Looking to the past to predict this year’s festive toys

Sannah Khalid from Tinsley Meadow School in Sheffield tests out a 'Frozen Simg-A-Long Elsa', one the top toys for Christmas 2015. Picture Scott Merrylees

But whether it’s 2013’s Frozen, Thunderbirds from the 60s or the Star Wars franchise dating back to the 70s, it seems it’s all about looking to the past to predict the top toys this Christmas.

Youngsters from Tinsley Meadow Primary School in Sheffield were among the first to try out what experts from the industry believe will be the biggest sellers at Meadowhall shopping centre.

Among those predicted to be top on the Christmas lists are three films connected to the new Star Wars film The Force Awakens, an interactive Tracy Island playset and a sing-a-long Elsa from Disney’s Frozen.

Children play with the Thunderbirds-Interactive Tracey Island, one of the top twelve toys at Dream Toys 2015, on display at St Mary's Church, London. Photo: Philip Toscano/PA Wire

Frederique Tutt, toy industry analyst for the NPD Group, said British retailers were hoping for a record year after Frozen, Minions and Minecraft boosted sales by 6 per cent since the start of the year.

He said: “With other licensed merchandise such as Star Wars still to come, the market could expect to grow by over £100 million at retail to reach £3.2 billion by the end of the year.”

Gary Grant, chairman of the DreamToys committee, said 2015 was going to be “a vintage year” for toys. He said: “While the blockbuster licences may steal the headlines, it is exciting to see innovation throughout the list with manufacturers successfully combining this with traditional play in, for example, the IDO3D craft set, and Shopkins has become the new craze of the year, embracing all that is good about toys.”