Me-mo-mo is one of the top 10 toys in terms of play value and educational benefit, according to Dr Toy, so when it went on Santa's list this year, Santa was delighted. But Santa paid £60 only to discover that Me-mo-mo is available in the US for the equivalent of £40 - more than 30 per cent less.

Rockabye Choo-Choo is another top 10 toy, according to the Dr Toy awards (www.drtoy.com) and in the US it costs £30. Since this doll is on the Irish top ten list this year, what are Irish parents paying for it?

I'm also interested to know what you've paid for the Harry Potter castle, Hogwart's Hall, which costs £75 in the US. Other top 10 toys in the Irish market this year are PlayStation 2 (under £250 in the US) and the Barbie cash register (£42 over there), up to 18 per cent cheaper than here. Singing Bob the Builder, GameBoy Advance, Power Ranger Supertrain, Megazorb and Barbie Nutcracker are also on the list. Send me your experience and we'll do some comparison shopping.

Kholmquist@irish-times.ie