Frozen Elsa dolls, Minecraft figures and smart watches for children are set to be the top toys this Christmas, according to a "dream dozen" list of toys released today.
A group of youngsters gathered at the launch of the RDS Christmas Toy Show at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin this morning to get a sneak peak of the top 12 toys for Christmas 2014.
Patrick O’Sullivan, organiser of the Christmas Toy Show at the RDS, says Frozen mania is set to take over for the forthcoming festive season.
“The big toy, the one that’s really hard to get this Christmas is Frozen,” Mr O’Sullivan said. “Remember there was Furby, well this is the toy you cannot get this year.”
The Frozen Snow Glow Elsa Doll is just one of the many toys set to feature at the second annual Christmas Toy Show, which runs from November 22nd-30th at the RDS in Dublin.
The nine-day event will open with TV3's 90-minute live Christmas show, one week before Ryan Tubridy hits the screens with the annual RTÉ Late Late Toy Show.
Another toy to feature at this year’s RDS Christmas Toy Show is My Friend Cayla, an internet-savvy, blonde-haired doll, who claims to know all the answers to your questions.
“It’s a doll you hook up to an app,” explained Mr O’Sullivan. “You ask it questions and it answers through Wikipedia. It uses child friendly internet so it can all go to places that are approved by the app - it’s all very safe.”
Playing nearby, Abigail (7) wasn’t convinced by the doll. “She’s not very good at it ... she always says ‘I don’t know the answer to that question’.”
Not interested in the doll’s vast knowledge of world capitals, Abigail asked Cayla if she liked chocolate.
“She said ‘I like chocolate’, but how do we know? She might have been lying.”
Minecraft figures and Lego have also made it onto the dream dozen list.
“There’s always Lego, you couldn’t have a dream dozen without Lego because Lego is perennial,” said Mr O’Sullivan. “It doesn’t all have to be about technology.
“Technology is there and it fills a space, but children like to create and use their imagination.”
Top Twelve Toys for Christmas 2014 (in alphabetical order):
Boomer Dino €130
Bop it Beats €29
Frozen Snow Glow Elsa €45
Frozen Sparkle Dolls €21
Lego Benny’s Spaceship €105
Little Live Pets Birdcage €25
Kiddizoom Smart Watch €50
Minecraft figures €10
My Friend Cayla €75
Nerf N-Strike Elite Demolisher 2-in-1 €59
Toot-Toot Animals Safari park €50
Transformers Stomp and Chomp Grimlock
