Find out what they'll want for Christmas at the Dream Toys show

The early morning scamper of tiny feet on Christmas morning need not mean impending financial doom for parents: every toy on this year's Toy Retailers Association bestsellers list costs less than £50.

Last year, one of the top selling toys on the TRA's Dream Toys list, Biscuit the electronic Golden Retriever from FurReal, cost £175. But Gary Grant, chairman of the TRA, said none of this year's list of 72 products cost more than £49.99, even though price wasn't one of the criteria used when selecting the expected bestsellers.

"We select on a number of different criteria, including the marketing campaign behind them; the packaging; whether they are part of the range and whether a film or TV series will increase demand – but price isn't part of that," he said.

The good news for parents and children alike is that the toys seem pretty good to play with too. The TRA shipped in 10 very confident pupils from the Sylvia Young Theatre School to test out toys at its Dream Toys show in London today, and the reviews were, on the whole, positive.

Nine-year-old twins Gene and Mischa had been playing with GX Racers Tightrope Terror for several hours, whizzing gyroscope-powered cars along a string to a track and smacking them into a carrier bag at the end. "The string can go to 10 metres long, and you can get the car to go all the way along," said Mischa. His brother demonstrated how the cars can also spin on their sides and have interchangeable wheels and covers, at the same time as eyeing up the K'nex at the next-door stall.

Rhianna, 10, was playing with the Sylvanian Families Caravan, but wasn't quite sure that she should be. "I used to play with Sylvanians when I was little, but not any more. I think you need to be under eight, really. But my favourite family is the rabbits and I do like the fold-down ironing board in the caravan."

There wasn't much of a meeting of minds when it came to which toys girls and boys played with. Boys made a beeline for the HM Armed Forces action figures, the i-Bladez Flightstick and its Salvation 3D helicopter, and the Nerf Raider Rapid Fire CS-35 Dart Blaster, last seen being used to blast polystyrene darts at Lulu my Cuddlin' Kitty. In contrast, the girls were hovering over the Liv Dolls – teenage Barbie sized dolls with interchangeable wigs and rather more realistic body shapes, the Pony In My Pocket Pony Arena and the Bendaroos Mega Pack - colourful tubes made out of mashed-up paper that can be cut to length and stuck onto cards to make patterns, pictures and jewellery.

However the one toy that everyone seemed united in liking was the Go Go Pets Hamsters. Character Options, the manufacturer of these electronic rodents, expects to sell more than 500,000 hamsters and another half a million accessories and playsets in the run up to Christmas. No wonder, as they are a vast improvement on the real thing: they scurry around their cage, talk to each other and play in cars, but they don't bite, smell, or die when you go on holiday.

One little girl was too busy playing to discuss the relative merits of the four models of hamster available – Mr Squiggles, Num Nums, Pipsqueak and Chunk – but Lennie, aged 7, and Jay, 6, dragged themselves away just long enough to say they wouldn't mind seeing a hamster or two under their Christmas tree.

The TRA selects 72 toys, 12 from each of six categories: girls, boys, pre-school, games, construction and creative. Grant said that this year's list reflected "a trend towards nostalgic characters and brands which have been updated with a modern twist". For instance, Monopoly City (Hasbro RRP £24.99) has been updated to include a Planning Permission square, the buildings now include skyscrapers and stadiums, and you can stop someone from collecting rent by slapping a prison or sewage works on their space. Best of all (for parents, that is), the game has been speeded up to take 35 to 40 minutes instead of several hours.

Dolls are also expected to make a come back this year, with Baby Annabell 2009 and Sally Doll – a cuddly toddler-sized doll – both making the top 12 for girls.

But the one update that may upset traditionalists is the Rubiks 360. Instead of the classic cube, which has to be twisted according to well-practised formula until all the sides form a solid colour, the 360 version is a transparent globe with coloured knobs on the outside and two smaller globes and balls inside. The idea is to get the balls though holes in the smaller circles and into the equivalent coloured knob.

It is very difficult, although apparently there is a knack. Breandan Vallance, the World Rubik's Speedcubing champion, who can unravel a normal cube in 10.74 seconds, was having problems. "This is impossible. Ok, it's very difficult. I definitely know someone I'm getting this for at Christmas."

See our gallery of the 'Dream Dozen' toys, as picked by the TRA.