With less than a week to go until Christmas south-west children are putting their final wish lists into Santa.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Some of the toys the region's youngsters will be unwrapping in 2023 include interactive and digital pets, plush toys as well as the more traditional items such as Barbie and Lego.
It's Warrnambool Toyworld's Karina Valente's first Christmas as owner after working in the store since 2008.
She said stock was flying out the door and it was all hands on deck in the lead up to Christmas.
"The last three weeks have ramped up hugely," Miss Valente said. "It's definitely been seven days of busyness over the last three weeks, that's when it started to hit.
"Everyone's thought 'oh Christmas is just around the corner'.
"We had about eight or nine of the top 10 toys in store this year and I still have stock of about six of them which is great news," Miss Valente said.
One of the "huge ones" this year is Bitzees which are a 2D interactive digital pet which children feed and raise from a baby to an adult and later a Super Bitzee. Miss Valente likened the Bitzees to a Tamagotchi, a handheld digital pet which achieved cult status in the late-1990s.
Other popular interactive toys this year include My Puppy's Home where children construct a dog house and a pet puppy appears, and the re-released Furby - a plush interactive toy.
Miss Valente said the Cookeez Makery Oven was another in-demand item which saw children cook up their own plush toy, baked in a toy oven using a dough they mix and mould.
"The cookie maker play sets have been really popular," she said. "That's been really cool.
"A lot of the toys have become more interactive this year.
"We've got in a lot of You Tuber toys like the Pet X Simulator and BLOX Fruit. It's all the things that have been on You Tube."
While scooters have fallen out of favour, hoverboards are rising in popularity, especially the accessory kits which are "crazy popular".
"You get an accessory kit that you can attach your hoverboard to and turn it into a little go kart kind of thing," she said.
"The other thing that caught me off guard and I have sold out of was soccer goals, whether that's because of the Matildas, everyone's into soccer. I am completely out of soccer goals," she said.
Favourites such as swings, trampolines and bikes continue to be popular, she said, as are Barbie, Lego and magnetic tiles Connetix, which have been really popular.
"Squishmallows (collectable plush toys) are still as busy as they have been the last few years," she said. "They haven't slowed down at all."
Another surprise is loom bands which she said have had a resurgence in 2023 - more than a decade after the plastic and rubber rings which are woven together to make bracelets, were invented.
"Loom bands have come back around," she said. "I can't believe they've come back around. I have sold out but more stock is about to arrive."
