From tea sets to Transformers, we find the gifts likely to be at the top of every kid's wishlist
From racing cars to Lego and soft toys to interactive tigers, we’ve compiled a list of 2017’s best Christmas toys.
Alongside the toys that are widely tipped to sell out, we’ve also handpicked some less obvious choices from smaller retailers, which we think are equally deserving of a place on Christmas lists this year. Each of the following have been put through their paces by myself, my husband and our two boys (five-and-a-half, and three), and cover a recommended age range from birth to around 14.
Although there is some variation in the overall value for money we believe these toys offer, there is nothing on this list that we wouldn’t recommend – after lots of researching, shortlisting and testing, this is the final cut.
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The early Christmas toy buzz has tipped Luvabella to be the
“Hatchimal of 2017” and I’m sure there are many parents keen to avoid
being caught up in a repeat of last year’s hatching-egg-based drama when
demand totally outstripped supply. So, what’s all the fuss about? Well,
alongside the fact Luvabella moves, talks and plays just like a real
baby, her real selling point is the way that she interactively responds.
Tickle her tummy and she giggles, give her a bottle and she will
“drink”, invest time in talking to her and she will learn up to 100 new
words. She’ll even play peekaboo with you. When it comes to “lifelike”
dolls I always think there’s a fine line between cool and creepy, but
there was nothing Chucky-esque about Luvabella – in fact, we were all
quite taken with her. She also doesn’t come with colic, so that’s a
bonus.
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As a household, we’ve accumulated several lightsabers over the last
couple of years and although each model has had its merits, I’d say this
one was by far the most fun. Its USP is that you can decide, depending
on whether you’re in a goodie or a baddie mood, whether you want to
fight with a blue Jedi blade or a red Sith blade. As with all their
other weaponry, the constant swishing and whooshing around of the blade
in close proximity to the television did put me on edge, but there’s
denying that this is a cool toy for any Star Wars fan.
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I don’t think I could love this set any more if I tried. I should say
– full disclosure – that I am a huge fan of the film (both the original
and the latest one) and as luck would have it, my Beauty & The
Beast enthusiasm appears to have rubbed off on my five-year-old. In
fact, both the kids enjoyed acting out “afternoon tea”, though as usual
they added their own spin by pretending that The Beast had knocked the
tray over. With four cups including the delightful Chip, and a talking
Mrs Potts (“Would you like a pot of tea, dear?”), this would make a
wonderful Christmas gift and is, in my opinion, extremely reasonably
priced. Batteries included.
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This cool little robot friend is in the same pre-school learning
category as Fisher-Price’s Code-A-Pillar, which was a big hit last year.
With three modes of play, Movi asks questions, prompts directions and
encourages children to move along with him, helping to engage their
critical thinking skills. “Movi Says”, his own version of Simon Says,
provided a great source of amusement in our house because despite being
suitable for children aged three and over, I’m 30 and still got caught
out shaking my head when Movi hadn’t said. A wonderful example of a toy
that is both educational and fun, with a reasonable price tag, this is
perhaps one to circle in the toy catalogue and wave under the noses of
grandparents.
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The newest edition of the hit robotic battle-racing experience, this
app-controlled flexible racing track incorporates all the fun of the
original Anki kit but with a Fast & Furious theme. My kids
were a bit too young to truly appreciate all that the kit had to offer
but the wow factor wasn’t lost on them and my husband, who effectively
remains a 10-year-old at heart when it comes to toys like this, rated
this one very highly. In fact, he said several times how he would have
absolutely loved one “as a child” (hmmm) and how it knocked spots off
Scalextric. Plus points included how hassle-free it was to set up, its
super-quick car-charging time and the overall sleekness of the app.
Upgrading or expanding the set doesn’t come cheap – extra cars alone
cost the best part of £50 – but there are hours of fun to be had here.
“For children”, obviously.
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SmartMax encourages children to explore the world of magnetism by
building their own structures, and the XL version of the construction
kit contains a larger size of metal ball compared to the original
version, making it safe (and not a choking hazard) for children over the
age of one. Though not a brand new toy, we’d not used SmartMax before
and were pleasantly surprised, both by how easy it was to use and how
much the boys enjoyed creating things. This kit we tested was enough to
keep them busy for a good hour and a quick browse online tells me that
it’s easy and relatively inexpensive to add to the fun with SmartMax Xtension sets.
The large pieces also made it painless to pick up and put back in the
box when playtime was over and never once did I end up with a piece
impaled on the underside of my foot, so it’s a thumbs up from me.
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Stacking cubes with a difference, each of these beautifully-designed
boxes houses an accompanying animal. Our three-year-old took great
delight not only in stacking the cubes and then knocking them over but
also in matching up the animals with their correct houses and then
playing with the boxes individually, almost like little kennels. As all
the cubes fit neatly inside one another, these are also a great
space-saving toy and a nice addition to any nursery. At under £15, they
also make a good stocking-filler.
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The Air Patroller was one of last year’s favourites, and with Paw
Patrol continuing to increase in popularity I am sure there will be
another variation to add to the set in 2018. Our three-year-old was more
excited about this toy than any of the others and although I am sure
his excitement was in part down to him recognising the characters and
the overall branding from the telly (both my kids are an advertiser’s
dream), he genuinely seemed to enjoy using the drop-down wheels to
transform the Patroller from a sea to a land vehicle. With flashing
lights, sound effects, a detachable anchor and a rescue ATV vehicle for
Ryder, this will be a welcome addition to any young Paw Patrol fan’s
collection.
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Sometimes it feels like the only toys my children are interested in
playing with are plastic, noisy and in need of batteries. This is not
one of those toys and the sight of my boys engrossed in their own
make-believe farm scenarios was a welcome one. Though not cheap (the
animals, play mat, farmers and tractor are all sold separately, with the full package option coming
in at £181) the timeless appeal of toys like this tends to mean they
can be stored away or handed down to younger siblings. Even without all
the accessories, the farm itself provides a useful base for games
involving the mismatch of figures children tend to accumulate – at one
stage I witnessed our entire Sylvanian rabbit family having tea with
Postman Pat in the barn.
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From the fifth instalment of the Transformers film series, Autobot
Sqweeks is a small bot with motion and sound effects, plus the option of
either dance or blaster modes (he comes with a blaster accessory). The
remote-controlled Sqweeks made us all smile and was a big hit with our
five-year-old who said, “cool!” a lot, which is praise of the highest
order. Although I don’t think Sqweeks has the lasting appeal of some of
the other toys on this list, he certainly has the entertaining present
factor and I can imagine him raising giggles with his dance moves on
Christmas Day.
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A perfect gift for any little performer, this karaoke toy allows kids
to sing along to their favourite tunes properly by removing or reducing
the vocals from the original track, which can be played via a 3.5mm
jack. The vocal muffling tool seemed more successful on some tracks than
it was others but on the whole it worked very effectively.
Additionally, this set features a built-in recorder, several built-in
songs, a disco light and a voice-changing function. The icing on the
cake for my two was the audience sound effect as this aided their game
of “Glastonbury”, where they like to pretend they are playing the
Pyramid Stage. I did feel like I needed to go and have a lie down after
hearing two small people wailing their way through several chart songs,
but if you have children who have set their sights on being a pop star
then this is pretty much the dream toy. Available in pink or black.
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We all fell a little bit in love with Tyler the playful tiger cub.
With over 100 sound-and-motion combinations, he responds to voice and
touch and is incredibly soft – at one stage I had him on my lap while
watching the telly and it was quite honestly like having a pet. Both our
boys spend quite a lot of time playing with teddies anyway and Tyler
was like an interactive extension of that. I’m still undecided about
whether or not he does quite enough to fully justify the price tag – I’d
say Luvabella wowed us more in that sense – but this is a gorgeous toy
and a great contender for the Christmas Day “big present”. He really is
very cute. Requires batteries but Tyler is otherwise fully programmed
and ready to go.
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There is a lot to like about this wooden market stall. Firstly, it
comes with all the accessories shown: fruit, vegetables, sign, clock,
scales, till, chalk, play money and paper shopping bags. This means that
it can be set up in all its glory ready for a Christmas morning
surprise. It is also easy for children to customise if they want to
change the direction of the game slightly – my two decided to start
selling packets of crisps alongside the fruit and vegetables and
although I initially tried to explain that there was nothing very “green
market” about a packet of Wotsits, in the end I left them to it. It is
one of only a few toys I have seen them play with together – properly
together without wrestling – and as an extra bonus it looks great (we
don’t have the luxury of a playroom so this was erected in the living
room and it didn’t offend my senses like some of the large plastic
structures we’ve owned). If you’re looking for a shared toy to buy
siblings, this a good bet.
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If you know someone who will have (or is likely to have!) a new-born
baby at Christmas, it can be difficult to know what to buy – I know this
because I’m expecting my third baby the week before Christmas and have
already had friends and family comment that they don’t know whether or
not to buy him anything. Let’s be honest, anything bought for a baby who
is less than a couple of months old is really a gift for the parents
and that’s where Ollie the Owl comes in – if you’re going try and give
them something useful you may as well give them the gift of sleep. With
four comforting sounds and a built in CrySensor technology, which
reactivates the soothing noises should the baby stir, the idea with
Ollie is that he will lull the baby to sleep and, having had two
children who have responded well to white noise to help them drift back
off to the land of nod, I’d say Ollie is a pretty thoughtful present. He
is also charming enough to take pride of place in the cot (after the
baby, obviously).
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Inspired by the recent Disney Pixar film Cars 3, Movie Moves
Lightening McQueen reacts to motion and goes forward, backward, left,
right and even upside down. He also has working headlights and
taillights, and eyes that move. The overall look of this car was enough
to impress our three-year-old and his face lit up further when the car
started talking (“just like in the film, mum!”). Considering the price,
we felt this one offered quite a lot.
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One of several LEGO Ninjago movie sets, this kit allows you to ride
the Green Ninja Mech Dragon into battle against the Green Ninja's evil
father, Garmadon. Lego is always a winner in our house and despite this
set being a bit too complex for our boys to build on their own (the
suggested age range is eight to 14), they enjoyed helping to build it
with our supervision and were surprisingly gentle when subsequently
playing “Green Ninjas” with it. I am sure these sets will be a popular
Christmas-list choice and fans of Ninjago will not be disappointed.
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The team at Cornish-based organic clothing company, Frugi, have
developed a whole squad of “Frooglies” including Cosmic the Lion and
Radish the Rabbit. As soft toys go, these are pretty awesome, with each
toy comprising different sensory textures for little hands to explore.
Bonus points go to Frugi for stuffing these with recycled polyester and
making them machine washable. Though predominately aimed at babies or
toddlers, Doodles the Crocodile found his way into our five-year-old’s
bed and both children declared that they wanted one. The perfect toddler
stocking-filler.
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The second brick-based toy on this list, the 600-piece Sunshine
Catamaran looks set to be a Lego Friends favourite this year. Aimed at
seven- to 12-year-olds, the three-level Catamaran displays the kind of
lifestyle I quite fancy – sun loungers, ice creams, a newspaper and a
personal water scooter complete with a banana boat. It also comes with
three mini-doll figures and two dolphins. As always with Lego, a lot of
thought and detail has gone into this set and we greatly enjoyed testing
it.
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Still riding high on last year’s Christmas success, Hatchimals are
set to feature in letters to Father Christmas across the land once
again. The Glittering Garden version is the newest hatch batch, with
each sparkling egg containing one of two interactive pets who must be
loved and cared for inside the egg before they are ready to hatch. Once
out of the egg, our boys enjoyed teaching their new friend to walk and
dance. I was initially a bit unsure what all the fuss was about but the
watching and patiently nurturing of the toy reminded me of the
old-school Tamagotchi I used to have and I can see the appeal. Alongside
the novelty value of the hatching process, the creature itself is quite
cool and I can see why children have started to collect them.
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Sarah Turner is The Unmumsy Mum. Her book is out now
IndyBest product reviews are unbiased, independent advice you can trust. On some occasions, we earn revenue if you click the links and buy the products, but we never allow this to bias our coverage. The reviews are compiled through a mix of expert opinion and real-world testing.
From racing cars to Lego and soft toys to interactive tigers, we’ve compiled a list of 2017’s best Christmas toys.
Alongside the toys that are widely tipped to sell out, we’ve also handpicked some less obvious choices from smaller retailers, which we think are equally deserving of a place on Christmas lists this year. Each of the following have been put through their paces by myself, my husband and our two boys (five-and-a-half, and three), and cover a recommended age range from birth to around 14.
Although there is some variation in the overall value for money we believe these toys offer, there is nothing on this list that we wouldn’t recommend – after lots of researching, shortlisting and testing, this is the final cut.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS IN babyproduct24.com
1. Luvabella Doll: £150.99, Amazon
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2.Star Wars Bladebuilders Path of the Force Lightsaber: £38.99, Amazon
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3. Beauty & The Beast Tea Set: £27.99, Amazon
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4. Fisher-Price Teach 'n' Tag Movi: £39.99, Smyths
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5. Anki Overdrive Fast & Furious Edition: £169.99, Toys R Us
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6. SmartMax Magnetic Discovery Start: £29.56, Amazon
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7. Djeco Topanifarm Cubes for Infants: £16, Brightminds
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8. Paw Patrol Sea Patroller Vehicle: £66.99, Amazon
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9. GLTC Walnut Toy Farm: £50.40, GLTC
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10. Transformers: The Last Knight RC Sqweeks: £29.99, Smyths
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11. VTech Kidi Super Star: £39.99, Argos
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12. FurReal Roarin’ Tyler: £93.99, Amazon
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13. Green Market Shop: £99.99, Argos
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14. Ollie the Owl: £34.99, Amazon
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15. Disney Pixar Cars 3 Movie Moves Lightening McQueen: £19.99, Smyths
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16. LEGO Ninjago Movie Green Ninja Mech Dragon: £36.99, Smyths
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17. Frooglies: £25, Frugi
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18. Lego Friends Sunshine Catamaran: £44.97, Amazon
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19. Hatchimals Glittering Garden Penguala: £49.98, Toys r us
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The Verdict: New toys for 2017
There is a lot of hype surrounding the Luvabella doll and, having tested her, we can see why. The SmartMax Magnetic Discovery set was also a bit of a revelation and would make a great addition to any toy cupboard. Our third top choice for Christmas 2017 has to be the brand new Fast & Furious Anki Overdrive – it’s a budget-blower but it felt like we were playing with a toy from the future. Very impressive indeed.Sarah Turner is The Unmumsy Mum. Her book is out now
IndyBest product reviews are unbiased, independent advice you can trust. On some occasions, we earn revenue if you click the links and buy the products, but we never allow this to bias our coverage. The reviews are compiled through a mix of expert opinion and real-world testing.
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