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Onward Christmas soldiers: Ben Watkins, 2, gets to
grips with Robosapien, one of the 'top ten' toys tipped
to head this year's sales.
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Toy manufacturers are going back to the future with a relaunch of an
Eighties favourite this Christmas.
Cabbage Patch Kids, which caused riots in stores in 1983 as frantic
parents rushed to buy them, are predicted to be one of the
biggest-selling toys this year by the Toy Retailers Association.
The retro look continues with the re-emergence of Power Rangers,
which first burst onto our television screens ten years ago, and Star
Wars figures, popular once again with the recent release of two new
films and a new DVD box set.
And despite all the innovative
computer games on offer
children are still playing with toys their parents enjoyed as
youngsters. Christmas classics such as Cluedo and Monopoly are in the
association's top ten this year but for the first time in many years
Barbie has had her crown stolen by the street-wise Bratz dolls.
However, the annual top ten predictions, whittled down from 60, are
not always spot on. Last year three toys predicted by the retailers to
be bestsellers failed to make the grade. Bionicles, Boohbah and LeapPad
Learning System fell short of
being a hit with consumers.
In Christmas 2001 only four of the association's predicted top ten
products were successful. With 50 per cent of toy sales made in November
and December and ￡14 million taken in the seven days before Christmas,
the publicity generated from the top ten list is important for the
retail industry.
It is worth more than ￡2.1 billion annually; each child up to the
age of 14 receives toys worth an average of ￡179. Five-year-olds do
best with an annual haul of toys worth an average of ￡278.
Ben Green, chairman of the TRA, said: "We do this to try and
give the public information about the big toys of the year. Cabbage
Patch Kids are the biggest surprise. They were a late entry, launched in
August, and we were surprised how quickly they took off.
Natalie, 11, staring intently
at the Bratz and Cabbage Patch Kids displays, was asked for her top tip
of the year. "Cabbage Patch, definitely.
"They are tiny and cute and I love their dresses. If you are
upset maybe they will comfort you, they are definitely on my Christmas
list. But I would like a Bratz doll as well because they are more into
fashion."
Caption: Onward Christmas soldiers: Ben Watkins, 2, gets to grips
with Robosapien, one of the 'top ten' toys tipped to head this year's
sales.
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今年圣诞节，玩具制造商们将重返旧途，重新生产那些80年代最受欢迎的玩具。
1983年，点心宝宝曾经在商店中引起一片骚乱，疯狂的父母们竟相购买。英国玩具零售商协会预计今年点心宝宝将再次成为最热销的玩具之一。
随着《力量战队》重新走上荧屏，火箭类玩具将继续流行，10年前，《力量战队》首次出现在荧屏上；《星球大战》中的人物玩具随着两部新影片和一套DVD套装的发行再次流行起来。
尽管现在市场上有各种各样新颖的电脑游戏出售，孩子们仍然喜欢玩那些他们父母小时候喜爱的玩具。圣诞节的经典玩具如：妙探寻凶和大富翁都济身于今年玩具零售商协会最畅销玩具的前十名，但今年是巴比娃娃多年以来第一次把冠军的位子让给了“街头美少女”Bratz娃娃。
但是，每年从60种玩具里筛选出的预计排名前十的玩具并不总能荣登榜首。去年，销售商预计的三种畅销玩具：Bionicles积木、Boohbah毛绒玩具和LeapPad益智玩具就没能在消费者种获得成功。
2001年的圣诞节，在英国零售商协会预计排名前十的玩具产品只有四种玩具获得了成功。11月和12月的玩具销售额占玩具总销售额的50%，其中圣诞节前七天的销售额达到1400百万英镑，所以前十名榜单的宣传在销售业中起到了很重要的作用。
每年玩具的销售额达到21亿多英镑。每个14岁以下的儿童都会收到平均179英镑的玩具。5岁的儿童最多一年就可以收到平均278英镑的玩具。
英国玩具零售商协会主席本·格林说：“我们每年对排名前十的玩具进行预计是为了向公众提供今年流行玩具的信息。点心宝宝是最大的惊奇。它们在8月份才投放市场，却迅速成为畅销玩具，我们对此感到惊讶。”
11岁的纳塔利，专注地看着Bratz娃娃和点心宝宝。当被问到哪个是她今年最喜欢的玩具时，她说："当然是点心宝宝。"
“它们小小的，很可爱。我喜欢它们的衣服。在你心情烦躁的时候，它们会安慰你。毫无疑问，它们在我的圣诞节玩具名单上。但是我也喜欢Bratz娃娃，它们更时尚。”
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