The Dream dozen were announced at 7am on Wednesday 26th October 2011 and introduced to the media at a press event at St Mary's Church in Bryan Square, London.
The Dream Dozen
Doggie Doo from John Adams
Fijit Friends from Mattel
Fireman Sam Rescue Set from Character Options
Kidizoom Twist from Vtech
LeapPad Explorer from Leapfrog
Lets Rock Elmo from Hasbro
Milky the Bunny from Flair
Monster High Lagoona’s Hydration Station from Mattel
Moshling Treehouse from Vivid Imaginations
Nerf Vortex Nitron Blaster from Hasbro
Ninjago Fire Temple from LEGO
Star Wars Ultimate Force Tech Lightsaber Assortment from Hasbro
A Background to Dream Toys
Dream Toys is an important part of the toy industry calendar. This is where the Toy Retailers Association (TRA) set out what they think are the 'hot dozen' toys for the Christmas ahead. The TRA considers itself to be perfectly placed to make these predictions - thanks in part to 50+ years of consumer knowledge and because it represents 75% of toy retailers.
Dream Toy Headlines
The official Dream Toys press release had the headline: "It’s going to be an interactive Christmas for kids". But how did other news sources react? See some of the more interesting headlines below.
Dog 'faeces' game predicted to be hot sales item (The Telegraph)
Doggie Doo is the business in must-have toys list (The Guardian)
Retailers make top toy predictions for Christmas (BBC)
Licensed toys triumph at Dream Toys 2011 (Licensing.biz)
The top twelve toys this Christmas… apparently (Bitter Wallet)
Dog poo collecting to be this year's Christmas family game (LondonNet)
12 toys of Christmas (The Sun)
The 12 toys of Christmas, from ninjas to monster tree houses (The Independent)
Christmas toy wars! (The Daily I̶d̶i̶o̶t̶ Mail)
Dog that poos tipped to be one of this Xmas's most-wanted toys (Daily Record)
Monsters, muppets and dog mess – what your kids will want from Santa (Scotsman)
Reactions from Independent Toy Retailers
Many industry insiders balk at the annual Dream Toys list which is regularly criticised for focusing on products that have the greatest marketing clout rather than the greatest play value. That's exactly why we asked the nation's independent retailers to give us their reactions in an exclusive survey conducted by Toy Shop UK.
Add Your Comment to Dream Toys
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2 people have commented on Dream Toys:
Average score:
On the money
Comment by John Mc Glinchey, 8th December 2011
This year's Dream Toys list is proving to be fairly accurate. Although, the full asking price for Let's Rock Elmo is a bit much for a lot of parents.
P.S. Like the use of a strike-through typeface when mentioning a certain national newspaper, whose ink doesn't rub-off on one's hands.
My view
Comment by Adam, 26th October 2011
I can understand the outcry from the independents, but there's plenty of mopping up on toys not listed that are going to be big this Christmas. I also think that Dream Toys kicks off that toy buying gene in parents, which is a good thing.
It's funny, I work in and around the big toys and I'm going to be a father for the first time soon and I'm only looking at classic toys (maybe a bit of LEGO). I think John Lewis is a retailer who always seems to have a great mix of modern and traditional.
We have always tried to buy our nephew (who is 6) good classic toys, but they are normally thrown aside for the new Ben 10 figure... sign of the times I'm afraid!
Collectables ranges including figures, stickers and trading cards.
Genuine eco-friendly wooden toys for kids up to 12 years old.
Sells a wide range of jigsaw puzzles and accessories.
