Christmas is rapidly approaching and many of us will be starting to think about what gifts to buy this year. It’s always a good idea to buy early for Christmas – and that’s especially true this year.

Many retailers carried too much stock last year. They had to make heavy discounts just to clear the shelves. So it’s not surprising that a lot of retailers have decided to carry relatively low stock levels this year – especially considering the economic climate.

As we get closer to Christmas, it could become difficult to find toys and other popular gift items. Retailers who run out of the most popular toys might try attempt to order new stock to meet customer demand – but as most toys these days are of Asian manufacture, the lengthy delivery time tends to be several weeks. Refilling empty shelves before Xmas may not be a feasible option.

Based on current sales, Zhu Zhu Pets are one of the top selling toys this year. Zhu Zhu Pets are a gang of five cute and furry motorized hamsters, who come complete with a selection of accessories and toys. They use artificial intelligence which lets them interact both with the kids playing with them and their surrounding environment. They were only released in August of 2009 – and kids are going nuts for them. If stock levels are high enough, then they look guaranteed to be the top selling Christmas toy this year.

Even although they haven’t been out very long, they are already hard to find in the shops. Third party vendors are now selling them on eBay and Amazon for quite a bit more than the official ticket price.

However, if you can’t get hold of the latest fad toy, or if you don’t want to pay inflated prices for a fad that could easily die out in just a few months, then you might wish to consider a more traditional toy instead. Whilst these may not be the very latest and greatest craze – the simple fact that they have stood the test of time says a lot.

If you were after a nice toy for a young boy for example, a son or nephew perhaps, then a train set is always a good choice. A Hornby model train set will give years of fun and will still be in use when the latest craze has fizzled out and been replaced by something new.

You could just as easily apply the same reasoning to perennial favourites like Lego, Monopoly and Scrabble. All of these have been around for years and have adapted to meet the demands of today’s children.

Check out the full range of Hornby Dublo train sets – including the famous Flying Scotsman.