Kids’ retro favourites return for Christmas 2016

Media Release /
27 November

Kids’ retro favourites return for Christmas 2016

Kiwi kids will be firing nerf darts around, caring for animatronic pets and leaving Lego underfoot on Christmas morning, according to Trade Me’s top 10 children’s Christmas gifts list.

Trade Me’s Logan Mudge said they’ve been researching the site’s data, national and international trends to help predict what’s going to be in the Christmas stockings of New Zealand children. “In amongst our top ten most popular toys for this Christmas is a clear resurgence, or reimagining, of some old favourites with retro toys like Sylvanian Families, Furby, Rubik’s cubes and scooters all in the mix.

“Scooters have been a favourite of kids around the world for a century, but especially since the 70s and 80s and they’re still cool in 2016. Meanwhile, it’s pretty amazing to see the ongoing popularity of everyone’s favourite Japanese anthropomorphic animals, Sylvanian Families, has made a huge comeback.

“Many parents will be shocked to know that Rubik’s cubes are celebrating their 40th anniversary and are experiencing a huge revival.”

Another theme of this year’s top ten is animatronic pets, both real and imaginary. Furby, FurReal Friends and Hatchimals all appear to be must-haves this year. “Kids seem to be very keen on raising their own toy pet friend this year. The five species of Hatchimals are one of the ‘it’ toys around the world this year with reports they are virtually impossible to get hold of in North America and the UK. The message to parents is: don’t muck around.”

Hatchimals are imaginary animals which hatch from an egg and need to be cared for so they grow older. “For the uninitiated, Hatchimals are a Tamagotchi on steroids. The idea is to nurture your egg, make it hatch then look after it and teach it how to sing, walk and talk.”

Mr Mudge said Lego was a permanent fixture on the Trade Me kids’ toys Christmas list, the only surviving toy brand from last year’s list. “While many toys are making a comeback this year, Lego has never left. It’s endured for so long through its amazing hook-ups with other brands, constantly being reinvented and staying relevant across many generations of children.”

He said the Lego Technics range was capturing clicks and keyboards, as well as a pre-Christmas flurry to get hold of Lego Advent calendars. “While these newer extensions are very popular this year, pretty much any type of Lego is a safe bet for Christmas. The little bricks are a permanent fixture in our top 50 most searched terms each week and explode in popularity throughout the Christmas period.”

Top kids’ gifts – 2016
1. Hatchimals
2. Lego Technic
3. Nerf blasters
4. Paw Patrol playsets
5. FurReal Friends
6. Sylvanian Families
7. Shopkins: Happy Places
8. Scooters
9. Furby Connect
10. Rubik’s cube

Last year’s Trade Me Kids’ Christmas list:
1. Lego – ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Friends’
2. Trampolines
3. Battery powered ride on cars
4. Swing sets
5. Disney Frozen costumes and dolls
6. Kinetic sand
7. Quadcopters/mini drones
8. Wooden Train tables
9. Sand and water play tables
10. Pop up tents

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