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The top 12 ‘dream toys’ for 2020’s Christmas lists have been revealed

The list was announced by the Toy Retailer Association UK today ahead of the festive season.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 28th October 2020
Pikrepo

The clocks have gone back, the temperatures have dropped, the nights are drawing in, and the festive season is just around the corner.

And for children all across the UK, it’s time to start thinking about preparing those Christmas lists, to be sent off to Santa ahead of the big day day, but what are those lists likely to include?

Which presents are this year’s ‘must have’ gifts?

For children struggling to narrow down their top picks, and for parents keen to get a heads up on what gifts to buy in for the little ones this year, the Top 12 ‘Dream Toys’ for Christmas were revealed today in an announcement by the Toy Retailer Association UK.

The DreamToys list is the UK’s “most authoritative predictive list” of what will be hot this Christmas.

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Selected by a panel of retailers and industry experts, the list is independent of toy manufacturers and makers, and this year’s Top 12 is dominated by the big classic toy brands and licenses that have entertained children for generations – such as Barbie, Monopoly, Harry Potter, Lego and Star Wars – as well as the massively popular Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol, Pokémon and L.O.L Surprise.

The announcement of the list has been brought forward this year due to the rising concerns that many retailers have expressed about meeting demand in the lead up to Christmas which centre around supply and retail issues as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

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Shoppers are thus being encouraged and advised to “buy early or risk missing out”.

Gary Grant – Chair of the DreamToys Selection Committee – said: “We implore consumers not to leave their Christmas shopping to the final few weeks of the year [as] due to COVID-19 restrictions across the country, retailers will simply not be able to service as many people in store due to social distancing.

“In addition, couriers are already overloaded and will struggle to meet the demand to get presents to people before Christmas [and] added to this is the limited availability of stock compared to previous years.”

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Star Wars / Mattel Toys
Surprise Mini Brands / ZURU Toys

The Top 12 ‘Dream Toys’ 2020

(Listed in alphabetical order w/ RRP – Prices may vary with retailer)

  • 5 Surprise Mini Brands Mystery Capsule by Zuru – £6.99
  • Barbie 3-in-1 DreamCamper by Mattel Toys – £79.99
  • Harry Potter Hedwig by LEGO – £34.99
  • L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. Remix Fashion Doll by MGA Entertainment – £39.99
  • Laser Battle Hunters Vehicle by Character Options – £59.99
  • Monopoly For Sore Losers by Hasbro – £22.99
  • PAW Patrol Dino Rescue Dino Patroller by Spin Master Toys – £64.99
  • Peppa Pig Peppa’s Shopping Centre by Character Options – £39.99
  • Pokémon Carry Case Playset by Character Options – £39.99
  • Present Pets (Asst) by Spin Master Toys – £54.99
  • Star Wars The Mandalorian – The Child “Baby Yoda” by Mattel Toys – £29.99
  • Super Mario Adventures With Mario Starter Course by LEGO – £49.99

Throughout the course of lockdown, toys have been a constant source of joy for children during this difficult time and have brought families closer together, with statistics from NPD showing that toy sales have increased by 6% on the first nine months of 2020, while Games and Puzzles have seen an increase of 32%.

On top of that, a survey conducted by the Toy Retailers Association of 2,000 parents revealed that 56% of parents have spent more time playing with their children since lockdown, and 88% said they felt that toys had helped them bond more closely with their children.

There’s no doubt that Christmas may feel a little different this year, but there’s still lots of fun to be had, and plenty of memories to be made.

The Top Toy of 2020 from this shortlist is set also to be announced in due course, so stay tuned.

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Met Office launches nationwide search for new storm names and wants YOU to pick

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Thunderstorm sky

Is your grandma a force of nature? Does your best friend cause an impact wherever they go? Now you can give them the recognition they deserve…

By naming a storm after them, of course.

We know all the talk is about heatwaves at the moment, especially after weather forecasters have recently predicted that the UK is in for a ‘hotter than average’ summer this year, but let’s turn our eye to the upcoming storm season for a second, shall we?

That’s right – the Met Office is inviting the public to submit their suggestions for storm names for the upcoming 2025/26 season.

Now in its eleventh year, the Met Office works with Met Éireann in Ireland and KNMI in the Netherlands to compile the list every time the season rolls around, and this headline-grabbing naming initiative helps the media and the public communicate about the impacts of severe weather events more easily and effectively.

As part of the naming process, each of the three meteorological organisations will get to name storms using selected letters, with the aim being to reflect the diversity of the three countries, and in-keeping with usual storm naming conventions, names will be picked for every letter of the alphabet except for Q, U, X, Y and Z.

According to the Met Office, a number of factors are considered for a name to be on the list – including how difficult it might be to pronounce, if the name has different meanings in different countries, and if it could be considered controversial in some way.

Once the list of names is decided upon, it will be formally announced by the Met Office in September when storm season begins.

Man walking in rain
The Met Office has launched a nationwide search for new storm names and wants you to pick / Credit: Wikimedia Commons

“The storm naming system has helped us communicate weather to help people stay safe,” commented Will Lang, who is the Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, “and wow we need the UK public to help us compile a new list.

“Whether you want to honour a weather-lover in your family, remember a family pet, or get a friend’s name in the headlines, we welcome submissions from the public to help us pull together next year’s list of storm names.”

People can only submit their names online via the submissions page here, where there’s also the option of adding a reason for the suggestion, and must not be submitted via social media as they will not be counted.

Read more:

You have until 3 July 2025 to make your submissions, and the new list will be revealed in early September.

Featured Image – Johannes Plenio (via Unsplash)

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First Look: Fitzpatrick’s – Stockport’s new Irish Bar gets off to a stunning start

Danny Jones Danny Jones Fitzpatrick's new Irish bar and grill opening Stockport

Stockport has a brand new Irish bar as the growing Greater Manchester trend continues, with Fitzpatrick’s officially debuting to the public on Thursday, 19 June.

Taking over the former Bask site just outside the train station, Fitzpatrick’s is the borough’s answer to American sports bar meets an Irish pub and grill, with live music, a wide array of food and more.

Founded by the man who now shares his name with the already lively boozer, John Fitzpatrick – a.k.a. local producer, musician and DJ, Jon Fitz – the venue has big shoes to fill following its predecessor, but is already off to a very strong start.

We had the privilege of walking in on opening day, and the place was absolutely packed to the rafters from the off, and we didn’t even stay until the end. More fool us…

As you can see, it hasn’t taken them any time at all to get an atmosphere going; good weather on their inaugural day, but the free-flowing beer, classic pub food flying out of the kitchen, and musicians reeling off classic Irish folk music did most of the heavy lifting.

Plus, that beer garden and covered outdoor terrace area are pretty perfect in any weather, to be fair.

The scran on their maiden evening mainly consisted of pizza, chips and other easy-to-serve-up plates as they gradually ease into the first week or so of service, but with a full menu of burgers, pies, breakfasts and even Sunday roasts to come, we’re very excited to try the full gamut.

Regardless, the staff were pulling pints like pros, John himself had plenty of involvement greeting people and getting behind the bar, and the atmosphere was buzzing from minute one.

ln fact, that was arguably the best part about it all: there was that genuine feeling of a new community cornerstone being born, with the well-known Stopfordian reeling off names and recognising what seemed like almost every face that walked through the door.

You don’t get that everywhere.

A lay of the land at Fitzpatrick’s Stockport. (Credit: The Manc Eats)

Although this was their first proper day of trading, they had already gauged the kind of crowds they could expect by soft launching with friends and family last week.

That being said, as mentioned, there was a real tight-knit, community feel to the place, full of County kits, young families and older couples alike, all of whom seemed to be dovetailing together as if the pub had always been around.

SK is often dubbed one of those places where everyone kind of knows everyone, even despite how big the town is as a whole, and this definitely felt like proof of that perception.

There was even close-up magic from Stockport’s famous ‘Fingerless Magician’, Dean Lahan, who famously featured on Britain’s Got Talent and even featured for Team GB’s Para Ice Hockey squad.

Of course, there is some familiarity with the space having previously been Bask, but the location of the stage, a newly decked out bar and the large jumbo-tron style TV set-up for live sport in the centre of the room (providing prime viewing from virtually all angles) have made a big difference.

Based solely on the hordes of people that piled into the place the second the doors opened, we can’t wait to see what the gaff is like once it’s in so-called ‘full swing’. John and his team might just be on to something big here.

Speaking to The Manc, he said: “As a local lad, I wanted to put something into the space that reflects a lot of my history and culture. Music, food, sport and a great atmosphere are all things I love, so I wanted to reflect that in this gorgeous space.”

Open 4-11 from Tuesday to Thursday, 2pm until late on Fridays, and the same only from 1pm at weekends, we can imagine Stockport punters are about to be spending a lot of time in Fitzpatrick’s.

(Credit: The Manc Group)

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Featured Images – The Manc Group

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