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SECTOR GUIDE DRESS-UP & HALLOWEEN
HTI
With an extensive collection of everyday toy ranges, HTI’s Razzle Dazzle and My Princess collections include many glam and glitzy sets and accessories for girls. Girls can transform into a glamour Princess with tiara, magic wand and jewellery. There are also sparkly cowgirl hats, hair accessories, fairy wings, princess shoes and feather boas. HTI’s everyday boys’ ranges also offer several costume sets and accessories
MGA ENTERTAINMENT 0844 561 1899 MGA is planning a new range of creepy-crawlies this autumn, with its Legend of Nara collection. Aimed at boys aged six and over, the line is based on a compelling story of four tribes that once shared Planet Nara’s Narian valley, before descending into war with each other. The introductory range will be bug themed including spiders, tarantulas, cockroaches and earwigs. The bugs clip onto batterypowered chassis making them scuttle around and allowing kids to interchange bodies. The chassis also have a hook so bugs can be led into battle on a leash. The Legend of Nara basic pack will come with one bug body and one motorised chassis, while the twopack will contain two of each. A free standing display unit containing 120 pieces with a mixture between basic packs and two-packs will be available for in-store usage from August. MGA will also release a play-set with interlocking parts, allowing boys to build their own battle arena. The range will be supported by TV, PR and social media campaigns, while its collectability will be enhanced by further waved product releases.
JULY 2010
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for classic dress-up play. Boys can dress-up as pirates with a set that includes a skull and crossbones headscarf, cape, eye patch, earring and hook. There’s also a wide range of accessories and weaponry to help bring pirates adventures to life. The Western Rider range contains everything necessary for cowboy role-play including a Stetson, fringed waistcoat, sheriff badge and neck scarf.
SMIFFY’S
DKL
Suitable from the age of three under supervision or five without, Hama kits enable children to express their creativity, while improving their manual dexterity and concentration skills. Hama also has some sets especially for Halloween. The UFO Glowing Mobile kit comes with 1,200 glow-inthe-dark beads as well as three shaped pegboards. Scary and spooky designs can be created including
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spaceships, rockets, planets and aliens. The designs can then be attached to make a hanging mobile. Each individual design can also be stuck on the ceiling so children can look up at them when they are in bed. Another Halloween set is the Night Life gift set. This contains 2,000 glowin-the-dark beads and enables children to create designs such as butterflies and flowers that will glow in the dark.
0800 590 599 Smiffy’s has launched over 400 new lines in its 2010 Halloween catalogue. Last year was a record year for the company in Halloween pre-orders and total sales, but at the time of publishing, the firm’s forward placed Halloween orders were up 91 per cent on the same period last year. Research carried out by Smiffy’s showed that the fancy dress market wanted gore and originality in the designs of Halloween costumes for both adults and children. They wanted something new and original to complement the typical best-sellers. As a result, the company’s new adult Halloween themes, such as High School Horror, Cirque Sinister, Zombie Alley, Gothic Manor and Hell’s Kitchen, have been well received. Meanwhile, Smiffy’s has seen record pre-orders for children’s Halloween costumes in 2010 and has had a strong response to its new range of Teen Halloween costumes. Pre-orders have been pretty well spread over the Halloween range, particularly the new styles and specifically, there has been high numbers of orders for the new Adult Glow-in-the-Dark Gothic Manor Graveyard Bones costume, Cirque Sinister’s Scary Bobo The Clown and Hell’s Kitchen Deadly Chef, with the licensed South Park Devil and retro classics Batfink and Count Duckula all selling well too.