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Practical Pre-school awards winners unveiled
After months of product testing and analysing results, the eagerly awaited 2011 Practical Pre-School and 5-7 Awards have been announced today at a ceremony in London. With entries from over 100 different companies, the Practical
Pre-School and 5-7 Awards are respected and much coveted by the toy industry. Tested by childcare professionals, the results are viewed as a measure of whatís good and whatís not in a field that is swamped with choice. The results relating to the toy industry are: Toys and Games 0-3yrs Overall winner: Mookie Toys - Scuttlebug Toys and Games 3-5 yrs Overall Winner: Jumbo Games - Smart Games Camelot Jr Classic Toys and Games Overall Winner: Learning Resources - Green Toys Tea Set Electronic Toys Overall Winner: Vtech - MobiGo Touch Learning System 5-7 Toys and Games Overall Winner - Schleich UK Ltd - Historical Heroes
Julian Hartfield joins Toymaster board
Argos unveils Christmas predictions
Interactive toys feature high on Argos’projected top toys for Christmas list.
According to the UKís number
one toy retailer, toys that talk back to children feature heavily as a clear trend.
The list includes Mattel’s Dance Star
Mickey and Fijit along with the Dr Who Childrenís Dalek Ride-In from Kids@ Play, which is predicted to be a hit. Andrea Abbis, Toys Trading Manager
at Argos says: ìMany of this yearís top toys are almost like friends for children, with functions that allow them to talk and respond. Theyíre great for encouraging communication skills, interaction and a sense of friendship.î Other talk-back toys in the Argos
Fab Fifteen includes Sesame Street Letís Rock Elmo, a toy that speaks to children and sings along while playing instruments and Moshi Monsters MoshíníChat, characters which become more chatty the more they are spoken to.
Commenting on the selection of the
Julian Hartfield of Kid’s Stuff, Uckfield, Sussex, has joined Toymaster’s board as a non- executive director. Kid’s Stuff has been a Toymaster member since 2008 and had previously been a members of Youngsters, where Julian was also a non-executive director although resigned some time before its demise. Julian’s wife Debbie sits on Toymaster’s marketing committee. Julian’s appointment will be placed before shareholders for their approval at the 2012
AGM in Harrogate on the evening of 23rd May at the Toymaster May show. Toymaster chairman, Ciaran Fitzpatrick, commented: “Julian’s appointment will
further strengthen the Toymaster Ltd Board. I hope you will all join me in supporting Julian’s appointment and wish him every success in serving the Members of Toymaster in the future.
Crack the Blogosphere with
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list, toy expert Andrea continues, ìWe normally select a top ten but there was so much choice this year we opted for the Fab Fifteen, with five boys toys, five girls toys and five for pre-schoolers. As number one toy retailer, many parents and grandparents have come to rely on the annual list to get the inside track on what will be on Christmas lists and we wanted to provide them with as much guidance as possible.î
Pre-school toys Dance Star Mickey (age 2 +) LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer Tablet (age 4 +)
Sesame Street Letís Rock Elmo (18 months +) Octonauts Octopod Playset (age 3 +) VTech Kiddizoom Twist Camera ñ available in pink and blue (age 3 +)
Blog-Match.com is a resource which has been established to allow bloggers and brands to connect with each other and work together. The team at
Blog-Match.com have backgrounds in PR, marketing and have also run
personal blogs since 2009, giving them an insight into why the PR/blogger relationship was often difficult. Bloggers sign up to receive the blog-flash newsletter each Friday morning, with registered companies able to announce campaigns via the blog-flash. Companies have given away review products, asked for button adverts to be placed on bloggers sites and most recently asked
Blog-Match.com to organise events for them to present to a roomful of expectant bloggers. As the resource matures, the ideas and campaigns get more innovative. Blog-
Match.com offers a full service to brands trying to crack the ‘blogosphere’ and is able to advise companies which campaigns will work best for each brand. For more information see
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10 Toyworld
Boy’s toys Nerf Vortex Proton (age 8 +) Dr Who Dalek Ride-In (age 3 +) Bop It! XT (age 8 +) Disney Pixar Cars 2 Secret Spy Attack Finn McMissile (age 4 +) LEGO Star Wars Sith Nightspeeder (age 7 +)
Girl’s toys Fijit (age 6 +) Moshi Monsters Mosh’n’Chat (age 6 +) Barbie Puppy Water Park (age 4 +) Chad Valley Designa Friend (age 3 +) Baby Annabell (age 3 +)
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