Following the announcement of the annual ‘Dream Toys’ for Christmas list from the Toy Retailers Association (TRA), the real experts, kids and mums, have also been given their opportunity by the industry to give the big thumbs up (or down) to the experts’ choices.

The same selection of 70 toys was presented to groups of children and mums to establish the Kid’s Choice and Mum’s Choice Awards, in alphabetical order:

Kid’s Choice:
Angry Birds, Mattel, RRP £19.99
Bop-It! XT, Hasbro, RRP £27.99
Fab Effex Variety Pack, Spin Master, RRP £19.99
Flufflings, Vivid, RRP £19.99
Gelarti Designer Studio, Flair, RRP £19.99
GX Buggy, Tomy, RRP £39.99
Hot Wheels Wall Tracks, Mattel, RRP £29.99
LeapPad Explorer, Leapfrog, RRP £78.99
Milky the Bunny, Flair, RRP £59.99
Nerf Vortex Nitron Blaster, Hasbro, RRP £44.99
Star Wars Millennium Falcon, Lego, RRP £129.99
Top Agents Super Racer, Playmobil, RRP £19.99

Mum’s Choice:
Imaginext Batcave, Mattel RRP £49.99
Kidizoom Twist, Vtech, RRP £49.99

Common across both the TRA’s Dream Dozen and the Kid’s & Mum’s Choice lists are toys that use advancements in technology to enrich the experience of play and interactivity, such as Milky the Bunny, LeapPad Explorer and Kidizoom Twist. Of these types of toys, Mary aged 8 says, “Interactive toys are better. When Milky the Bunny moves and makes sounds back to me it’s cute and makes me want to play with it longer and I can use my imagination more.”

The Kid’s Choice awards did however show that the experts maybe underestimated the popularity of creative play. Girls highly rated art-based toys like Gelarti by Flair and boys favoured building sets from the likes of Lego and Playmobil.

Gary Grant, Chairman of the TRA’s Dream Toys selection panel says: “We’re delighted to see such a broad range of toys making the Kid’s Choice and Mum’s Choice lists. We know that every child is individual and so when we shortlist the Dream Toys, we work hard to select a variety of toys that will appeal to all children – whether they like gadgets, games, creativity, dolls, building and more. During the Kid’s Choice and Mum’s Choice judging process it was a real battle for the top spots, with many of the toys only narrowly missing out on a place."

This year’s TRA Dream Dozen, in alphabetical order:
Doggie Doo, John Adams, RRP £22.99
Fijit Friends, Mattel, RRP £54.99
Fireman Sam Pontypandy Rescue Set, Character, RRP £29.99
Kidizoom Twist, Vtech, RRP £49.99
LeapPad Explorer, Leapfrog Toys, RRP £79.99
Lets Rock Elmo, Hasbro, RRP £69.99
Milky the Bunny, Flair, £59.99
Monster High Lagoona’s Hydration Station, Mattel, £39.99
Moshling Tree House, Vivid, RRP £18.99
Nerf Vortex Nitron Blaster, Hasbro, RRP £44.99
Ninjago Fire Temple, Lego, RRP £91.99
Star Wars Ultimate Force Tech Lightsaber Assortment, Hasbro, RRP £39.99

The TRA revealed its predictions for the official Top Toys for Christmas at the Dream Toys 2011 event on 26th October. Kids were asked to put 60 of the top toys, as selected by the TRA, to the test and rate them based ‘fun to play’, ‘boredom factor’, ‘coolness’, ‘breakability’ and ‘play with friends’. Mums from the Gurgle.com network worked with their toddlers to select the best pre-school toys from a shortlist of 10 and, as well as the categories above, also considered ‘value of money’ and ‘educational play’.