Christmas in July 2011

The 2011 Christmas in July took place on Tuesday July 5th at the Camden Centre, Judd Street, (WC1H 9LZ) in London.

Based in central London and run by Evolution PR, Christmas in July (or XIJ for short) is an annual event attended by journalists and other members of the toy trade. New for 2011 was an invited selection of 'Mummy Bloggers' together with some of their children. After an exhaustive toy testing session, the kids gave the thumbs up to almost every toy they played with. The show gives toy suppliers the chance to preview their showcase products to the press - and gives editors the chance to collate all the information they need to write their Christmas toy features.

With plenty of new products to show, leading companies have a great opportunity to persuade the visitors that their products are going to be some of the best for christmas, and to ultimately give them some free publicity.

Christmas in July is superbly organised by Evolution - a PR agency that represents many of the companies showing their products. The day-long event is a great occasion for networking and for firms to demonstrate their products to a group of people who may not handle or even play with toys very often.

Companies attending the event included:

Character Options
Gibsons Games
Vtech
Bladez Toys
Esvedium Games
Thomas & Friends
Jakks Pacific
Micro Scooters
Hexbug
Globee
Red Toolbox
Drumond Park
Flair
Golden Bear
Mega Brands
Schleich
WowWee