With that in mind Woolies has made its predictions for the top selling toys this Christmas, and they’ve plucked for some fairly obvious choices, going for the licensed products and movie tie-ins.

According to Woolies, your kids will be asking for toys such as Ben 10, High School Musical, Indiana Jones and of course the perennial Christmas favourite, Star Wars.

Specifically Woolies think that Star Wars Lego will be a big seller, and backed up by two successful brands, and a video game series, who’s to argue?

Also there’s replica whip from Indiana Jones, which I must admit has me wanting it right now.

High School Musical has been big for a while now, and looks likely to remain popular this Christmas, with the Sing Together Dolls leading the sales.

Retro fans need not fret as there’s something for them too in the shape of the Rubiks Cube… why did that have to come back? I still haven’t done the first one, at least without taking the stickers off and reapplying them.

Her name’s EMA (Eternal Maiden Actualization) and she’s just 38cm tall, which I’m guessing isn’t a problem for most of her suitors. She even has a setting called ‘love mode’, which according to her creators means she’ll kiss anyone who wanders by (bit like a Stoke lass then). She’s up for ‘grabs’ in September in Japan and will retail for just £90.

Minako Sakanoue of SEGA toys stated:

Strong, tough and battle-ready are some of the words often associated with robots, but we wanted to break that stereotype and provide a robot that’s sweet and interactive. She’s very lovable and though she’s not a human, she can act like a real girlfriend.

She’s quite a looker ain’t she?

I love the part where Han and Chewi appear from behind the plant, in the plant pot. All of my old figures used to hide in plants with their guns sticking out when I was younger.

Actually, come to think of it, they still do now.

Most councils have these areas with soft, kid friendly, flooring so when they inevitably fall from the top of a climbing frame or dive off of the swing they won’t hurt themselves too much.

The areas also tend to have climbing systems like the one pictured below, that are made from metal using laser cutting and are brightly coloured to stimulate the child’s imagination and interest.

Sadly many of these climbing frames get vandalised by teenagers who congregate around them and just use them as social hangouts. It’s a shame because the work and effort that goes into the design and creation of the play areas, just for children, is quite considerable.

The recent tests involved eight different areas, such as the lead content, the quality of the stuffing and their flammability. There were 182 different types of products tested, from 176 different manufacturers. However the only toys tested were toys that were made for China, not for export to the US and the UK; which is still alarming.

Of the toys tested, there were still some major faults that didn’t register as part of the tests however, such as sharp edges that would be dangerous to children.

This new USB powered instrument of destruction is a step up from the one I have as it comes equipped with a camera for remote carnage. The camera is actually mounted on the barrel of the gun, how cool is that? You can line up your victim from anywhere in the world, and shoot them in the face.

Then of course you’ll have to ask them nicely via MSN to reload for you, so you can shoot them in the face again.

In fact, this thing is so cool that it connects to MSN and allows anyone on your MSN contacts list to control it. Hmm, that sounds potentially irritating. You could buy it as a present I guess.

You can buy this awsome looking monster here from I want one of those dot com, and I do… oh yes.

I remember ’selling’ my Star Wars toys to my nephew for a nominal fee, and the rest through the Free Ads. I got 10p per figure….

Oh dear.

Sandi Thom was forced by her mother to give all of her Star Wars toys to her cousin. What a dark day that must have been for her.

Me and my brother had all the Star Wars figures and the Millennium Falcon when we were children.

My mum made us lend them to our cousin Robert. The night we lent them to him, his house burnt down and all our toys were destroyed. It was the saddest moment of my life.

Sandi’s latest single, ‘The Devil’s Beat’ is inspired by the Star Wars films.

I’m not too sure though from this advert quite how the arms of the kids playing with the Speeder Bikes are able to navigate through the legs themselves?

I still have my Speeder Bikes, though sadly I don’t actually have a table under which to drive them.

Figures from £1.89? I wish they were that cheap now, carded vintage Star Wars figures will cost you upwards of £10 to anything around the £500 mark, depending on the figure.

Corgi marks the latest in a long line of toy brands that Hornby has been adding to its cannon over the last few years.

Hornby also own the slot car racing phenomenon Scalextric, and two years ago they bought up the model company Airfix. To complete its domination of the model industry Hornby also own Humbrol paints, who are a favourite with model and train enthusiasts.

Hornby chief executive Frank Martin said:

We are pulling together the hobby elements of the British toy industry. We know there is huge untapped demand out there.

It’s called the Ferrari FXX Exclusive pedal go-kart and has been inspired by the limited edition Ferrari FXX.

Even though it’s pedal powered, it still comes with a seven speed transmission and an on-board computer that can be used to monitor your all important lap times. It has disc breaks, 12 inch rims and some bling 12 inch rims and racing slicks.

Just in case your toddler speeds too fast round a bend it also comes armed with aerodynamic spoilers.

The £1,239 also gets you a leather look steering wheel, racing seat, seat belts and some sleek body skirts.

If you’re a bit cheap and don’t love your child quite so much you could buy the cut down version for £415.