whilst we have shut out online store, we still continue to sell collectable and hard to find items via our Amazon and eBay portals, and will post updates or all items including other products for sale via this blog over the course of time

Thursday, 30 June 2011

Licensing Expo June 2011 - got me thinking... Lego & Beyond



I'll not bore you with the details of the Licensing Expo from Las Vegas that was held June 14-16 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Centre in Las Vegas, hey I wasn't even there... and its pretty routine standard licensing stuff, but the idea behind big licenses, like Disney & Star Wars basically franchising themselves out to other big brands got me thinking about the current licenses and licenses I'd like to see in the future. Mainly Lego!

In 1999, Lego was a brand that sold sets based around their own brands, the City range, etc,  Lego was struggling somewhat to break back into the top tens of the toy market, it was selling product but couldn't grow market share. That was until the licensing juggernaut of Star Wars and particularly Star Wars Episode I took off.


Now, I am a massive Star Wars fan, and in 1999 when the long awaited Phantom Menace movie came out, we knew, as fans that it meant an onslaught of new toys and collectables, little did we know that Lucas sold his sole on this movie and Licenced Star Wars and the Phantom Menace logo and imagery to all and sundry. You name it it had a Star Wars product, promotion and official licence. 

You could, just on this movie alone, base an entire collecting craze, which some people did. I know i have a load of Episode I rubbish cluttering my loft!! (Including empty crisp packets, cereal cartons, and drinks cans). 

This licensing push for the Star Wars brand landed at Lego's door and it was perhaps they who of all of the other manufacturers and retailers have reaped most from that one movie and the licensing of the Star Wars name. Many manufacturers and companies jumped at the chance to have Star Wars emblazoned on their product and paid over the odds, and produced way too much product, Lucas and Lucasfilm were laughing all the way to the bank while it broke some of these companies and they ended up folding or being bought out. Lucas even realised by the time Attack of the Clones arrived in 2002 that even he'd overdone the marketing in 1999...and held back.

Now the licensing of Star Wars on Lego was a different matter. Lego had never entered the licensed product arena before, but it must have known that the potential was there for a super range, that would not only stretch over the Phantom Menace in 1999, but also to the promised two prequel sequels that Lucas had penciled in over the next 6 years. It also saw potential in the other movies, made between 1977 and 1983, which were especially in 1999 still massive. So Lego went ahead and signed up with Star Wars. We'll never know how much they paid or what monies were promised, but I bet Lego don't care. The launch of Star Wars Episode I Lego coupled with the Midnight Madness events that triggered fans buying anything star wars in 1999 was a major success and Star Wars Lego sets sold in their millions. Fans could buy all the Scenes and characters from Episode I and cleverly from the previous three movies. Name a character and you could buy the minifigure in a nice little set, from Jabba to Boba, they were all there.


Once the success of this range had been sealed, Lego embarked on its most prosperous period, and its still in it. Lego has not looked back and has since licensed the following: Batman, Spiderman, Cars 2, Winnie The Pooh, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, Speed Racer, Indiana Jones, Prince of Persia, Avatar - the Last Airbender, Thomas the Tank Engine, Spongebob Squarepants, and probably a few more I've missed. Most of these licenses stretch to several movies including 7/8 Harry Potters, and the product range is ultimately endless. Star Wars is in Series 3 of the clones wars Cartoon series and is still racking in the cash. Some licenses don't fair as well, as i think the Prince of Persia & Avatar ranges may have been less successful, but that's down to the movie, and these were probably the only real duds.



The Cars 2 licence will be massive and don't expect to see these sets around for long once the movie takes off this month. 

Last year Lego also launched its own kind of License in its Ninjago brand, this is one brand that Lego is keen to push and ensure it doesn't lose focus on its own products. Its revamped its City range, and has relaunched (so to speak) its Space range in conjunction with NASA. The Ninjago range is really taken off and its down to the collectable nature of the product and different aspects, linked with trading cards, battles and gaming.

And its obviously no surprise that the minifigure range, now in series 4 has been so successful, another own brand, its been based upon the collectable aspect of the licenced ranges, whereby fans and collectors pay premium prices on the secondary market for just the licensed minifigures! I don't think we'll see individual licenced minifigures on sale, Lego is doing just fine thank you with its own series of minifigures. It sells the licenced magnets range and these are very popular.

So what's next for Lego and its licences. Star Wars was an inspired link up, other have been less so, Harry Potter in the early years lends itself to Lego, but the latter movies getting darker have tended to not fit as well with the fun aspect of Lego. 



What would I like to see from Lego, well obviously a James Bond range. The next movie is number 23 in the series, so there is plenty of material to work with. There are hundreds of great and eccentric characters, loads and loads of vehicles, playsets and locations - imagine Scaramaga's Island Lair as a play set! (imagine a three nippled Lego minifigure!) There are so many options. Whether Bond is a licence that has approached Lego, its uncertain, whether if it did it would fit in with Lego's ideals, of Child friendliness. I think so, well up to movie 21... Other licences have been mentioned before, including The Simpsons, with so many characters, yellow being the original skin tone of Lego figures, its a great fit. There are many movie franchises out there, X-Men, Marvel etc, Some tend to go the glowingly popular Mega Bloks brand, including Halo and Iron Man. It is possible that they have different values to those of Lego. Some jump ship and go to Lego from Mega.

Lego now knows what its doing and can pick and choose, some licences obviously have failed to be a success as expected, but others have been so successful that a whole secondary market exists just to feed the collectors. Lego now has managed to integrate a large range of Licences and probably has more on its plate now than ever before, but its own core range is still strong, its diversifying into real collectors items with its Architecture range, and larger scaled Licenced products. The £300 Death Star Lego toy was out of the reach of most kids and parents!! 



Lego isn't alone in reaping the rewards of licenced products, but as a stand alone brand it has probably benefited most from its tie ins. Licenses come and go, Cars 2 is everywhere, from Scalextric to Leappad. Disney are the kings of licenses.


I wonder if a brand like Playmobil is ever interested in Licensing. So far its kept clear, and is producing an ever growing range of popular toys, and has its own in house ranges, like its Agents series just launched, but I'm sure it could benefit from a licence tie in, it might be that Lego has sole licence rights at certain types of product - and whether Lego and Playmobil fall under the same categorisation I'm not sure. The Mega Bloks brand is challenging, as is the new player on the block, Character Building, with its Doctor Who & HM Forces ranges. Lego is not under threat, and in fact is perhaps the template for development of licences within this type of market. Brands like Barbie and Hornby (Scalextric) are heavily involved in Licences, with new ranges of Dolls featuring popular girl brands and bands, and sets of trains and slot racing moving even further into the realms of Licenced product, which has seen the behemoth of Star Wars place down a marker. See my previous post on news of Star Wars Scalextric

Let me know what you think, and what licences Lego or others should go into.










Hamleys Christmas Toy List



Well we've already had Tesco's tips for the top ten for Christmas, and all was good with that list, but they are not solely a Toy Retailer, so when the most famous toy shop in the world makes its top ten predictions for the festive period we should take more notice. Hamleys unveiled its predictions for Christmas 2011 with not just one list but several, and some do include 'Hamleys Excluisves' unsurprisingly.


I'd also like to take a bit of credit for predicting that the ride in Dalek would be in the favourites a long time back as one of my earliest blogs highlighted this toy. anyhow take a look, some are pretty easy to predict, and some less so.



The top ten list in full is as follows:

Cars 2 Fully Loaded McMissile (Mattel)
Transformers 3 Mech Tech Leader Asst (Hasbro)
Furreal Cookie (Hasbro)
Kidizoom Twist (VTech)
Rock on Elmo (Hasbro)
Ninjago Fire Temple (Lego)
Nerf Vortex Nitron (Hasbro)
Moshi Monsters Talking Plush (Vivid)
iBall3 (HTI)
Barbie Fashionistas (Mattel)


The top film and TV inspired toys are as follows:

Dr Who Build Your Own Screwdriver (Character)
Light-up Rapunzel doll (Mattel)
Cars 2 1:24 R/C Lightning McQueen (Character)
Queen Anne's Revenge (Lego)
Transformers Ultimate Optimus Prime (Hasbro)
Cars Big Bentley Bust Out (Lego)
Justin Bieber Singing Doll (Vivid)
Dance Star Mickey (Mattel)
Monster High Laguna Hydration Station (Mattel)

Hamley's pick of the 'finest' toys are below:

Dr Who Ride-in Dalek (Kids@play)
Bugatti Type 57 SC atlantic Coupe 1938 (John Ayrey)
Concorde Collectors Pack (Bravo Delta)
Disney Princess Ultimate Dream Castle (Mattel)
Smokey the Fire Engine (Mattel)
Sylvanian Families Highfields Farm (Flair)
Fijit Friends (Mattel)
LeapPad (Leapfrog)
Technic Supercar (Lego)
Air Swimmers (Wow Stuff)
My Keepon (Wow Stuff)
3ch Gyro Spy Cam Helicopter (Silverlit)
AppBlaster (Apptoys)

Finally, the top traditional toys are as follows:

Rosie Ragdoll (Hamleys)
Pudding - Christmas Bear (Hamleys)
Magnetic Fish Pond (Cheatwell)
Blow Football (Cheatwell)
Tiddledey Winks (Cheatwell)
Monopoly Nostalgia Edition (Hasbro/Esdevium)
Risk Nostalgia Edition (Hasbro/Esdevium)
Cluedo Nostalgia Edition (Hasbro/Esdevium)
Timberkits Dragon (Timberkits)
Star Wars Millennium Falcom (Lego)
Wooden Train (Hamleys)
Grenadier Guardsman (Hamleys)
Xylophone (Hamleys)
Chester Rocking Horse (Hamleys)

so its a pretty comprehensive list, and in all honesty if you are shopping at Hamleys for your presents you sure can afford the higher end priced toys, the Dalek alone is £200, most of the Lego sets are £100+, and I'd not even like to guess how much the exclusive Hamleys products are, but hey, they do know toys, so take note, and start saving.

You could always check out some online toy retailers - hint hint!


Wednesday, 22 June 2011

The Trouble with Girls

In my previous post regarding what to get for my daughter's birthday I alluded to the fact that 9 year old girls are difficult to buy TOYS for, and have not changed my thoughts much since speaking to her regarding her upcoming 9th birthday, in July.

Is the toy market the domain for boys? On the surface it might appear so, but when you look at the range of toys available for girls maybe not. 

The key problem is that the boys market for toys remains strong through the all the key age bands, from 0-5, 6-10 and 11-15's. With websites like Firebox, PlayBoystoys all catering for grown up boys, and selling a large range of toys that younger boys would like too. For example, the Nerf range is popular with 6 year olds and 15 year olds, and 35 year olds alike. I'm not sure the same could be said of any particular girls range.

James May's Toy Stories series on the BBC has also highlighted the fact that boys, even in their latter years fondly remember their old toys and occasionally dig out their cars, trains, Lego, etc,. and play with them, or invest time with thier sons renovating a Dinky Car or building Lego. 

Boys it appears are more likely to continue and remain playing with toys forever. I know i have as much Lego as my son...

As I approach my 40th year, and embark on launching a fully fledged toy store online, it is done with the sense of wanting to be part of 'toys', because I love them so much, and want to be involved with the nostalgia in 20-30years time when programmes look back at the toys of today and my kids can say 'do you remember playing with that', or 'I had one of those', knowing I was selling those toys to kids is just satisfying... 

Women of similar age to me will today be saying that about today's retrospective programmes that look back at the toys they played with, but will the girls of today in 20-30 years be looking back and remembering? I'm not so sure. Its not that girls toys won't have a sense of nostalgia, its more likely that girls won't really remember toys, rather other things about their childhood.

Why is this so? Well my wife and I have spent many an hour discussing our own children and their playing habits. And we've come up with a couple of theories. Mostly nothing to do with the offering of toys on the market.

Firstly if we look at our own childhood, kids played with toys, and adults went out to work. Mum's cooked tea, Dads came home late, Adults were adults and kids were clearly defined as kids. 

You didn't wear anything your Dad or Mum did and didn't own any products your parents owned. You didn't want any association with your parents.

Today its different, adults have playthings, and kids want them too, and kids want to be young adults. 

When we were kids, there were 4 channels on the TV, probably a video player (hired from Rumbelows) underneath, and a couple of blank cassettes with films recorded on them, you didn't buy pre-recorded videos in them days! 

I remember when ET came out at our local video shop they sold it off after its time on rental - it was £80, for an over used VHS copy in a rental box! No one owned pre-recorded videos.



When the Walkman came out my mum and dad didn't own one, they didn't have the time, it was a product for kids & teenagers, to keep them quite on car journeys. Kids recorded music off the radio on tape and listened to it quietly. There was no video console, unless your richer neighbour had managed to get Pong. Kids went to arcades to play games - which at the time were the most advanced we'd ever seen. Arcades have mainly closed down, as today kids veg at home...


Today, kids want and own the same products as their parents. What's the target market for an I-pod? Even if Apple believe its 15+, kids in my daughter's class have I-pods, but so do I and so does my mother, who is approaching 65.

Likewise, with mobile phones, which have become the domain of tweens and beyond, the lines of age have blurred. 

Clothing too is now transcending age bands. Shops like Claire's Accessories are attractive to girls of 6 and over, but also are places that young women go to get an accessory for a party, wedding or night out. Similar things are happening at clothes outlets like Hennes, who sell Hello Kitty ranges from 0-15 and then in the adult range too. Girls want to look like their older reference points, Rhianna, Kylie, Katy Perry, Jessie J etc., and their older sisters, and even their mothers.

If we compare our household to that of my household of the 70's. We had 1 TV, plus my sister and I got bought a B&W set when I was 7, it had a tuning dial - no remote! We had one video machine (rented), and one music player. I owned a record player, and a Walkman, when i was 14. (1985). we didn't own any games consoles, until I got a handheld Pacman game in the mid 80's, it only played Pacman and ran on batteries.

Today in our house we own 5 TV's, one in each of the three bedrooms, a main one in the lounge and a spare in the kitchen. We have two blu-ray players, 2 dvd players with the kids TV's, twin car dvd players (for journeys), 3 genuine i-pods, 2 other mp3 players, 2 x DSi consoles, 1 PSP console, 1 x PS3 console, 1 x Wii console, 4 laptops, 2 netbooks, 4 mobile phones, 200+ DVD's & Blu-ray, and a lot more besides. All of which is paid for by the parents, but is accessible and played with by everyone in the household. Kids use the Internet, have a mobile (for emergencies at the moment), have mp3 players, a netbook, access to the consoles. 

Is it our fault that, as kids, who grew up during a time of technology growth, which has lead to this over indulgence in products that we use and encourage our kids to use too. Have we lead them down a path that ultimately leads them away from playing with real toys too early. 

I think with girls its possibly the case. Boys still play with toys, and Dads still enjoy engaging with their sons and their play, guns and building are still manly things to do, even through play and this is even with the distraction of computer games. It may be that boys stop playing with toys between the ages of 13 -16 but they come back, and buy gadgets and toys like RC cars, Scalextric when they have their own disposable income, boys (men) buy toys forever. 

Which brings me back to the girls, what can we do to get them to engage with playing with toys. Is it the case that mum's and aunties need to encourage play? Or do we need to encourage play in other ways. No self respecting 8 year old girl wants to dress up and play shops, they want to go to the shops and buy make up and dress up nice for real. 

Girls have recently gotten into crazes like boys, but these are not long term play products, quick throwaway collectables that trend really quickly, and do not engage interactive play. Iwako, squinkies etc,. are fun and cheap but ultimately do nothing except pile up in school bags, and get lost.


I do think some of the cleverer brands are getting into the fashion conscious girls, and flying in the face of protests that clothing is sexualising our kids, by making products like Humarika, Monster High and Mattel's Fashionista ranges appeal to young girls who are interested in fashion, and music.


Fashion play doesn't have to be provocative to be enjoyed by girls, but it does have to reflect the world around us, and as such toy makers seem to be tapping into this market. After all what was Girl's World, other than a toy aimed at girls putting makeup on, and getting ready for a night out. And is it no less important to get girls interested in clothes and fashion, and dressing up dolls nicely, as it is to teach them about feeding babies and domestic chores, that baby and cooking ranges like Baby Anabel and Chad Valley aim to do?


Girls get stereotyped at a young age, and as they grow up they rebel against that, which is why toys that your parents don't really like become most wanted for the mid age child groups, toys like Bratz, and Monster High are often opposed to by parents but are loved by tween girls, and we need to realise this as parents. More grown up toys that involve fun things that girls enjoy doing should be encouraged, Harimuka is a prime example, and one that we will be buying for our daughter. There's no stopping the tide of technology and the Internet. We have to compete with this as toy buying parents, and we have to be savvy, many sites now produce ranges that link to the popular websites. 

It is a challenging time for parents of girls, for sure, and its only going to get more so, as technology gets more affordable and accessible and girls rebel against parents from a younger age than ever before. We have to embrace the fact that they want to be different, but also that they want to emulate us. A balance needs to be met, and perhaps we need to sit down and spend more time with our daughters to relate to them and help them enjoy their childhood, perhaps more so than ever before. 

It's certainly something to think about going forward, not only for parents but also for toy makers.



Thursday, 16 June 2011

Amazon Associates

Please check out the Amazon Associates links at the foot of this blog, its not just flogging any old stuff, its a selection of the toys and collectables WE currently hold, Mattval1 is our current Amazon seller name, so if you want quality and service you know who to buy from! Feel free to click and buy anything you like. Any questions can gladly be posted here.

New this week amongst others is: 

Monday, 6 June 2011

Slot Wars - Star Wars and Scalextric licence deal

Hornby who owns Scalextric has announced it year end figures. Now I know some of you find these things interesting, but for me the news that hit home most was the announcement that Scalextric has signed a licence agreement with the huge Star Wars franchise and plans to make Star Wars based Scalextric products. Now this probably means, Speeder Bikes, Land Speeders, X-Wings, Tie Fighters and most likely of all Pod Racers. Sounds super interesting and a sure fire big seller. Any news on actual product and launch dates will be posted here in the future.

Frank Martin, Chief Executive of Hornby:

"... business is in great shape. We are delighted that we have secured the worldwide licence for a range of Star Wars Scalextric products. As the films are converted into 3D format by Lucasfilm over the next few years, we anticipate that we will get an encouraging reaction to our new range of speeder bikes and X-wing fighters. We also have high hopes for our products associated with the new Disney/Pixar movie "Cars2" and have also secured the exclusive worldwide Master Toy licence rights to a new children's animated TV series 'Olly the Little White Van' which will soon be launched on ITV.

"Our range of London 2012 merchandise is now gathering real momentum. As we approach a year to go to the games, we are seeing a significant increase in sales. We are also benefiting from the increased distribution coverage.

"The team is very pleased that our supply chain is now delivering. Our major suppliers are working well and we are confident that they will support our growth ambitions in the UK and our overseas markets.

"Looking ahead, Hornby is in an excellent position. This is a very exciting time for us with the imminent launch of new products. The new licence wins have presented us with an outstanding opportunity to appeal to a new generation of hobbyists and represents a major opportunity for us to grow our business and deliver significant value for our shareholders."

good news for the future and should perhaps help the business grow again in 2011/2012.

Tesco's Announces Top Ten Toys for 2011


Tesco's has stolen a march on everyone else and predicted what Toys will be most popular this year at Christmas. Now I know Tesco stock a lot of toys so bear in mind that this list is what Tesco feel will be top toys, and most likely what they will be cramming their shelves with. As usual its a mix of a couple of new lines, and strong stallwart brands and products. Not sure if any will be hard to find, as i'm sure someone like Tesco will stock up on these.


1. Fijit

2. Kidizoom Twist Camera
3. Barbie Doggie Water Park
4. Transformers 3 Optimus Prime

5. Baby Annabell

6. Bob The Builder Construction Tower

7. Lego City Police Station

8. Bopit XT
9. Nerf N Strike Night Finder
10. Monopoly Banking

Wednesday, 1 June 2011

What to get two 9 year olds?

My two children have birthday's in July, both, 9, no not twins, before you ask. 

And we are facing a dilemma as parents as what to get them. 1 boy, 1 girl. 

Both are obviously still children and child like, with the ability to play and have fun, but also are at that age, whereby they want more mature 'playthings'.

When we were growing up, there were no computer games, I-pods, mobile phones, and 3 or at the most 4 channels on the TV. We were ultimately still kids wanting toys for our birthdays. But in the 21st century things have changed for 9 year old's and their wants for birthdays...

My son, still loves Lego, Bakugan, Pokemon, soldiers, war type toys, Star Wars, guns etc. He should be easy to buy for, but how easy is it to buy for a child who loves listening to music on a mp3 player, has three games consoles at his disposal, watches 50+ different TV channels? These are distractions that take away from playing and enjoying simple things like toys. 

Will a toy or range of toys be enough? 

This decision is not taken lightly anymore, buying for a child is a complex issue. 30 years ago when i was nine, i don't recall even being asked, i just got. Most likely Action Man, or some Lego, or some more cars. Today buying the wrong toy, for a maturing 9 year old boy can be disastrous. I know my son has grown out of Ben 10 - already, but he is still in the Ben 10 age bracket, my parents, and his other relatives might not know this and go buy him a Ben 10 toy, which he'll dismiss out of hand. But for cost conscious relatives buying a computer game upwards of £20 a time, is not always the solution, and do I want my son playing MORE computer games, when less is better? What to do?



I'm thinking that as summer is coming, outdoor type toys are the answer. Nerf have a superb range of role play and safe weapons. It moves the playability of guns that make sounds to actually firing stuff more real, boys (and Dads) love these sorta things. You only have to go to boystoys.com firebox.com or play.com to see what's on offer to older boys.

Another idea is to buy a car, but one that is remote controlled, giving the prospect of 'electronic' play with the same fun of traditional cars. I know RC is not new but again, its a growing area, that moves away slightly from branded licenced toys and is a bit different. Boys have always and will always love cars at whatever age, he may be too old now for Cars 2 merchandise, but Fast 5, is a different thing, and maybe the way forward.

There are plenty of cool boys outdoor toys, footballs, cricket, Razor Scooters, my son has also mentioned the desire for a Go Kart. This might be a present we can buy, but what of the smaller relative friendly presents, what do we tell them? 

Lego is still fun, and more complex sets even in the child friendly ranges of Star Wars & Pirates of the Caribbean are pretty cool, I even love these, and its my Birthday coming soon - here's hoping for the Queen Anne's Revenge!!! In my previous post, about action figures I suggested that this years glut of action friendly films will be a good market place for toys for boys, and I think personally that we won't have a problem buying something - even if its a Thor Hammer, or Jack Sparrow costume. Boys will always want to be boys and play, if you get it right!

Tbh, the issue for the lad, is not too difficult. There are TOYS for boys of all ages, I still love toys, and can play with computers and action figures / cars etc without dropping either. 

Girls on the other hand - now they are different.
If we think boys are growing up fast, lets look at the girls. My daughter doesn't want to play with 'things' anymore, unless its super small and can fit in her pocket, and is cute. And to be honest these are not toys, they are just the standard cute throwaway collectibles that change from one week to the next. Iwako, Squinkies & Gacha toys are not birthday present material.


Hello Kitty has transcended the age barriers but the toys are mainly aimed at the very young, with the fashion range aimed at Tweens and above. 

Dolls were traditionally designed for girls right up to age 12-13, but these appear to have gone out of fashion, with erm, fashion being in fashion. 

My daughter's favourite shop appears to be Claire's Accessories, with toys totally off the agenda. And as her friends grow up, she wants to be like them, and they don't play with toys either. 

Most of her day is spent on a laptop or with her head listening to Taylor Swift on her mp3 player. I wasn't into music until about 13, which is 4 years from her age now.  I'm not sure how to solve the girl aged 9 birthday present issue. I could go and buy clothes, jewelery , make up, which is what she wants, but I, also as a toy lover, seller and collector feel that she is still of an age that should and could still enjoy the pleasure of toys.

Perhaps the mature dolls, of popular music stars is the way to go. She loves music, I know there are ranges of Saturdays & One Direction dolls on the horizon. Bieber and JLS and even Princess Catherine dolls have been selling super well to all ages. Fashion, Music, Dolls - is this the answer?

Girls don't appear to care for smaller action figures or construction toys, like Lego. Soft toys are always easy but just end up cluttering the room, and with those that already take up space, we don't need any more! 

So what to do? Interactive games and toys are perhaps another way of engaging with 9 year old girls. The 'Mama' series of DS games are fun ways to encourage girls, but the flipside is that these are also are making them more mature. Traditionally girls toys like horses, puppies, cute and cuddly are still popular, but tend to come and go with trends, and friends.

Girls are also less attracted to outdoor toys that the boys like; guns and water games are out, as are overly sporty toys, and gadgets are not for girls, so much -  but perhaps if our young daughters are growing up we can make use of their skills and get them toys that are useful, there are plenty of 'design your own' type toys, bags, hats, jewelery, etc,. and still plenty of 'have the girls round' party type fun games. Books, are also an alternative, but hey this is a toy sellers blog...and we're trying to get girls back on side with toys...

The market is pretty saturated with toys for both boys and girls, and perhaps that's the problem for girls, there's too much and often too young to really appeal to the tweens, and unlike the boys, what the girls like today, won't be the same tomorrow, is it Katy Perry or Lady Gaga? One Direction or the Wanted, JLS or whoever... not sure they had Duran Duran dolls in my day, but then bands were for teenagers...Being a Dad of a 9 year old going on 15 is hard!

Girls are growing up fast, but we need to make sure they still enjoy their childhood, after all, the tradition of dolls and prams has been going back years, and having children in real life is a mature realisation, which girls have been acting out since these toys were invented, so why are we not continuing this. I'm wondering as we have a new arrival on the horizon ourselves, whether we should encourage our own daughter to have the same baby stuff we have but in miniature 'play' sizes, prams, cot, etc, so that she can act out our realities?



I'm not sure this post has made it any clearer for me... my son will certainly be easier to buy for, but my daughter less so, but that's just her, I'm sure some 9 year old girls are easier to find things for, Ponies, Sylvanian Families, Barbies etc, they still top the lists for under 10's, and I have seen many quality ranges of these toys around, including top branded items from the likes of Schleich, and Breyer, who offer playable maturer girls (and boys) toys.

And as much as we're looking for new toys to buy, our kids still play with their old ones, and those designed for younger children, including... Playmobile, cars, Puppies (and other things) in my Pocket, Barbie, they still act out with these, and maybe i'll just add to these with more playability, after all that's what the manufacturers want, you to buy more of what your kids actually do like.


I'm sure whatever option we take, it'll be right on some levels and wrong on another, but asking them is the first step, and knowing whats going on in the world of kids these days is the place to start. There's nothing worse than getting it wrong.

Any ideas???