Every year, certain toys stand out as the hot ones to give – and get – as Christmas and Hanukkah presents, and parents scramble to get their hands on the popular items.
Remember the top toys of holidays past, like Tickle Me Elmo and Furby? I remember one holiday season back in the 1980s when Cabbage Patch Kids were the hot toy, and my sister and I couldn’t leave ours visible in our parked car for fear that someone would steal them.
Fast forward to today, and it’s a given that particular playthings are going to emerge as the hot toys of holiday season 2014.While it’s hard to predict exactly which toys will stand out, retailers have already been staking their bets. Last month, Toys“R”Us released its annual Hot Toy List, a list of toys expected to top kids’ holiday wish lists, Amazon.com and Walmart have put similar lists out.
The bad news is that many of the toys likely to be the most sought after aren’t cheap and probably won’t be discounted too much. The good news, however, is that you don’t necessarily have to pay full price for popular holiday toys, as I recently wrote over at U.S. News Money’s The Frugal Shopper blog.
Today’s hint is simple ways to save when checking off your child’s toy wish list, including knowing when to buy, what constitutes a good deal and where to find the deals (the experts over at DealNews have some great information on these topics). You can read more about these money-saving toy shopping strategies in my full post, “How to Save on Hot Toys This Holiday Season,” over at The Frugal Shopper blog, where I’m a contributor.
What are your strategies for saving on popular holiday toys? Share your tips here and over at The Frugal Shopper.
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I thought it would have been better to shop early, but now I know better to wait until after Thanksgiving! Thanks for the tips and links.