A Barbie doll. Photograph: AP
Start counting. The clocks may still be on British Summer Time, but there are only 80 shopping days to go before Christmas.
With retailers in the doldrums, we lucky potential consumers can expect the Chrimbo industry to be pulling out all the stops to make sure it's not an entirely humbug time for shareholders in high street stores.
The Toy Retailers' Association has already started to hang the mistletoe. Its 400 members - three quarters of Britain's toy shops - have announced their predictions for the 12 best-selling gifts for children.
Good old Barbie dolls, along with a spin-off of the Crazy Frog phenomenon, are on the list. So too is the Roboraptor, a 3ft moving dinosaur which its makers say "bites" and displays "hunter, cautious and playful" moods.
There's also Monopoly Here & Now, a 70th anniversary edition of the legendary board game.
Noticeably absentees include the latest Sony PlayStation Portable and Apple's iPod nano - but only because the association doesn't do video games and their ilk.
