Kids toys

I agree, my son is mad for Dr Who stuff, he's only two but is starting to notice all the Cbeebies merchandise. He get's a few bits for birthday a christmas plus a main present, last year I spent £20 on christmas and £50 on birthday. Both my boys have January birthdays so it's a lot of cost at once. I buy throughout the year to spread the cost. I've got my eldest son's birthday and christmas presents in the sales recently, my baby will be one this January so he'll only get a few bits and some cash for his savings. I think all brand toys are overpriced and children generally get too much.

HI berni, I think they are far to expensive because obviously you're paying for the hannah and HSM brand. Last year stepgrandaughter (8) wanted everything HSM but she doesn't really play with any of it. This year grandson (nearly 5) has discovered Ben 10, Transformers and Power Rangers.We've been picking up the odd thing at carboots, but we're leaving buying for his birthday and christmas til the last minute.
He's told us he wants a Ben10 watch or a Power Rangers watch for his birthday, but He's also asked his mum and stepdad AND his dad for the same so either we wait a while and see what else he asks for or he gets more watches than he's got arms to put them on.
It's a dilemma isn't it?

I have a son and he likes trains and they are expensive. He is alos an Everton fan and that gets very expensive! When he was little it was everything Thomas and that was also expensive.

You have to look at the technology that goes into these toys now though compared to when I was a kid. The toys when I was a kid were not electronic in any way and were usually cheap plastic and very very simple and as such had very cheap development and production costs. The toys now are more complex with electronic parts and more technology etc so it probably does stand to reason that proportionately they are dearer.

If you go back further still, some of my favourite toys were elastic and chalk, I played elastics and horsies and hopscotch all for around £2. Also we loved painting on the hot concrete with a bucket of water and paintbrush doing huge murals that all faded in the sun and then we could restart with a different picture.