Top toys for Christmas 2013: where to find them cheapest

The Toy Retailers Association has published its list of what it believes will be the most popular toys for Christmas 2013. Here's where you can find them cheapest.

The list of the most wanted toys for Christmas 2013 has been released by the Toy Retailers Association.

It includes toys such as Lego’s City Coast Guard, Monopoly Empire from Hasbro, LeapPad Ultra and Flying Fairy by Flutterbye.

These toys are likely to be appearing on lists for Santa across the country, but prices vary quite a bit at different shops. So if one has appeared on your shopping list, make sure you’re not paying over the odds with our guide to finding the best price.

Most popular toys

The top 10 list is chosen by a panel of independent buyers which represent 80% of toy retailers, including shops like Hamley’s, The Entertainer, Argos, Smyths Toys and Toys R Us.

As the toy shops are desperate for shoppers’ cash, there are quite a few deals and discounts on Christmas toys. There are actually 11 toys included and this is because the judges have placed the two tablets in a shared position.

Lego City Coast Guard

Retail: £59.99

Cheapest: £41.19

The Coast Guard Patrol set from Lego includes a helicopter, submarine, dinghy, lighthouse, six mini figures and three sharks. It retails for £59.99.

It’s cheapest from Toys R Us for £41.19 and slightly more at Argos for £41.29. At Smyths Toys the price is £41.39 while at Asda it's £50 and at Amazon it's quite a bit higher at £56.49. 

Doc McStuffins doctor’s bag playset

Retail: £19.99

Cheapest: £12.99

If you weren't aware, Dottie “Doc” McStuffins is a doctor whose job it is to fix toys with her own entourage of stuffed friends helping her out on the Disney Junior show. Being a doctor she has a doctor’s bag to store equipment such as a thermometer, syringe and stethoscope (all in purple, covered in glitter).

The retail price is just under £20 and there isn't much variation on price across the retailers. The cheapest price I could find is £12.99 at John Lewis followed by £13.29 at Amazon while Asda is selling it for £19 and at Smyths Toys it's £19.89.

Flying Fairy by Flutterbye

Retail: £34.99

Cheapest: £23.29

The ‘magic’ Flying Fairy can be flown through the air, with the movement of a child’s hand, for five minutes when charged for 25 minutes. It comes in three different colours and retails at £34.99.

It’s cheapest at Smyths Toys and Toys R Us for £23.29. Argos has knocked £10 off to £24.99 while at Asda it has a price tag of £29.99.

Furby Boom!

Retail: £59.99

Cheapest: £45.99

Furby toys regularly feature on these lists and this year it’s the latest model, Furby Boom!, which makes an appearance. The main difference with this one is the addition of new content, personalities and designs and it's apparently able to remember its own name and that of other Furbys.

It still speaks in English and Furbish. The retail price is a hefty £59.99, but the cheapest price I found was £45.99 at Smyths Toys. and Toys R Us. It's £48 at Asda and £49.99 at Argos.

InnoTab 3S

Retail: £99.99

Cheapest: £69.99

The latest version of the InnoTab has been launched just in time for Christmas and includes features such as a rotating 2.0MP camera and video recorder. It has 17 apps, such as an MP3 player, friends list and calendar and comes with 4GB memory.

Instead of paying the full retail price of £99.99, you can buy it from Smyths Toys and Amazon for £69.99 or £79.97 at Asda. It’s stocked in quite a few different places; Ocado, Play.com, Tesco and Bambino Direct all sell it for £79.99.

LeapPad Ultra

Retail: £119.99

Cheapest: £86.99

The second tablet in the list is the LeapPad Ultra which is another learning tablet for children aged between four and nine. It comes with 11 apps and 10 songs which can help children to learn new skills. It’s the only tablet powered by the secure browser Zui.

The top price is £119.99, but you can get your hands on one for the bargain price of £89.99 at Argos and £88.49 at the trusty Smyths Toys.

It's £87.49 at Toys R Us and £89.97 at Asda.

Monopoly Empire

Retail: £19.99

Cheapest: £12.99

This remake of the classic board game lets players buy brands from around the world, such as Coca Cola, Samsung, McDonald’s and Xbox. Instead of collecting houses you’re building a business empire by collecting rent depending on the height of your towers.

It retails at £19.99, but it’s cheapest from Toys R Us for £12.99. At Amazon it sells for £13.39 while Smyths Toys prices the game at £15.99 and Argos has it for £14.99.

Monster High: 13 wishes doll

Retail: £22.99

Cheapest: £10.99

If you’ve not seen it, Monster High: 13 Wishes, is a children’s film set at, you guessed it, the fictional school Monster High. The film came out this year along with a range or promotional toys such as these dolls. The price varies depending on which doll you choose from and each comes with accessories such as a pet, diary and hair brush.

The retail price is £22.99 but at Smyths Toys and Argos they're selling for £13.59 while at Amazon some sell for £10.99

Nerf N-Strike Elite RapidStrike CS-18

Retail: £39.99

Cheapest: £24.49

Despite having an unnecessarily long name, this is essentially a toy gun for kids which includes 18 foam darts and has a range of up to 75 feet.

Full price it’s £39.99, but you can get it at Toys R Us and John Lewis for £24.49. The next cheapest price I found was at Smyths Toys for £24.79, followed by Argos at £24.99. 

RoboFish bowl

Retail: £14.99

Cheapest: £14.29

Instead of real fish, these robot versions are the perfect hassle-free alternative which are activated with water.

The bowl is 100% waterproof and the fish mimic the motion and characteristics of real fish. There are four fish and four sharks to collect and they’re available to buy individually. The price for the set doesn’t change much, but at Smyths and Toys R Us you can get it for £14.29 which is the cheapest price I found.

Amazon and Argos both charge above the retail price at £19.99.

Teksta robotic puppy

Retail: £59.99

Cheapest: £46.89

This toy is meant to be a life-like robotic puppy and it’s able to respond to your child’s voice and physical movements. It does all the stuff a normal dog would do such as barking and crying and uses animated eye patterns to let you know how it’s feeling.

The retail price is £59.99, but I’ve found several shops selling it cheaper. At Smyths Toys and Toys R Us it costs £46.89. For a slightly higher price tag you can buy one from Argos for £54.99, it's £55 at Asda and at Amazon it's £59.99.

How to save even more money

By using a cashback website when buying online you can cut the cost of your Christmas shopping further. These websites work by paying customers the fee they earn from retailers listed on their sites.

Quidco and TopCashback are the two leading sites so it’s always worth scanning them before you buy something to see how much extra you could save.

More on Christmas shopping:

Top credit cards for Christmas shopping

Twelve good, cheap Christmas gift ideas

How to cut your Christmas travel costs

How to make successful homemade Christmas presents

The best cashback credit cards

Ways to spread the cost of Christmas