear the shelves. Coupled with the fact that the economic climate is, whilst improving, still somewhat less than rosy, it's not hard to see why a lot of retailers have opted for relatively low stock levels this year.
As we get closer to Christmas, it could become difficult to find toys and other popular gift items. Retailers who run out of the most popular toys might try attempt to order new stock to meet customer demand - but as most toys these days are of Asian manufacture, the lengthy delivery time tends to be several weeks. Refilling empty shelves before Xmas may not be a feasible option.
One of this year's best selling toys so far is Zhu Zhu Pets. These are a collection of five motorized hamsters, complete with a huge collection of toys and accessories. They use artificial intelligence so that they can interact with the children playing with them and their environment. Kids are just going nuts for these hamsters - they were only released in August of this year. They seem to be a dead certainty for this year's top selling Xmas toy - assuming that stocks don't run out that is.
Although they haven't been out for long they are already becoming difficult to find in the shops. Prices are starting to climb quite dramatically and you can find plenty third party vendors selling them on eBay and Amazon at inflated prices.
However, if you can't get hold of the latest fad toy, or if you object to paying inflated prices for a fad that may well fizzle out in a few months, then you could consider a more traditional toy instead. Many of these will not be the very latest craze - but the fact that they have stood the test of time speaks volumes.
If you were after a nice toy for a young boy for example, a son or nephew perhaps, then a train set is always a good choice. A Hornby model train set will give years of fun and will still be in use when the latest craze has fizzled out and been replaced by something new.
The same reasoning could be equally well applied to old favourites like Monopoly, Scrabble and Lego. All of these have stood the test of time, over generations, and adapted to suit the requirements of modern day children.
Last year many retailers over stocked. They then had to offer heavy discounts in order to clear the shelves. Coupled with the fact that the economic climate is, whilst improving, still somewhat less than rosy, it's not hard to see why a lot of retailers have opted for relatively low stock levels this year.
As we get closer to Christmas, it could become difficult to find toys and other popular gift items. Retailers who run out of the most popular toys might try attempt to order new stock to meet customer demand - but as most toys these days are of Asian manufacture, the lengthy delivery time tends to be several weeks. Refilling empty shelves before Xmas may not be a feasible option.
One of this year's best selling toys so far is Zhu Zhu Pets. These are a collection of five motorized hamsters, complete with a huge collection of toys and accessories. They use artificial intelligence so that they can interact with the children playing with them and their environment. Kids are just going nuts for these hamsters - they were only released in August of this year. They seem to be a dead certainty for this year's top selling Xmas toy - assuming that stocks don't run out that is.
Although they haven't been out for long they are already becoming difficult to find in the shops. Prices are starting to climb quite dramatically and you can find plenty third party vendors selling them on eBay and Amazon at inflated prices.
However, if you can't get hold of the latest fad toy, or if you object to paying inflated prices for a fad that may well fizzle out in a few months, then you could consider a more traditional toy instead. Many of these will not be the very latest craze - but the fact that they have stood the test of time speaks volumes.
If you were after a nice toy for a young boy for example, a son or nephew perhaps, then a train set is always a good choice. A Hornby model train set will give years of fun and will still be in use when the latest craze has fizzled out and been replaced by something new.
The same reasoning could be equally well applied to old favourites like Monopoly, Scrabble and Lego. All of these have stood the test of time, over generations, and adapted to suit the requirements of modern day children.
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View the full range of Hornby oo train sets - including the famous Hornby Dublo Flying Scotsman.
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