Six year old Jeorgia Blythin from Chester was part of an ‘elite’ child testing panel that put some of the most sought after toys for next Christmas through their paces. In exchange for playing with the toys, she and her fellow panellists were presented with a free toy and a certificate.

In addition to testing out the Christmas toys the children were invited to Rochdale (yay) to a toy factory to test out this year’s Summer toys, before they hit the shops in June. The kids will get to play in the factory’s custom built toy test-shop on such toys as Bob the Builder and Rupert Bear.

The idea is that the children will be able to show which toys will be in most demand this Summer.

Martin Yaffe’s toy director, Peter Hatton, said:

The first Play Panel gave us such great insight into what children really want last year that we can’t wait for them to be let loose on the outdoor toys! Who better to trial toys and give us honest feedback than the children they have been designed for?

We plan to use the information to compile a definitive ‘top outdoor toys’ list for summer 2008 – ensuring that parents are left in no doubt as to what their young ones will love to play with and what will get them out into the fresh air this season.