Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1195815
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 DECEMBER 2019 NEWS @ianborgpage ian@ianborg.eu Take care of yourself and others this holiday season. Don't drink and drive. several layers for kids to unbox, with the latest LOL Surprise having codes for each layer, which kids will have to punch in, to retrieve their next gift. The 2005 sensation Gormiti have also made a comeback, according to Camilleri. Gormi- ti are plastic monster mini-fig- ures, sold together with training cards containing a description of the same character. "Gormiti is an old classic which has re- cently seen a comeback; while they're geared at children from the ages of four to eight, the figures are also purchased by adult collectors." Collaborations between vari- ous brands and toys have also been popular this year. Eight- year-old YouTuber Ryan Kaji's collection of toys branded un- der Ryan's World have been flying off the shelves. "The Ryan's World collection has been very popular – kids watch him on YouTube, and instant- ly want to buy his products," Stephanie Buhagiar said. The collection includes the popular Super Surprise Egg, which con- tains four surprises inside. For educational toys, VTech's 2-in 1 Learn and Zoom Motor- bike proved very popular this year. For ages 18 to 36 months, this bike has handlebars that move like a real bike and easi- ly transforms from a tricycle for unsteady toddler into a two-wheel bike. The Learn and Zoom also features an evicting activity panel. This year has also seen the re- surgence of traditional wooden toys. "Educational wooden toys have been flying off the shelves this year due to people look- ing for a more environmen- tally friendly option," Camilleri said. Globally over last the few years, wooden toys have made a comeback, due to their mini- malistic, chemical-free and sustainable design. Buhagiar said that another hot ticket item this season was Zuru's RainBocorns, another collectable item. "There are 13 characters to collect in Series 2, including Unicorns, Llama- corns, Pandacorns and even the rare Flamigocorn… they've been massively popular this year." Relatively new to the market, Kindi Kids have also been in- credibly popular. With five dif- ferent dolls to collect, as well as various accessories, kids have been clamouring to get their hands on them. For older boys, the Fortnite Nerf Gun for ages eight and up, capitalises on the globally pop- ular video game. "While there have been stand-out games this year, what Juniors noticed is that price does ultimately mat- ter, in some cases more than the actual products. Through- out December, Juniors had sales across all our stores, and we've found that the toys that were the most successful this year were the ones that were on sale," Buhagiar said. Despite the mid-December high both Buhagiar and Camill- eri said that the political turmoil the country had been plunged into at the end of November had a negative effect on sales for both shops. "Black Friday this year was a big hit, better than last year, in fact, every year it seems to get bigger and better. However, during the first week of December when the political crisis first hit, we did see a drop in sales and do attribute that to the turbulent period the country was facing. However, as Decem- ber went on it started to pick up," Buhagiar added. Camilleri added that although sales picked up, the Christ- mas magic wasn't the same. "I don't want to complain because we've still been very fortunate this year, but we definitely saw a dip in sales across all our stores at the beginning of December. I don't exactly blame anyone for not feeling in the shopping mood with everything that is going on in the country." Christmas favourites: The Fortnite Nerf gun, LOL Surprise, and below left, Vtech products for toddlers, as well as wooden toys and Kindi Kids