London - A robot bumping into things and a quirky creature with pointy ears are expected to be among the top children's gifts this Christmas, according to the world’s oldest toy store, Hamleys, which expects an "imperfectionism" trend to drive sales.
The London toy shop, which was founded in 1760, unveiled its "12 toys of Christmas" list last week, which includes the pointy-eared and noise-making Crate Creatures, the Boxer Robot which is described as "needy and fallible" as well as a cheater's version of the popular board game Monopoly.
Tristan Robertson-Eyes plays with Elasti Plasti at the launch of Hamleys top Christmas toys, in London.
"We have cute and cuddly toys but there's definitely this whole world of 'sometimes life isn't quite so perfect' and actually it's quite nice to see some of these toys that are slightly different," Victoria Kay, head buyer at Hamleys, told Reuters.
Aston Robertson-Jeyes, aged 3, plays with Unice Unicorn, at the launch of Hamleys top Christmas toys launch in London.
Dolls, cuddly toys including a Paddington Bear and a Lego Hogwarts Express train from the Harry Potter book and film series are also on the list.
With three months until Christmas, London's retailers are already preparing for the important holiday shopping season. Department store Selfridges launched its Christmas shop in August.