Oxford Value Bucket of Bricks Works with major brandsIncludes 350+ pieces Oxford Deluxe Titanic Construction Set Works with major brands900+ piecesSuitable for ages 8+Contents: Oxford Titanic SetBatteries Not Required Oxford Cobra Base Camp Set Works with major brands1400+ piecesIncludes weapons and helmet accessoriesSuitable for ages 6+Contents: 5 mini figures, a tank, a truck and campBatteries Not Required Works with major brandsIncludes 7 minifiguresIncludes a satellite, helicopter landing pad, cells, police cars and helicopter.Features 4 vehicles: tow truck, police car, police jeep and helicopter Oxford Police Helicopter Rescue Set Works with major brandsIncludes two minifiguresFeatures police helicopter, police jeep and helicopter landing pad Compatible with all major brandsContains 1,993 piecesSuitable for ages 8+Contents: Oxford Eiffel Tower Set68cm HighBatteries Not Required Works with major brandsSuitable for ages 8+Contents: Oxford Titanic Set
Oxford Military Jeep and Helicopter Set Works with major brandsIncludes 4 minifiguresFeatures a military helicopter and military jeep Oxford Town 999 Rescue Fire Engine Works with major brandsIncludes 2 mini figuresFeatures a fire engineContents: 263 piecesBatteries Not Required Oxford Town S.W.A.T. Armoured Car Contents: 277 piecesBatteries Not Required Standard BlocksCompatible with all major brandsSuitable for ages 6+Batteries not required Oxford Town Airport Set Works with major brands800+ piecesSuitable for ages 6+Plane Assembled Dimensions: 43L cmContents: 6 mini figures, an airport, a plane and a luggage buggyBatteries Not RequiredParents take note: you have two weeks left until the big day. And if your children are anything like mine, they are redoing their Santa letters every time they see a toy advert on television. It’s no surprise many of the most heavily advertised products are on this year’s Dream Toys list. Selected by toy buyers, the list is a good indicator of the things your kids will be hankering after.
Buying one of the top 11 will guarantee you gasps of excitement. But will they be loved and played with all year, or end up languishing on a dusty shelf? To test their longevity, we recruited some willing children to live with the toys for a while, then we asked them to rate them on play value. What would they keep? The Lego and LeapPad Ultra got the thumbs up – so a little of the old and a little of the new. Lego City Coastguard Patrol Playset 60014 (5-12) £59.99, www.argos.co.uk The spin: Lego doesn’t need spin. Set-up: Open the box and go. On test: The storyline begins: ‘There’s a couple stranded in a sinking dinghy, sharks are circling…’ and our seven-year-old tester had lots of fun expanding on the tale. He built the set in an afternoon with no help, then had the reward of testing the dinghy and rescue boat on water. Kids’ verdict: ‘One of the best Lego City sets with good moving bits. I really like that the boats float and the propeller works in water.’
RoboFish and bowl set (3+) £19.99, www.toysrus.co.uk The spin: Just like real fish. Set-up: Fill the bowl with water. On test: The bowl comes with one fish or shark but you can buy more (£9.99 each). The tail activates when it hits the water. There were cheers when the shark and fish started ‘racing’ but they soon just circled and interest waned. In the bath, they swam every which way. Kids’ verdict: ‘Good in the bath.’ VTech InnoTab 3S (3-9) £69.99, www.toysrus.co.uk The spin: Learning games with child-safe wi-fi and kid Connect, which enables messages to be sent to smartphones and tablets. Set-up: Insert four AA batteries (rechargeable included) and register. On test: This has a fun design and nifty rotating camera but our tester’s profile picture came out as a blurry smudge. We tried again but the camera has no flash and is, frankly, useless. But the main issue is the slow processing speed, which frustrated everyone. After half an hour, they begged for my iPad.
Kids’ verdict: ‘I liked the Magic Beanstalk game but nothing worked very well.’They’ll soon be fed up with this clunky pretend tablet. The spin: Educator-approved content, child-safe web, tough and looks like a grown-up’s tablet. On test: This tablet is robust but its all-plastic casing – rather than a rubber bumper – makes it weighty. Our testers, three and eight, loved the big screen and found it easy to navigate. The best thing was being able to set up their own profiles so content was tailored to their age. The older tester was impressed he could surf the web ‘unsupervised’. Kids’ verdict: ‘This is great – I especially like that I have my own profile and it was really easy to use.’You’ll have to drag them off this one. Teksta Robotic Puppy (5+) £59.99, www.argos.co.uk The spin: This robotic puppy will become your new best friend. Set-up: Four AA batteries. On test: Apparently, Teksta has 100 physical and interactive gestures, although we discovered only a handful.
At first, he is impressive – he responds to your voice, gestures, lights and sounds – but we struggled to get him to respond consistently. Handling him takes practice; you need to master a few techniques and learn to read his eye expressions (yes, really). Our tester (seven) got him to do back flips, which took a couple of hours, but then neglected the pup for most of his stay. Teksta is surprisingly noisy and not cuddly at all – young children want a snuggly friend. Kids’ verdict: ‘Fun to play with for a while. But a real dog would be better.’Teksta may find a happier home with older geeks. The spin: With this set, you can be just like Disney’s Doc McStuffins. On test: Our three-year-old tester has never seen Doc McStuffins but loved this. The bag is tricky to open and you can’t fit everything in it. But she couldn’t have cared less: it’s pink, glittery and has a light-up stethoscope. What else do you need? She played doctors all week. Kids’ verdict: ‘This is really, really good because lady doctors should have pink things.’
The spin: Magic, personality and digital play. On test: This is more like it – cuddly tech! Furby comes alive the moment you pop the batteries in, and giggles and wriggles when you tickle him. He can also be linked to a tablet, where there are eggs to hatch and digital poo to do… our testers found this hilarious. Kids’ verdict: ‘Furby is fun and when he gets boring you can pull his tail and send him to sleep.’Lots of fun but the novelty won’t last forever. Spin Master Flutterbye Flying Flower Fairy (5+) £29.99, www.argos.co.uk The spin: Doll flies as if by magic. Set-up: Six AA batteries and charge time. On test: The fairy caused much excitement when airborne – she can fly, albeit briefly. The most we managed was 30 seconds before she nose-dived to the ground, fluttering like a trapped moth. Children under seven struggle to guide her anywhere. A full charge gets just five minutes of playtime. Kids’ verdict: ‘Pretty but hard to keep up in the air.’
A one-trick pony who was soon forgotten. Monster High 13 Wishes Twyla Doll (6+) £13.59, www.argos.co.uk The spin: Freaky has got fabulous. On trial: A mash-up between Addams Family quirkiness and the craze for bloodsuckers, the Monster High franchise was an attempt to tap into girls’ desire for acceptance. But, with their nipped-in waists and glam-goth look, they hardly break stereotypes. Our tester, eight, doesn’t care. She thinks Twyla is cool and loves the diary that came with her – it inspired her to start her own. The glow-in-the dark eyes don’t glow. Kids’ verdict: ‘I love everything about her.’She’ll be the centre of games for a while. Monopoly Empire (8+) £14.99, www.argos.co.uk The spin: Hit the big time and own the world’s top brands. Set-up: Set up the board and play. On test: The grown-ups weren’t sure about playing for brands such as McDonald’s but the children recognised them and liked the game’s hip look.