Perfect educational toys for Christmas

Most people have to purchase a children’s toy for someone on their Christmas list, which can be frustrating due to the high demand for certain must-have items.  This year, avoid the crazy rush by choosing to indulge the child on your list with an educational toy.

By doing so the child can get a toy that actually will help them develop and you get to rest easy with the satisfaction that you have made a positive contribution on their life.

One of the most popular tech-smart toys this year is the Nitro Web Notebook ‘Safe Surfing” product which has 70 interactive activities programmed into it that teach children everything from Spanish to science to art to maths.  The tiny classroom learner is also connected to the web, which means the content can always be updated and allows children to interact with peers also using the same device.

For younger children, the perfect gift may be the Kidizoom Digital Camera Plus, which allows small children to use the miniature digital camera that allows them to store up to 2000 photos of their own.  It is equipped with 2.0 mega pixel resolution and can be connected to a home computer or television so that children get to share their art with friends and family.

Finally, one more option for the child who is hard to shop for is the Expanded V Smile Motion Smartridge Library which contains titles from all of the most popular children’s characters such as NASCAR, Ni Hao Kai Lin, Handy Manny, UP, and plenty more.

Go Go Hamsters are safe after all

Despite the fact that Monday reports were issued from the US that the Go Go Hamsters may have contained arsenic chemical compounds, the fears were squashed with news that the toys were not toxic after all.

The poison scare sent the toy industry into a temporary meltdown sending shares of its distributor, Character Group, down by 8pc in the UK.  Still, the £10 toys are well on their way to be being the largest Christmas toy this season with an estimated figure of 600,000 expected to be sold by Christmas in the UK alone.

Good Guide, the US consumer group that raised the alarm, may be in hot water however, as the US producers Cepia are considering filing a damages lawsuit against the company for their misleading public statements.

Character Group released a press statement that said Mr. Squiggles the hamster in question is perfectly safe and passed all of the toy industry tests with remarkable colours.

Executive chairman of the group Richard King stated that the company was rocked by the claims due to their disruptive nature and the timing of the claims but that it is all part of the market game.

Good Guide stated last weekend that they had found the chemical anomaly in the toy only to then recant their statement, saying there was some confusion over the figures and that their testing techniques were different.

After the claims were made public Character Group sent the toy through a series of tests that affirmed the toy is safe.

Woolies stock floods toy market

Toy specialist Character Group expects that there will be many children disappointed with Santa on Christmas morning, given the fact that some of the most anticipated toys of the season will be out of stock. In particular the group predicts that the Peppa Pig products and Go Go Pets will come up short this year.

At the same time, its results for the full year have still suffered a bit after Woolworths collapsed last year with stock meant for Woolworths from 2008 swamping the marketplace and diverting profits.

Thus, the company was forced to record that they suffered a pre-tax loss of £2m for the year out of which £1m was left over from Woolies, which was drastic compared to its report of a £5m profit the previous year. However, due to some good Christmas trading this year the company has a lot of hope towards the future.

Richard Hickinbotham a prominent analyst said that Character Group will start out in the market place in 2010 in a much better position than last year and with a new focus on their products they should be able to continue the profitability turn around that they exhibited in the second half of 2009.

Next year the group already plans to put together new ranges for the Doctor Who line along with a new Fireman Sam line and more Go Go Pets.

GOGO hamsters selling for high prices

This year’s top Christmas toy, The GO GO Hamster, has got parents as worked up as Tickle Me Elmo did in the past, as many parents are reporting stress from trying to obtain the toy and online sellers are racking up a large amount of business at hiked up prices.

Normally, the small cuddly toy costs about ten pounds, but greedy sellers are auctioning or selling the toy online for over six times that amount, because apparently parents without other choices are buying them at an alarming rate.

In fact, a complete set of the hamsters which include Mr. Squiggles, Pipsqueak, Chunk, and Num Nums went for about £150 on eBay a few days ago. The large turnaround online is due to the fact that most stores ran out of the popular toy with over a month to go until Christmas.

Owner of the toy shop chain Entertainment, Cary Grant, who is also the Toy Retailers Association chairman, stated that the reason prices are so high now is because many people loaded up on the toys before heading to eBay making them a scarce commodity in stores.

He said that while it is always hard to tell which toy will be ‘the toy’ of the year, speculators that compile lists actually usually result in people buying up large numbers of toys and hoarding them, which drives their value up online.

Grant also added that one of the reasons that the Go Go Hamsters may hold such a versatile appeal to parents as a gift for their children is due to the fact that they are the closest thing you can buy to a pet without worrying about the mess or responsibility that a pet typically entails