It may still be summer but parents are being urged to buy Christmas gifts early due to supply problems.
Parents have been advised to buy popular toys early because of delays at Chinese ports.
The message from the boss of The Entertainer, Britain’s biggest independent toy chain, came despite it still being the height of summer.
It comes amid delays at some ports in the Guangdong province of China due to local Covid-19 outbreaks.
There have been warning that the problems could be worse than the Suez blockage in March this year, when a container ship was stuck across the canal for six days and caused huge hold-ups.
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Gary Grant, founder and executive chairman of The Entertainer, said: “The shipping crisis in China is causing uncertainty as to what will be available and when.
“So above all, we urge our customers to shop early for Christmas this year to avoid disappointment.”
The chain predicts the best-selling toys this year will including PAW Patrol, with demand expected to fuelled by a new movie based on the TV series this summer.
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Other ranges forecast to be in demand include Coco Melon, Super Mario, Barbie and Bluey.
The issues in China, where many of the toys are made, have been short-lived.
However, the impact has already fed through to higher freight costs from the Far East.
And like the Suez blockage, it is feared it could take months for the cargo backlog in Southern China to clear.
