These predictions have been made with several assumptions. The main assumption being that Elmo Live will be this year's most wanted gift. Now there is a lot of competition out there so this is by no means a safe bet. The following is a look at some of the toy's competing with Elmo Live this Christmas.



The Dance With Me Teletubby costs just £40 but does not feature the realistic speach that Elmo Live has. However for £20 less it does have some good movements which are much more impressive than last year's big toy for toddlers, Iggle Piggle. One of the best features of the Teletubby is that you can play musical statues with it.

The Doctor Who Dalek Voice Changer isn't aimed at the same age group as Elmo Live, but I could see many of Doctor Who's target market choosing Elmo over the Voice Changer. The voice changer, if you don't know, is a mask which when you turn it on and speak through it makes you sound, slightly like a dalek (but not much).

Upsy Daisy and Her Chase 'n' Play Bed is quite a strange toy. For some reason Upsy Daisy chases her bed as it moves away from her. It's an odd toy but at £25 it is cheap enough for parents to purchase as well as Elmo live.

James Bond Scalexrtix is basically a standard Scalextrix set with a couple of cars from James Bond films and a picture of James Bond on the box. It's not likely to be competing over the same market that Elmo Live will be.

Star Wars Clone Wars Lego puts the latest Star Wars characters and vehicles into Lego form. Sure to be popular as this long running collaboration between Star Wars and Lego has always been in the past.

Even if Elmo Live can manage to fend off these other toys with high expectations, there will still be other obstacles which could prevent Elmo from being a sell out item this year.

Elmo live is an expensive toy for toddlers. More expensive than any toy aimed at this age group in the past. The biggest concern is that this is the worst possible time to release an expensive toy. This is because the financial crisis in the UK has given a lot of parents uncertainty about their future income and therefore encouraged saving rather than spending. Parents are expected to be a little more frugal this Christmas than usual.

Whether Elmo Live sells out this Christmas remains to be seen but at this stage, it looks like Elmo will not quite be receiving the high street battles over stock that was at first expected. If it does sell out, it doesn't look like it's going to be another Wii however, and stock should probably cover all orders fairly comfortably as long as consumers place their order a few weeks before the 25th November.