It is often difficult to predict whether a product is going to be a hit or miss with children but if it involves collecting adorable squidgy animals’ then the chances are it will become popular. Think of Moj Moj as tangible Pokemon who have retired from the battle scene and just want to chill out all the time, as much as I hate to admit it, they are quite adorable. The Moj Moj Claw Machine Playset is a real working claw machine with three directional joysticks and two play modes, as well as lights, music and other arcade sounds.

What better way inspire young scientific minds to explore the micro world than with this pocket microscope from the Natural History Museum, which they proudly announce to be one of their all-time best-sellers. Even the most familiar everyday object can look completely alien under this microscope with its powerful lens that can provide up to 40x magnification, it comes with two specimen slides, a lens cleaning cloth and full instructions to get curious minds started.

STEM is a big feature in many of this years must have toys as it sneaks education along side the fun and games. The Geosmart Moon Lander is a 31 piece magnetic construction kit that comes with a wireless remote control. Suitable for ages 5+ it is made from eight strong magnetic sections with stainless steel clamps inside plastic housing, it has two snap-in motors and four track wheels with two tracks, prepared to take on rough Luna terrain.

The SmartMax Start is a magnetic building kit made up for 16 chunky colourful magnetic bars (12 medium and 4 long bars) and 9 metal balls suitable for ages 1+, the magnets are strong enough to hold a structure but not powerful enough to risk trapping little fingers. The blue and green coloured bars repel whilst the yellow and red coloured bars attract, they both attach to the balls and up to 20 bars will fit on one ball.

The summer has been and gone, but rumours have it that it will be back next year, so there is no harm getting prepared and stocking up on some outdoor games - and what could be a better place to start than the Guinness World Record setting Aerobie Pro Ring (thrown 406 meters). This flying ring means, skill depending, you can play catch with a friend more than 90 meters away. The proprietary aerodynamic design helps to make accurate and long distance throws straightforward and the soft rubber edge makes catching comfortable, no stubbed fingers.

You were probably always taught not to play with your food, but this adorable play set actively encourages it! Aimed at ages 18 months-6 years (although there’s no reason to stop playing at 6 years old) it is great for imaginative play and especially designed for little hands. This kit has 100 brightly coloured, detailed, play food items, that are chunky and rubberised to provide safe playtime, it comes with a handy storage tub (30cm length x 30cm heights) with carrying handles to aid with tidying everything away at the end of playtime.

Children love playing with kitchen sets, I mean they are interesting, its were food lives and they haven’t had the years of tedious washing up and chores to make them resent every second spent in one. Melissa and Doug Chef’s Kitchen in Charcoal is a beautifully designed modern play kitchen to spark the minds of young budding chefs (or future kitchen porters, that’s where Chef Ramsey started).

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD - We normally save all our toy reviews for the end of the year, but we are making an exception because: one, this is not a toy; it is so much more; and two, Harry Potter is for life, not just for Christmas.

Like many people I can remember getting my stabiliser removed off my first bike, I felt like I was such a grown up setting out for the first time on wheels, shortly after I was covered in plasters and iodine. The problem with stabilisers is they fail to teach you the art of balance and subtle leaning needed to master a bike, to ease children into the world of cycling a balance bike is a good place to start.

The Drone craze has been and gone, and there is no fear of receiving one of those cheap and impossible to control little buzzy bots in our stockings this year, what has been left is a variety of decent drones for the people might have the dedication to take the drone out more than once and learn how to control it properly. If you are looking to try your hand at aerial video and photography but still can’t bring yourself to stump up the cash for a top of the range model that you might instantly lose on its maiden flight, then the Zoopa Q900 Phoenix might be