Mini record player on track for No 1 in Christmas toy parade

A record player so small it belongs at a party in a Barbie Dreamhouse is one of this year’s must-have Christmas gifts as the vinyl revival takes an unexpected turn.

The £19.99 micro music set plays dinky 1.5in records and comes with an exclusive “mini vinyl” of the school disco favourite APT by Rosé and Bruno Mars. The toy makes the Toy Retailers Association’s annual DreamToys list of the 15 “hottest toys” this festive season.

The Mini Brands record player taps into the huge market for collectible toys. Part of the appeal is the 45 mini records to collect, ranging from Billie Eilish’s Birds of a Feather to Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline. The discs are sold separately in £8 “blind balls” with part of the attraction being the mystery of which songs are inside.

The trend for miniature products comes because making something smaller “makes it feel cuter”, suggests Melissa Symonds, executive director of UK toys at market research company Circana. While adults enjoyed the novelty, she suggested that children would relish acting out playing records in the same way that their parents did.

The record player is unlikely to satisfy high-end audiophiles, however, because the “vinyl” isn’t real. Instead, the discs contain a chip that activates a 30-second clip from the player’s internal memory.

The rundown of must-have toys comes as retailers brace for their most important trading period: the final three months of the year typically account for 45% of annual toy sales.

Hopes are high after sales jumped 13% to £2.6bn in the first nine months, according to Circana, which it said was the “fastest growth in a decade”. During that period, 257m toys were sold – 38m more than in the same period last year.

The buoyant picture is partly due to the “squishies” craze. Retailers are racing to keep up with demand for the sensory toys with NeeDoh the most popular official brand.

Paul Reader, chair of the DreamToys selection panel at the Toy Retailers Association, said 2026 had been “incredible for the UK toy market”.

He added: “We haven’t seen anything like squishies since the days of fidget spinners and before that POGs [a milk cap game].” Children loved the tactile toys, he said, because once you’ve “got it in your hands … you just can’t put it down”.

After a period when “kidults” (aged 12 and over) buying expensive Lego sets and collectible figurines propped up toy sales, Reader said demand for toys like squishies was pulling children back into toy shops. “We’re seeing more children coming into stores, that after-school time is busier.”

The 15 toys on the Dreamtoys list range in price from £13.99 for a NeeDoh squishy to £129.99 for a dinosaur-themed Hot Wheels garage. The furReal Gabby the Grow & Roar Tiger – an interactive cuddly toy that transforms from a cub into a tiger – may thrill an animal lover. For the legions of K-pop Demon Hunter fans there is a singing doll that belts out their hit Golden.

The near-£50 Pokémon 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box also makes the list, but as fans queue up outside stores to buy the latest card releases parents are advised not to leave tracking this gift down until the last minute.