Exactly four weeks until Christmas and the look of panic has not yet set in on the faces of parents happily browsing the toy fair at the RDS in Dublin today.
“It’s like walking into FAO Schwarz,” said Emma Tighe from Gorey , Co Wexford who was with her children. Her son Jacob’s (6) “eyes lit up” on walking in and he “darted everywhere”, she said.
Her comparison with the iconic New York shop is evident with shelf upon shiny shelf of this year’s biggest toy brands mixed in with demonstrations such as the Nerf firing .
Attracting most camera-poses is the life-sized transformer Optimus Prime truck. This orange flamed vehicle is pick of the day for Daniel (9) and Adam (10) McCormack from Dublin who are “really impressed” with the fair. In fact there so many toys they find it hard to pick their favourite. Unfortunately for them the giant transformer is unlikely to fit down their chimney next month.
The organisers are not shy about saying that this toy fair aims to “sell toys” but feel they offer something new. “Obviously we want to sell ...but we want to introduce the fun and play element to it ...it’s not just a hard commercial sell,” said Patrick O’Sullivan of the Dublin Toy Fair.
“It’s about creating an environment in which parents and children can come and play with the toys , so parents have a better idea of what the kids actually want and enjoy,” he said.
As well as different toy areas such as Lego and Pre-sechool a major feature is the top ten toys for 2013 area, with some such as the Textra Robotic Puppy and Furby Boom in short supply elsewhere.
Sharon Butler from Wexford said her children aged 5 and 2 “love it”. However she would like to have seen more toys out of the boxes so the children could try them out.
While children “can’t just take the toys off the shelves and play with them” there are “much more to play with than other places”, Mr O’Sullivan said .
Despite the hundreds of newly invented toys filling the vast hall the most noise came from a section where a giant games of snakes and ladders was set up. From here the giggles and screams gave off a taste of Christmas magic.
The Dublin Toy Fair runs until Sunday December 1st. Admission is €20 for five people, €5 for single entry with children under 2 free. The Santa Claus Experience is €15 per child. Dublintoyfair.com.
Top Toys 2013, selected by an independent panel for the Toy Retailers Association :
City Coast Guard 60014 – Lego Company
Doc McStuffins Doctor’s Bag – Playset Flair
Flying Fairy by Flutterbye – Spin Master Toys UK
Furby Boom! – Hasbro
InnoTab 3S – VTech Electronics Europe
LeapPad Ultra – Leapfrog Toys
Monopoly Empire – Hasbro
Monster High 13 Wishes Doll – Mattel
Nerf N-Strike Elite RapidStrike CS-18 – Hasbro
RoboFish – Zuru-Geemac
Teksta Robotic Puppy – Character Options
