This morning I got up early to find out what toys a panel of retailers and toy industry experts believe will be the most popular and sought after toys this Christmas, the so called Dream Toys. As ever many of the top 12 are new versions of well known toys with Barbie and LEGO both featuring. The latest editions of sell out toys from Christmas last year make the list such as L.O.L Surprise and Fingerlings. So what makes the top 12 toys this Christmas? And whatever toys are recommended across the various categories? And which do I agree with? 

Prices are RRP, many are on sale for discounted prices. Top 12 links are Amazon Affiliate links and all were available at less than RRP at time of publishing.

The Top 12 DreamToys This Christmas 2018

Barbie Ultimate Kitchen (Mattel £49.99)

Boxer (Spin Master £79.99)

Cra-Z-Slimy Creations Super Slime Studio (Character Options £29.99)

Fingerlings Untamed Jailbreak T-Rex Playset (Jazwares/WowWee £24.99)

Harry Potter Hogwarts Great Hall (LEGO £89.99)

Harry Potter Wizard Training Wand (Jakks Pacific £24.99)

L.O.L. Surprise! Pop-Up Store (MGA Entertainment £39.99)

L.O.L. Surprise! Under Wraps (MGA Entertainment £14.99)

Laser X Twin Pack (Character Options £49.99)

Monopoly Fortnite Edition (Hasbro £21.99)

Paw Patrol Ultimate Fire Truck (Spin Master Toys £69.99)

Poopsie Surprise Unicorn (MGA Entertainment £49.99)

As well as the overall Top 12 there are 9 other categories with some great toys in, including some of my favourites.

The Larger Versions of Blind Bags category with collectables “What’s In The Box?”

My favourites in this category are: Hairdorables (Just Play/Flair Leisure Products £14.99) and Hatchimals Hatchibabies (Spin Master Toys £59.99), but the list also recommends:

Crate Creatures Surprise! (MGA Entertainment £39.99)

L.O.L. Surprise! Bigger Surprise (MGA Entertainment £84.99) 

L.O.L. Surprise! Biggie Pets Assortment (MGA Entertainment £36.99)

L.O.L. Surprise! Pop-Up Store (MGA Entertainment £39.99) 

L.O.L. Surprise! Under Wraps (MGA Entertainment £14.99) 

Pikmi Pops Surprise Mega Pack (Flair Leisure Products £29.99) 

Poopsie Magical Unicorn (MGA Entertainment £49.99) 

Poopsie Slime Surprise! (MGA Entertainment £9.99)

Rainbocorn Sequin Surprise! (Zuru £24.99) 

Scruff-a-Luvs (Worlds Apart £19.99)

Smooshy Mushy Baby (Bandai £16.99)

Boy’s toys and tech lovers options: “Thrill Seekers”

The home laser quest game of Lazer X Twin Pack (Character Options £49.99) wins this category for me, but there is also:

Air Hogs Supernova (Spin Master Toys £39.99)

Boxer (Spin Master Toys £79.99)

GraviTrax Starter Set (Ravensburger £49.99)  

Mibro – Really Rad Robots (Character Options £39.99) 

Morfboard Scoot & Skate (Jakks Pacific £99.99) 

Nerf Laser Ops Pro 2-Pack (Hasbro £44.99) 

Nerf N-Strike Elite Infinus (Hasbro £69.99) 

Roblox Legends of Roblox (Jazwares £19.99)

Film related recommended toys in: “It’s Showtime”

I love the Harry Potter LEGO sets, which all joined together and this category included: Harry Potter Hogwarts Express (£74.99) and Harry Potter Hogwarts Great Hall (£89.99). The category also recommends:

Harry Potter Dolls Assortment (Mattel £21.99 )

Harry Potter Real Talking Sorting Hat (Kids@Play £39.99) 

Harry Potter Wizard Training Wand (Jakks Pacific £24.99)

Incredibles 2 – Jack-Jack Attacks (Jakks Pacific £39.99) 

Jurassic World Blue’s Helicopter Pursuit (LEGO £49.99) 

Jurassic World Thrash ‘N Throw Tyrannosaurus Rex (Mattel £49.99) 

Marvel Black Panther Vibranium Power FX Claw (Hasbro £20.99) 

Stretch Justice League (Character Options £12.99)

Recommended toys for preschoolers this Christmas in “Tots Spot”

I know my youngest would absolutely love 3 of these toys: Paw Patrol Ultimate Fire Truck (Spin Master Toys £69.99), Peppa Pig Mobile Medical Centre (Character Options £29.99) and Toot-Toot Friends Pirate Ship (VTech Electronics Europe £39.99). Although all the category looks great with the other recommended preschooler toys being:

Baby Annabell Milly Feels Better (Zapf Creation £42.99)

Fisher-Price Dance & Groove Rockit (Mattel £34.99)

LeapFrog LeapStart 3D (LeapFrog Toys £49.99) 

Sylvanian Families Baby Castle Nursery (Epoch Making Toys £29.99)

New takes on board games and family games are in the “Winner Takes All Category”

I should be reviewing a few of these games soon so I’ll update on which ones we really rate.

Dobble Classic (Asmodee £12.99)

Don’t Step In It (Hasbro £19.99)

Foxy Pants (Vivid / Drumond Park £22.99)

Monopoly Cheaters Edition (Hasbro £21.99)

Monopoly Fortnite Edition (Hasbro £21.99)

Mr Pop (John Adams Leisure £22.99)

Pimple Pete (Spin Master Toys £19.99)

Pull My Finger Game (Jakks Pacific £19.99)

Strictly Come Dancing The Board Game (John Adams Leisure £29.99)

What’s That Smell Game (Jazwares/WowWee £19.99)

Great playsets for children in “Play, Set and Match”

I’m going to have to recommend the new Polly Pocket Toys because they were one of my favourite toys as a child Polly Pocket World Assortment Mattel £12.99. The rest of the category includes:

Arctic Mobile Exploration Base (LEGO £84.99) 

Barbie Care Clinic Playset (Mattel £49.99) 

Barbie Ultimate Kitchen (Mattel £49.99) 

Children’s Furnished Hospital (Playmobil £64.99) 

Hatchimals Tropical Party (Spin Master Toys £29.99) 

Hidden Temple with T-Rex (Playmobil £49.99) 

Hot Wheels Corkscrew Crash (Mattel £49.99) 

Moj Moj Claw Machine (MGA Entertainment £39.99)

No so traditional cuddly toys, including ones which move, talk and don’t even have fur are in the “Paws & Claws Category”

If you have read my review you will know how much we love Fingerlings Hugs (Jazwares/WowWee £29.99), but I also know the Flippables (TY UK £9.99) are going to be super popular and they only reached the shops a couple of weeks ago.

The rest of the category includes:

Fingerlings Untamed Jailbreak T-Rex Playset (Jazwares/WowWee £24.99) 

FurReal Ricky, Trick Lovin’ Pup (Hasbro £134.99) 

Little Live Pets Princess My Dancing Unicorn (Character Options £22.99) 

Little Live Pets Wrapples (Character Options £16.99) 

Myla The Magical Make-Up Unicorn (VTech Electronics Europe £49.99) 

Pomsies (Bandai £17.99) 

Zoomer Hungry Bunnies (Spin Master Toys £29.99)

Recommended craft toys for this Christmas are in the “Messy Christmas” category 

Aquabeads Magical Unicorn Set (Epoch Making Toys £14.99) 

Cool Maker Kumi Kreator (Spin Master Toys £29.99) 

Cra-Z-Slimy Creations Super Slime Studio (Character Options £29.99)

Glam Goo Deluxe Pack (MGA Entertainment £29.99) 

Play-Doh Buzz ‘N Cut (Hasbro £18.99) 

Soft ‘n Slo Squishes Animal Pals (Character Options £6.99) 

Squish Dee Lish Jumbo (Jakks Pacific £14.99)

And finally the best Stocking Fillers for Christmas 2018 which includes blind bags and smaller toys

My favourites are the: Shopkins Lil’ Secrets Shop ‘n’ Lock (Flair Leisure Products £9.99) and the Sylvanian Families Baby Band Series (Epoch Making Toys £3.99), but this category has a huge amount of choice with the following toys all recommended:

Bubbleezz Animalzz Mega (Character Options £6.99) 

Hot Wheels Diecast Assortment (Mattel £1.99)

L.O.L. Surprise! Pets (MGA Entertainment £9.99) 

L.O.L. Surprise! Sisters (MGA Entertainment £5.99) 

Lego Minifigures (LEGO £2.99) 

Moj Moj (MGA Entertainment £3.99) 

Odditeez Ultra Slimeballz (Character Options £6.99) 

Party Popteenies Single Popper (Spin Master Toys £4.99) 

Pikmi Pops PushMi Ups (Flair Leisure Products £5.99) 

Pop Games: Fortnite (Funko £10.99) 

Roblox Mystery Figure Characters (Jazwares £3.99)  

Squeezamals (Vivid Toy Group £5.99)  

Treasure X (Character Options £9.99) 

Twisty Petz (Spin Master Toys £4.99)