Top Christmas toys: What year had the most expensive must-have festive stocking filler?

EVERY year there’s one big toy that every child wants in their Christmas stocking.

And new analysis of the price of each ‘Toy of the Year’ since 1980 has found which ones hit parents in the pocket the most.

So far, the 2010s are roughly £25 more expensive than the noughties for Christmas presents.

While top toys for Christmas have gradually become more expensive over the 37 years of research, the costliest time for parents was in 1991 with the must-have Game Boy setting them back £146.28 in today’s money.

Analysis conducted by discount voucher site MyVoucherCodes took the original retail price of the toys, £69.99 for the Game Boy for example, and converted it into an estimated price in today’s money according to the rate of inflation.

Taking an average price of the predicted top 10 toys this Christmas, including Luvabella and Paw Patrol, this year is likely to cost parents around £83 per top gift – suggesting that 2017 is not going to buck the trend of presents requiring a greater investment.

With the exception of the Game Boy in 1991, pre-Millennium top toys rarely went above £30. The lower costs were largely attributed to the 80s and 90s obsessions with action figures – Power Rangers, Barbies, WWF (as it was known in 1992) and more, all costing a tenner or less.

Today, technology-based toys top wish lists of children across the UK. On average, our current decade is £25 more expensive than the noughties, predicted to cost £59.63 compared to £34.25.

Here’s a look back at each year’s top toys