KEY POINTS:
It's goodbye robotic reptiles and hello chattering Mushabellies for kids this Christmas.
While hot new toys such as Mushabellies (small, cute, soft toys that make a sound when squeezed and retail from $16.99 upwards) are poised to be the next big thing, perennial favourites such as swingball, board games, Barbie, Pixel Chix and Thomas the Tank Engine and Hot Wheels are sure to be big sellers.
For toys for grownups with cash to burn, Mansors Jewellers is selling flash Vertu mobile phones. Prices range from $7000 to $100,000, with a $150,000 model available by order and Louis Vuitton recommends its monogrammed shearling handbag for a cool $6150.
For the person who has everything, Swarovski has iPod earphones with crystal earpieces, which range in price from $173 to $320, or decorative crystals for $10,900.
The Warehouse general manager of marketing Stuart Yorston said Mushabellies were hugely popular overseas. "About six months ago Egg Flips toys were big, but Mushabellies are the big thing for the moment."
Board games such as Monopoly, Snakes and Ladders, and Cranium are hot favourites every Christmas. Skateboards and swingball appeared to be back in vogue and toys such as Barbie, Bratz, Thomas the Tank Engine and Lego were hot favourites every Christmas.
"The big sellers are the ones that traditionally do very well."
Transformers figures were huge this year, partly thanks to this year's movie.
Toyworld said its top toys for boys this Christmas included Transformers, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Mike the Mower from Playschool. Top toys for girls included My Little Pony, Mystic Babies, Bratz and Mushabellies, while trampolines and board games would be snapped up.
Upmarket homeware store Nest said its new range of toys from Habitat in Britain had just arrived in time for Christmas and was expected to do well. This included old-fashioned wooden toys such as mini town blocks, wooden robots, and the Oscar rocking lamb for $249.
For adults, flashing ice cubes and Sommeil double hammocks are set to be popular, with the Concetta porcelain dinnerware/serveware range selling well from $18.95. Other gift ideas include Adrift floating pebbles for water features or pools.
Gardening gifts are always popular at Christmas and Palmers Gardenworld, Glen Eden, said roses were back in vogue as were vegetables. Richer colours and strongly scented flowers were selling.
IDEAS FOR ALL AGES
Children
* Mushabellies soft toys ($17 upwards)
* Transformers ($10-$120)
Teenagers
* iPod ($122 upwards)
* Mobile phone ($65 upwards)
* Xbox (around $550)
* PlayStation 3 (around $700)
* Nintendo Wii (around $500)
Mum/wife
* Perfume/skin care gift packs
* Jewellery
Dad/husband
* Flashing ice cubes ($17)
* Satin boxers ($10 upwards)
* Barbecue($100 upwards)
Grandparents
* Chocolates ($10-$15)
* Gardening goods
* Books
Popular gifts for all
* Board games ($15 upwards)
* Roses and merlot-coloured lillies
* Swingball ($30)
* Trampolines ($300 upwards)
Quirky gifts
For the person who has everything:
* A world-first CD single for your dog that only it can hear. The Christmas single A Very Silent Night has been recorded at the highest possible frequencies so that only dogs can hear it. All proceeds go to the SPCA. Price is $4.99.
* How about three ducks, five school books, a goat or a pair or lambs? These are some of the many gifts you can buy through Oxfam Unwrapped. Your friend or loved one receives a card detailing the present you bought them and the real item goes to those who need it most. Items start at $10.
BUDGETING CUTS STRESS
Budget advisers are reminding people to go easy on spending this Christmas.
Whangarei Budgeting Services service co-ordinator Philippa McCormick said Christmas was about family, not stressful debt.
She warned people to be wary of putting goods on credit if they couldn't afford the repayments. "What a lot of people don't realise is that if you don't make the payments, the goods can be taken and sold at auction for a lot less than you paid for them, but you still have the debt. So you end up with a big debt and nothing to show for it. Not much of a Christmas present really."
For information on sorting out your money during the holidays go to www.familybudgeting.org.nz
* Last December, Kiwis carried out 66,966,574 electronic transactions totalling $3,774,346,489.
* The busiest day on record was Friday, December 22 with 3,262,000 electronic transactions worth $197 million.
Source: Paymark
ONLINE SHOPPING
An estimated 1.02 million people in New Zealand will make an online purchase this Christmas, leading to an estimated total spend of $437 million.
Top ten online shopping gifts
1. Clothing
2. Books
3. Toys
4. Gift voucher
5. Beauty Products
6. Perfume
7. Gift basket
8. Clothing accessories
9. CDs/records/tapes
10. Jewellery
Source: Nielsen Online
WEARING IT A BIT TOO WELL
If you are struggling to find a gift for the female in your life, remember that a third of Kiwi women are wearing worn-out and holey underwear.
This statistic is revealed in a survey by women's underwear maker Bendon, which also discovered that - surprise! - lingerie is the gift New Zealand women most want.
Fifty seven per cent of those who responded to the survey said they'd prefer lingerie to gifts such as perfume, flowers, manicures and foot massages.
"We were quite shocked that a third of the respondents admitted that they are wearing holey underwear," said Bendon marketing manager Carol Riley.
She said it was easy to buy lingerie for loved ones. All it took was a peek into the woman's lingerie drawer to get her bra and underwear sizes.
But if lingerie shopping strikes fear in the manly heart, other popular gift ideas included having the house cleaned, a sleep-in or a dinner.
Thirty one per cent of survey repondents claimed G-strings were the underwear men found most appealing on them.
But the worst lingerie crime was a having a G-string showing over the top of pants.
