Christmas is rapidly approaching and many of us will be starting to think about what gifts to buy this year. It's always a good idea to buy early for Christmas - and that's especially true this year.
Last year a lot of retailers carried too much stock. In order to clear their shelves they had to offer hefty discounts. Combine that with the fact that the economic climate is still pretty grim and it's easy to see why many retailers have quite deliberately set stock levels comparatively low 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 the best selling toys so far this year is Zhu Zhu Pets. These are a collection of five robotic hamsters, complete with an array of toys and accessories, which incorporate artificial intelligence. This allows them to interact both with the children playing with them and their surroundings. Zhu Zhu pets were only released in August of 2009 - and kids are going crazy for them. Assuming stock levels hold up, they look set to be this year's top selling Xmas toy.
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.
If you can't manage to get hold of the latest hot toy, or if you just object to paying high prices for a craze that will probably fizzle out in a few short months, then you might be well advised to think about more traditional toys as an alternative. Of course, a lot of these will not be the latest craze - but they have stood the test of time - and that says a lot
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 A Hornby model train set will give years of fun and will still be in use when the latest craze has fizzled out and been replaced by something new.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 logic could just as well be applied to other stalwarts such as Scrabble, Monopoly and Lego. All of these have survived the test of time, over generations, and adapted to suit the demands of modern day kids as required. - 30320
Last year a lot of retailers carried too much stock. In order to clear their shelves they had to offer hefty discounts. Combine that with the fact that the economic climate is still pretty grim and it's easy to see why many retailers have quite deliberately set stock levels comparatively low 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 the best selling toys so far this year is Zhu Zhu Pets. These are a collection of five robotic hamsters, complete with an array of toys and accessories, which incorporate artificial intelligence. This allows them to interact both with the children playing with them and their surroundings. Zhu Zhu pets were only released in August of 2009 - and kids are going crazy for them. Assuming stock levels hold up, they look set to be this year's top selling Xmas toy.
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.
If you can't manage to get hold of the latest hot toy, or if you just object to paying high prices for a craze that will probably fizzle out in a few short months, then you might be well advised to think about more traditional toys as an alternative. Of course, a lot of these will not be the latest craze - but they have stood the test of time - and that says a lot
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 logic could just as well be applied to other stalwarts such as Scrabble, Monopoly and Lego. All of these have survived the test of time, over generations, and adapted to suit the demands of modern day kids as required. - 30320
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View the full range of Hornby oo train sets - including the famous Hornby Dublo Flying Scotsman.
