Christmas comes but once a year (and lasts about five months) – leader comment

It’s August and, already, it has begun. You know what we’re talking about. Don’t try and pretend you haven’t been thinking about them ... Christmas toys.

Cheer up! There are now less than 150 shopping days to Christmas

Only kidding. But such is the importance of Christmas sales that the business world definitely is.

Online retail giant Amazon has now weighed in with its predictions for the toys that will dominate children’s Christmas lists.

The toy that becomes the ‘must-have’ gift this festive season will clearly delight kids all over the world, while producing serious amounts of money for the companies who make and sell it.

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Some may hanker for the good old days when children were happy with a satsuma, chocolate coin and a board game in a large sock.

But, as reluctantly as those of us in curmudgeonly old Scrooge-itude may be to admit it, our younger selves would probably have been absolutely entranced by an interactive robot llama pet – despite its name, which we’re not going to mention.

But we should remember what’s important about Christmas – family – and not get too caught up in the well-planned and, some would say, rather cynical marketing hype.