DURBAN - Toys R Us & Babies R Us SA have revealed the “Geoffrey’s BEST of the BEST Toys 2018” list.
The release of the list marks the beginning of the countdown to Christmas and encourages gift givers to purchase early to avoid disappointment.
Nicole Jansen Van Vuuren, marketing manager Toys R Us & Babies R Us SA said: "The 2018 Toys R Us Geoffrey’s Best of the Best boasts an exciting range of innovative toys that demonstrate the creativity of the toy industry and the magic of Christmas."
According to the Toys R Us experts, in 2018 there will be a high demand from parents for toys such as augmented reality, collectables, slime, dinosaurs, unicorns and interactive pets.
The company said that they seeing an increasing demand for toys which encourage kids to get more interactive. Some of the interactive toys include ARIA's adventures or playing with the Furreal Rock-a-Too show bird.
Parents are looking for toys which encourage their children to have less screen time, and more time playing games that get them moving.
“This year’s list is arguably our most exciting and eclectic to date. The list shows how toys are continuing to progress with interactive items among the most popular," says Van Vuuren.
From the biggest collectable trends to exciting action products themed around favoured TV series and movies, this year’s list is incredibly diverse with price points to suit all budgets.
Many of the of the new toys that can be found in their stores are based on programmes or characters that kids have seen on Disney Channel. The toys are also inspired by movies like the upcoming Bumblee film.
According to van Vuuren, some of the new toys like the Nintendo Labo and the Lego Boost also teach young kids about engineering and coding.
There's also the return of a number of bestselling toys from last year, there's the new and exciting LOL Underwraps doll and Fingerlings Monkey with Baby as well as traditional favourites including brand new Lego lines as well as action packed Transformers Movie lines.
The company is expecting a good festive season and they have released their biggest Big Book for 2018 with 64 pages, a little extra in comparison to the previous 60.