Top 10 must-have toys this Christmas - but don't Lego of the old favourites

IF you want to know the most popular toys on the market it's best to ask the experts - and that means children.

Back in October, 400 under-12s were asked to part in a vote to find the top sellers for Christmas 2016.

The list was unveiled at the ToyTesters.tv Awards at a Kidtroplis event in London, with the winning toys being extremely well received by both boys and girls of all age groups.

But, in a gender split, girls preferred Hatchimals and voted it their Best Toy while boys plumped for Skylanders Imaginators, although both agreed the Nerf Modulus Tri-Strike Blaster was the coolest toy.

Almost inevitably, most of the top ten are interactive or electronic in some way, so it’s good to see that plain, old-fashioned, imagination is still being encouraged.

Toy trends come and go but there will always be room on Christmas lists for new adaptations of old favourites such as Play Doh and, of course, the best-loved toy of all, Lego.

The Lego Group began making interlocking toy bricks in 1949 and Lego went on to become one of the original inductees into the National Toy Hall of Fame before replacing Ferrari as "the world's most popular brand" in February 2015.

And the Lego success story continues. Figures for 2016 are not yet complete but 2015 saw a 25 per cent growth for the company with the toy reaching 100 million children.

"This has been the best year ever for the Lego Group," chief executive Jorgen Vig Knudstorp told anyalysts.

Whatever's on the Christmas list from your house, it looks like Santa's bound to be busier than ever this year.

Here's the 2016 top ten:

1. Skylanders Imaginators Skylanders Imaginators

The next incarnation of an adventure video game that gives kids the power to create Skylanders and bring them to life, with a compelling storyline, puzzles, battles, and a new line-up of heroes and villains. For PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Xbox One.

2. Hatchimals

Already sold out in many shops, this is the top gift for girls. Hatchimals are battery-powered, interactive, magical creatures that live inside eggs, but they can’t hatch on their own. Your child’s touch encourages them to peck their way out of the egg. Then they raise the furry Hatchimal through 3 stages, from baby, to toddler, to kid, teaching it to walk, talk, dance, play games and more. It will even repeat what you say in its own voice.

3. Nerf Modulus Tri-Strike Blaster

Part of the Nerf Modulus foam missile system, the Nerf Modulus Tri-Strike blaster comes with 10 Elite darts, 4 Mega Whistler darts, and 1 missile. Build, customize, and battle with the Nerf Modulus Tri-Strike blaster from Hasbro.

4. Play-Doh Ice Cream Castle Playset

The latest in the long-established and endlessly popular Play-Doh family of moulding putty and shaping tools. The castle offers a wide range of shapes and styles with its ice cream presser and interchangeable discs, to create delicious ice cream treats. Press down the easy-squeeze handle and serve your ice cream in the dish or cone, decorated with toppings, including whipped cream, silly sprinkles and crazy candies.

5. Air Storm Firetek Bow

The ultimate bow and arrow set. The Zonic Blaze arrows are hooked into the fast-load loops and fired upwards to scream 145 feet in the air and light up the night sky. The bungee elastic loops give incredible power and distance to arrows when launched. Includes 3 light-up arrows with whistling sound effects.

6. Anki OVERDRIVE Supertrucks

The next step in the Anki Overdrive Robotic Racing Set, Supertrucks combine phone or tablet software with actual race track and cars. This is an exciting racing/battling game for two players ‘driving’ real robotic cars on a highly-customizable track and shooting each other with virtual weapons.

7. Furby Connect

Furby's back – and he’s gone electronic! Get ready for an all-new, up-dated generation of interactive pet – Furby Connect! With a whole host of new tricks up his furry sleeve, and colourful eyes that display more than 150 animations that express exactly how Furby is feeling. Can even interact with Furby friends.

8. Zoomer Chimp

The latest in the Zoomer family (Kitty, Dog, Dino), this highly-interactive, electronic, rechargeable lifelike primate action toy promises more than 100 tricks, 200 sounds and voice commands. He balances and moves like a real chimp, upright or on all fours. This unpredictable chimp has ‘real’ facial expressions, complete with light-up eyes so you know how he feels or what mood he is in.

9. Silly Sausage

You’ll have to have your wits about you to play the super-speedy sausage reaction game. It’s a fun and fast paced activity, with 10 games and 5 sizzling actions. A challenge for one or play with friends and family.

10. VTechKidi Super Star

It’s Karaoke for Kids! Kids can sing to their favourite tunes with Kidi Super Star using the Music Magic feature to remove the main vocals. It can even change the sound of their voice with the built-in microphone effects, choose lighting styles for the colourful disco light, play fun rhythmic games, master tricky tongue twisters, record themselves singing, and lots more.