Barbies, flying dolls and Squishmallows expected to be Christmas best sellers

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With less than a few weeks to go, children are gearing up for Christmas with their wish lists.

In the UK, the Toy Retailers Association unveiled its DreamToys top 20 toys for 2023.

Toy retailers and toy experts expect plush toys Squishmallows to be a top seller this Christmas. These cute, pillow-shaped toys are soft and squidgy and sell like proverbial hotcakes. They cost 8.99 pounds ($11) a piece for the 7.5-inch (19-centimetre) models.

Back in January, Squishmallows maker Jazwares was already ecstatic: “(The) plush market was up 30% roughly year on year overall as a category. We saw a 500% increase in sales of Squishmallows. So a huge part of that will be down to these lovely guys here. We sold close to 3.5 million units just in the UK last year, so 2022 and 2023 really is the year of Squishmallows,” said Alex Painter, senior marketing director of Jazwares.

At Hamley’s, London’s oldest toy shop, it’s PAW Patrol Mighty Movie – Skye Deluxe Vehicle by Spin Master which is getting a lot of attention. The toy is made up of an airplane with a PAW Patrol figure and two projectiles. Squeeze the handle to spin the wings of the plane and tilt it to hear the sound effects. It retails for 49.99 pounds ($61).

Another toy bound for the skies is L.O.L. Surprise! Magic Flyers by MGA Ent. The rechargeable doll can fly out of her box. It can be found in stores for 36.99 pounds ($45).

“You’re finding that obviously the character licensed products and it’s still huge with things such as Paw Patrol. And obviously the Barbie movie has had a huge effect, I mean Barbie would almost certainly have been in the top ten anyway. But the film has just made Barbie even bigger,” says Tim Murray, editor of Toys n Playthings magazine.

“So character licenses are a key trend. I think blind bags where you don’t quite know what you’re getting and you’re opening something that has a surprise element in it – that’s the LOL Magic Flyers. And so I think there is that’s one of the key trends as well.”

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

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[Father Christmas outside Hamleys with children and toys]

[Child with Santa impersonator and LOL Magic Flyers]

[Santa impersonator with elves and children]

[Squishmallows plush toys]

[Alex Painter, senior marketing director, Jazwares, looking at Squishmallows]

[Squishmallow being squeezed]

Alex Painter (interview): “(The) plush market was up 30% roughly year on year overall as a category. We saw a 500% increase in sales of Squishmallows. So a huge part of that will be down to these lovely guys here. We sold close to 3.5 million units just in the UK last year, so 2022 and 2023 really is the year of Squishmallows.”

[Painter hugging large deer Squishmallow]

Alex Painter (interview): “It’s not a toy in the normal sense. It’s not just the kids, you know, 18 to 24 in that gen-z demographic are really, really buying into this brand. So you can have a Squishmallow if you’re five years old, you can have a Squishmallow if you’re way, way into adulthood. So that is really what’s driving it as well, which also is in line with what we’re seeing in the market, where the kiddult space is now accounting for almost 30% share of the overall toy market as well.”

[Squishmallow dog]

[Christmas tree with top ten toys]

[Toys under tree]

[Child playing with Paw Patrol Skye Deluxe Vehicle]

[Echo Pollicott, five-year-old toy tester, launching LOL Magic Flyer]

[Pollicott launching LOL Magic Flyer]

[Pollicott launching LOL Magic Flyer by Christmas tree]

[Echo Pollicott, five-year-old toy tester, vox pop]

[Tim Murray, editor, Toys n Playthings magazine]

Tim Murray (interview): “You’re finding that obviously the character licensed products and it’s still huge with things such as Paw Patrol. And obviously the Barbie movie has had a huge effect, I mean Barbie would almost certainly have been in the top ten anyway but the film has just made Barbie even bigger. So character licenses are a key trend. I think blind bags where you don’t quite know what you’re getting and you’re opening something that has a surprise element in it – that’s the LOL Magic Flyers. And so I think there is that’s one of the key trends as well.”

[Child playing with roller skating Barbie]

[Child playing with Beast Lab Shark tank toy]

This script was provided by The Associated Press.

The related lesson for this video will be published next Wednesday.