Another doll dances on to the toy shelves this christmas but this talented Dora is also dressed to impress. Strictly not just a doll - Dora can dance ballet and even the spectacular national Spanish Dance - the Meringue.

Change her dress and Dora knows which dance to perform, with a special outfit and accessories for each dance. Push her necklace and Dora dances, sings and teaches phrases in English and Spanish. Change Dora into her fiesta dress and she shakes her hips, arms and head to the special Spanish song. Dora wears the tutu and the ‘Dress ‘N Dance Dora’ doll magically knows which dance to perform and will raise her arms and twirl to a beautiful classic song. Control Dora’s dance by changing her dress.

Dora doll allows children to play and explore the world of dance aswell as learning a few Spanish phrases.

When Dora is set to take to the stage at Fiesta time, her purple and pink satin two piece dress with flowing sleeves and jewellery will wow her audience with her catch cry, “iVamos a bailar!” meaning in English ” Let’s dance!”. Each dress also comes with its own hair accessory.

Given the continual success of Dora the Explorer show on Nickelodeon, this cute ‘Dress ‘N Dance Dora’ doll from Fisher-Price will be in hot demand for girls around Christmas time.  Price around £39.00.

If your child likes pets and loves to play games, then GO GO Hamsters are the real thing - its like having a real hamster but without the mess and smells.

Collect the various Hamsters including Mr Squiggles, Chunk,Nums Nums and PipSqueak. There are also numerous accessories to collect like the adventure ball and wheel and tunnel.

These beautiful high quality plush hamsters look great and love to be hugged. Collect all their Playsets and create your own world for your chosen hamster.

Every Hamster needs a home, this Go Go Hamster Funhouse Deluxe Gift Set is a modern Hamster fun house has all the bells and whistles. The perfect starting set with doors that connect to all of the other Hamster habitats.

An ideal Christmas gift for those animal lovers.

Peppa Pig Playhouse is new and improved with more space in the house for peppa pig characters.

Suits children of various ages and older children can enjoy setting up the house with the furniture, while the pieces are also safe for younger toddlers to play with.

The Peppa Pig characters are realistic and just like those on the television programme. The furniture that comes with the house is detailed and colourful. Once the children have finished playing with the furniture can all be stored inside the house so it wont get lost and a cute carry case is also included for portability.

Great fun to play with for ages 1.5 years and upwards.

Peppa Pig Play House is available from major toy shops.

Aqua Beads use glue technology and water to create fantastic bead patterns. Create your idea on one of the special bead trays, spray it with water and wait for it to dry.

The results can be used for play and decoration and the aquabeads can be pulled apart and re-used. There are lots of colours and ideas and many of the kits include special themed shapes that can be incorporated into the designs.

How easy is it to create with Aquabeads?

- Simply spray the beads with water to create lovely pictures. They’re safe, with no ironing required, and completely mess free.

- Lay the beads out using the picture sheets and bead templates as a guide.

Simple and easy for young children to follow, these templates allow you to place the beads in exactly the right positions required to complete beautiful bead pictures.

Alternatively, older and more dextrous children can create pictures using their own imagination and style.

Choose a picture, Add the bead,Spray with water, Look what you’ve made!

There is a licensed versions of Aqua beads in the form of Shaun the Sheep where you simply choose a character you want to make and use one of the clever layout trays to place your beads in the right position and spray with water. Bring Shaun and his friends to live by adding crazy boggly eyes and display them in the 3D pop up farmyard.

There are also a wide range of refill packs readily available from most Aquabead stockists

Have creative fun with this Aquabeads Flower Tower Set, 3D Secret Garden,3D Superset and there’s even a compact portable carry me aqua bead set that you can take away with you.

Out this spring is the new Zoom-O range from Flair. This fantastic selection of toys for shooting, catching and passing foam balls and spinning discs are great for outdoor fun.

Shoot balls and discs high into the sky and try to catch them as they descend back to earth. Levitate balls & discs in mid air and build on your skill with the awesome Zero-G. Fun to play solo or as part of a group.

Zoom-O Ball Shooter

Shoot it, catch it, pass it! Squeeze the trigger to activate the turbo booster and launch balls high in the sky. Use the catch basket to scoop them out the air. Approx shoot height 23ft - higher than an average two storey house!

A new range of Transformer Toys will be out this May following the release of the new transformer movie, Revenge of The Fallen. The new products will be out on the shelves  on 30th May in the UK.

There will be even more Transformer characters to collect from the movie which will be more innovative Mech alive technology.

Movie Scout Item No 83974 RRP - £7.99

- Movie based action figures in a 4′5” scale figures packed in robot mode
Ages 5 + Master Carton x 12

Movie Deluxe Item No 83971 RRP - £12.99

- Entry level into the transformers converting play pattern featuring mech alive technology
Ages 5+

Supreme Combiner Item Number 83908 Devastator RRP - £99.99

- Characters combine to form the ultimate movie villain from ROTF lights and Sound bring this character to life, Large scale transformer packed with features
Ages 5+ Master carton 2 requires 2 x AA Batteries

Movie Voyager Item Number 83972 RRP - £22.99

- Larger scale movie characters and vehicles with realistic styling, packed in vehicle mode with mech alive technology
Ages 5+

Movie Leader item Number 83973 RRP - £44.99

- Large scale movie characters featuring lights and sound packed in robot mode with mech alive technology , requires 2 x AA batteries
Ages 5+

Human alliance Assortment Item No 83978 RRP - £29.99 Bumblebee and Ironhide

Large scale Transformers action figures with a 2” human action figure for great battle action, Human figure fits inside transformer figure and is a key figure in the battle feature of the robot. Plays off the human/ robot team ups in ROTF

Fast Action Battlers Item No 83975 RRP - £12.99

-Chunky action figures in a more stylised look each is packed in robot mode with spring activated action feature
Ages 4+

Power Bots Item No 83981 RRP - N/A

- Large scale chunky action figure formerly cyber stomping robots
Ages 4+

Mega Power Bots Item No 91343 RRP - £37.99

- taking Power Bots to the next level these non converting action figures make it easy for younger kids to recreate giant battle scenes from ROTF
Ages 4 +

Movie Robot Heroes Item Number 89842 RRP - £6.99

Super stylised versions of the characters, popular with collectors and kids.
Ages 3+

Robot Replicas Item Number 89842

Highly detailed and articulate non converting figures for older kids and collectors
Ages 4+

Robot Heroes Battle Scenes Item No 91524

The next evolution of the robot heroes line, these mutli packs feature new human figures and vehilce modes of the key characters from the movie to recreate scenes from ROTF
Ages 3+

Movie Helmet Item No 83907

Speak through the voice mixer, allows kids to become their fave character from ROTF
Ages 5+

Barbie celebrates its 50th anniversary today and to mark the occasion there will be a  launch of a  Make Up Collection, commerative books. Mattel will also launch an adult diffusion range featurung a  Glamour Doll and a range of six all-time favourtie Barbie dolls.

Barbie has been around for five decades  has been a major player in the girls toy market over the years.

A popular doll this year has been the Colour Change Beach Barbie Doll and can be purchased for around £19.99

Meccano Sets have always had a tough time over the market share over the years from the likes of Lego but you can’t doubt the quality and advancement in technology from meccano in the construction toy market over the last couple of years.

Sales are up massively on 2007 with the new Spykee  range being the best seller for 2008.  The Design and Multi-models were also strong sellers in 2008 and with a slight tweak to the packaging this year promise to go from strength to strength in 2009.

The Kids Play range which is aimed at 2 years plus  has not performed as well as the older age range Meccano categories probably due to the nuts and bolts theme to the toys appearing a little too complex and meccanical looking for infants of that age.

The Spykee range including the  Spykee  Spy robot and the smaller micro robot have been the most popular with the technology tapping into the media world and iPod music.  Along with Wi-fi integration, the ability to remote control Spykee over the internet and self build theme, this looks like being a strong seller for 2009.

We may yet see a Meccano theme park (MeccanoLand) popping up over the next few years…if this uptrend continues.

The launch of the new  GX Racers, a revolutionary concept and extreme stunt cars that can perform spins, flips and drifts.  Sound exciting, well they are! Fortunate to have had a sneak preview at the London Toy Fair 2009 and they promise to be a big hit in the boys toys market this Christmas.

Gx Racers are 1:64 scale and are designed around the power of the gyroscope and rip chord achieving extreme speeds and performing unique never-seen-befoer stunts. They run over tightropes performing gravity defying jumps upto 10ft in the air. GX racers are adaptable for on and off road.

Jakk Pacific have made the GX Racers gyros interchangeable between cars with a number of different car paint designs, unique to each set.  GX Racers will be available in the form of play sets  including the GXRacers Max Air Jump Track Set, 360 Sidewinder Shredder , Tight Rope Terror and Mega Launcher Track Set and a number of accessories. They all perform their own amazing stunts from the tightrope walking stunt, mega flips, sidewinding horizontal stunts and 10 feet jumps into the air.

GX Racers will also have the collectibility factor with a range of different car assortments including the Speed assortment, Stunt assortment and the Multi-Pack assortment.

GX racers stunt cars have major appeal for boys from 6 years and upwards, and Im sure Dads will be just as easily impressed and intrigued by the gyro technology used in these stunning performance stunt cars!

Also look out for the GXSkate extreme skateboards launching alongside GXRacers.

Keep checking ToyNews24 for the latest information in Toy News.

Flair have added Puppy In My Pocket to their Shaker Maker range so you can now shake your way to making your two favourite cute puppies.

Shake, Shake, Shake and magically create! Just  add the “magic Shaker Maker powder” with water. Give it a shake, shake and shake! Remove, dry and paint!

Puppy In My Pocket Shaker Maker will be available in the Autumn.

There are lot of other Shaker Maker characters from Ben 10 to Dora Explorer.

Shaker Maker are priced at around £9.99 and available from all major toy shops.

With the Wolverine movie release coming up in May ‘X-Men Origins’, there is a range of Wolverine Toys and Action figures to hit the toy shops.

Wolverine toys new releases  include Wolverine Action Figures, Slashin Action Electronic Wolverine, Electronic Battle Claw, Wolverine X Cruiser with figure and Super Hero Squad Battle Packs.

Monopoly Clone Wars edition features the classic game of monopoly based on the new animation series set between episodes II and III.

Now players can buy and trade planets from the world of Star Wars with 6 collectible tokens featuring  the key characters of Rex, Anakin, Osaki, Obi-Wan,  Grevious & Assaj.

Monopoly Clone Wars is out now.

Hasbro are releasing a range of Transformer Toys to coincide with the ‘Transformers Revenge Of the Fallen’ movie due out at the cinema on 26th June 2009.

The latest transformer toy releases range from Fast Action Battlers, Power Bots, Movie Robot Heroes and Robot Weapons all due out for release at the end of May.

One to look out for is the ‘ Supreme Combiner’ large scale Transformer where characters combine to form the ultimate villain that is packed with light and sound features.

With release of the GI Joe movie in the summer comes an inevitable new line of toys for kids.  GI Joe promises to deliver a a range of hi-tech toys with projectile launchers and advanced vehicles that will no doubt be a hit with the kids.

G.I. JOE PIT PLAYSET

An expandable playset (2ft wide and 3ft tall) that allows kids to play out all the most dynamic and action packed scenes from the movie within various chambers and layers. Also includes a GI.Joe figure.

G.I. JOE MOVIE 3-3/4-INCH MOVIE FIGURES

G.I. JOE was the world’s first action figure, and the highly detailed movie-line 3 ¾-inch figures continue this great legacy. All figures are sculpted to match their on-screen counterparts, including Sienna Miller as BARONESS, and Christopher Eccleston as DESTRO. Figures come with high-tech gear and projectile launchers, allowing kids to fully recreate all the action from the movie.

SRP £7.99, Ages: 4+, Available: Summer 2009

G.I. JOE MOVIE VEHICLES

This awesome collection recreates the larger vehicles from the upcoming G.I. JOE movie. They represent the most technologically advanced vehicles in the G.I. JOE vs. COBRA arsenal and each is equipped with a hidden reveal weapons system. Designed to traverse a wide range of terrains, each vehicle comes with an action figure to help steer your team to victory.

The entry scale Alpha vehicle featuring universal projectile launchers, realistic articulated figure and a surprise attack feature.  The Bravo vehicle collection recreates the larger vehicles from the film, the most technologically advanced vehices in the GI Joe and Cobra arsenal that are designed for tough terrain. All come with an action figure to help steer the vehicle on course.

The Night Raven vehicle is the largest fully equipped with engines and weapons, light and sounds. The Cobra Jet features pump action “lock and load” which makes ready missiles for attack. Comes with a Viper pilot figure.

ISSUE GEAR ROLE PLAY

Thus spy gear assortment allows kids to get the gear of tomorrow just like the GI Joee and Cobra Teams in the movie. A cool wrist band launches nanomite discs with a cool spy lens. Plus you also get a high tech flashlight that projects awesome GI Joe logos and images for night time fun.

Ninja Sword Play

Recreate key movie scenes with these GI Joe and Cobra Ninja swords. Each sold seperately.
gijoe

GI Joe Movie Release

Hitting UK cinemas on August 14, 2009, “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” focuses on an elite G.I. JOE team that uses next-generation spy-tech and military hardware to fight the corrupt arms dealer DESTRO and the growing threat to the world from the mysterious COBRA organization.

A nationwide customer poll was conducted on shopping habits over the Christmas period 2008 when buying toys and games for their children, to see if online shopping behaviour had changed due to the down turn in the economy.

The survey was conducted between October and December and here are a few of the questions that were put to over 2000 customers…

1. Due to the economic climate how will your overall spending habits change when buying Christmas presents?

Spend less:        53%                        Spend same:      38%                        Spend more:  6%

2. Will you be spending less on each present?

Spend less:    59%                           Spend same:     37%                                  Spend more: 4%

3.   How many presents will you be buying for your kids?

1-2 :  12%                   3-4 :     47%                5-7 :     36%        seven or more :  5%

4.  Will you be starting your Christmas Shopping earlier this Xmas?

Earlier:   20%                   Later:  21%                      Same:  59%

5.  What items will you be likely to buy for your kids this Christmas?

a. Toys  (33%)

b. Video Games or console  (47%)

c.  CD’s and Books  (33%)

d.  MP3 and Audio  (18%)

From the poll it was found that spending budgets were dramatically effected by the economic conditions and favoured spending less per present and less on each person this Christmas.

The survey found that people were more active in spending more time online shopping but that was due to shopping around using comparison sites, not because they were necessarily spending more. A clear sign that the credit crunch was driving online shoppers  for bargains. With Woolworths going bust there was also an influx of late shoppers that hit the high streets and paid cash for goods.

Video Games and consoles were also the favoured item this Christmas for Kids. Toys & Video Games had up to 29% of the share this christmas compared to other goods.

Online statistics showed a peak in October where the usual early shoppers and then dropped off again late November with customers holding on for price busting deals, as online retailers realised it was going to be a tough Christmas and having to reduce prices. This caused the shopping to peak more in early December compared to last year and put a lot of mail order businesses under a lot of pressure. The credit crunch certainly triggered a stampede of late buyers for online shopping at Christmas.

There were some regional bias towards shopping online aswell…

Britons are more likely to shop online than our US counter parts with around eight out of 10 of us shopping online at least once a month compared with around six out of 10 Americans.

There were also regional variations in online shopping behaviour. Northern Irish and Scots are more likely to shop online than any other region. North-east England are more likely to use price comparison sites  - either always or nearly always when shopping online, and South-easterners and Londoners are most likely to take advantage of being able to shop online 24/7 for convenience.

North-east england are also more likely to be the earliest Christmas shoppers.

Satisfaction with the customer service offered by online retailers is also significantly higher – 52% of shoppers give internet stores eight out of 10 or better compared with only 27% for the high street stores.

Britons are also becoming increasingly more aware in their online shopping habits with most of us surfing around for the best deals and services. More than 36% of those surveyed said they usually or always use price comparison sites to find goods, while 47% reckoned feedback on retailers from other consumers was influential in the final decision to purchase.

More than half of shoppers polled said they were now more likely to hunt for a range of items online in a bid to save money. A third of those polled said they were planning to do most of their present shopping online this year, while a further third plan to make around half of their purchases online.

MONOPOLY City represents one of the most radical game developments. Say goodbye to green houses and choose from over 80 3D structures including industrial blocks, stadiums, skyscrapers and even parks built in the middle of the board to create a unique game experience.

Build up and watch fortunes grow in this exciting new version. Set the length of game play and start buying and building straight away. Rents can be boosted through investment, but beware of other players sabotaging the game by building hazards including polluting power plants and bring the price of your opponents property down…

An exciting on-line promotional game will be part of the extensive marketing campaign for MONOPOLY City. Consumers will be encouraged to immerse themselves, friends and family into the MONOPOLY City game play, by buying and selling their local streets via on-line maps.

MONOPOLY City will be available from Autumn 2009 and will be priced at around £24.99

Following the success of Igglepiggle and his blanket comes a brand new addition to the In The Night Garden toy range with Sleepy Igglepiggle.

Destined to be a bedtime favourite with parents and children alike, the soft and cuddly Sleepy Igglepiggle plush allows children to recreate the opening sequence from In the Night Garden with their very own Igglepiggle.

Rub Igglepiggle’s hand and a lullaby plays as Igglepiggle’s eyes slowly close. But be sure to concentrate - if you stop before he is sound asleep, Igglepiggle’s eyes will open and he will squeak in surprise!

Sleepy Igglepiggle also comes with a bonus In the Night Garden DVD, featuring 2 full-length In the Night Garden episodes to really set the scene for some sleepytime fun.

Sleepy Igglepiggle will be available in all good toy stores from July 2009 at £39.99.

Shop here for a wider selection of ITNG toys

Meccano’s new Micro Kits are what they say on the box – compact and made up of approx 30 pieces and can be assembled in around half an hour. Great meccano fun!

There are four separate vehicles available separately to make  including the Bi-Plane, Helicopter, Racer and F1 designs, or collect all four and combine them to create your own original meccano vehicle.

These Meccano kits are put together with an Allen Key. The spacing between holes is the same as Vintage Meccano, but the metal rods are narrower, leading to a more compact result.

Suitable for children aged eight and above.

Meccano’s Micro Kits are priced around £3.99 each.

The LG Watch Phone was one coolest gadgets at the CES fair 2009 and is sure to be a hit with avid James Bond fans. LG Watch Phone is due for autumn launch this year.

It has a media player, a camera for video conferencing, video picture-picture calls, a voice recognition command feature -   say music to play your favourite track or make calls by saying the number out aloud.

The LG Watch Phone is compact and looks smart and almost cute at 14mm thick, with a screen that measures 36mm.  With a  metal casing and tempered glass and an option of a leather or carbon fibre strap it promises to be a hit for its 2009 autumn release.

There will be no usb support so you will have to sync your contacts via bluetooth - a small price to pay for ultimate

coolness. LG’s standby battery life is approx 247 hours.

Watch out, this combined phone and watch from LG promises to be a hit in 2009

We are now pleased to announce the release of the brand new Lewis Hamilton Airfix Model Kit! If you have been wondering if you’d ever get the chance to get your hands on the Lewis Hamilton Airfix kit -  well your time has now come.

The new Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Airfix kit lets you build the Formula 1 championship-winning car complete with Hamilton at the wheel.

“Following on from the success of the Santander TV advertising campaign there was much demand for us to create a kit that would be to market by Christmas this year,” said Airfix’s Darrell Burge. “We’ve managed to achieve this by using assets and knowledge within the Hornby team, and have come out with a product that should satisfy the collector and the casual purchaser, who both can achieve a fabulously finished product to be proud of.”

For the purists, it maybe a suprise as the chassis is the MP4-21, which Hamilton used for the Autumn 2006 test that secured his race seat, but the livery is this year’s.

Anyone worried about their ability to do all the intricate sections of painting and assembly or doesn’t like getting model paint on your favourite T-Shirt then have no fear, as it comes pre-painted and there is only 17 pieces in total to put together. All you need is a screwdriver.

The Lewis Hamilton McLaren Mercedes Airfix kit is priced around £24.99.

Buy Now from www.ToysGamesGifts.co.uk