What will the most popular toys be for Christmas 2012?

Decided what you are buying your children or grandchildren for Christmas this year? We may think that it's too early to think about Christmas, but it will come as no surprise that the toy retailers think differently.

The famous London toy store Hamleys has produced their list of what they expect to be the best sellers this year. Perhaps it is a sign of the difficult economic times we are experiencing but interestingly many of the toys on the list cost less than £50, which will still be hard to find for many families.

Here we go for the 10 toys predicted to be the most popular

1. Monster High Doll (£23)

2. Web Shooting Spiderman (£45)

3. Moshi Monster App Monster (£33)

4. Subbuteo (£40)

5. Innotab 2 (£105)

6. Nerf Elite Hail Fire (£58)

7. Barbie Puppy Play Park (£36)

8. Master Moves Mickey (£89)

9. Lego Lord of trhe Rings, The Battle of Helms Deep (£125)

10. LeapPad2 Explorer (£105)

It was supposed to be 10 and then there were two late entries, Boo the Dog and the retro Cabbage Patch Kids. Talk about a trip down memory lane.

Perhaps more surprising is that Lego and the table football game Subbuteo are on the list, joining Barbie who all became popular in the 1970s. It is certainly interesting that many of the characters and games that were around when we were children are still proving as popular today, even though today's youngsters have so many hi-tech gadgets and media to play with. Perhaps it is the simplicity of some games that still appeal, not to mention children still being attracted to “the good guys”.

Would it be health, riches, happiness? The good news is that God has lots of presents for us. First off there is the greatest gift of all: salvation, available because of Jesus' death on the cross. We don't deserve any of His presents but we can still receive them gratefully.

When Jesus left this earth his parting gift for all of us was peace; peace of mind and heart. Who wouldn't want that in this frenetic, stressful world? And the wonderful message is that God's gifts are available to us anytime; we don't have to wait until Christmas. But like any present we can choose to receive it or not; have you accepted His gift of life?