{"id":11736,"date":"2017-12-20T12:44:41","date_gmt":"2017-12-20T12:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/?post_type=curious&p=11736"},"modified":"2020-08-26T17:12:41","modified_gmt":"2020-08-26T16:12:41","slug":"all-i-want-for-christmas-is","status":"publish","type":"curious","link":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/curious\/2017\/dec\/all-i-want-for-christmas-is","title":{"rendered":"All I want for Christmas is…"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\r\n Some presents consistently make it to the top of Santa\u2019s list \u2013 your bikes, your games consoles, your reasonably priced pony. <\/blockquote>\r\n \r\n \t\t\t <\/div>\r\n \r\n
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But there are certain years when one toy manages to transcend all others to become the \u2018It\u2019 toy of the moment \u2013 the one which sells out everywhere, all the children want, and the possession of which ensures a solid playground rep for at least a couple of months thereafter.

These \u2018must-haves\u2019\u00a0 tend to fall under one of three categories \u2013 merchandise, collectibles, or substitutes. Get ready for some major nostalgia as we revisit the ghosts of Christmas past\u2026.<\/p> \t\t<\/div>\r\n \t\t\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/section><\/div>\n\n

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Merchandise

2015 \u2013 Kylo Ren Lightsaber, 2014 \u2013 Frozen Snow-Glow Elsa, 1997 \u2013 Teletubbies, 1992 \u2013 Thunderbirds Tracy Island<\/p>\n

Films and TV shows love their merchandise, and every year there is one big entertainment juggernaut that successfully captures the imagination like no other.\u00a0 \u00a0Studies show that kids perversely tend to learn more from having a familiar story read to them repeatedly instead of having a different story read to them each time. As their familiarity with the story grows they grow to better understand both the characters\u2019 motivations and interactions, becoming increasingly engrossed in the fantasy world. The natural progression is that they then look to put themselves in the story \u2013 whether to relive it or perhaps to create their own version of the adventure. And that dream can be excitingly facilitated with, say, a \u00a334.99 Elsa doll or Lightsaber.<\/p> \t\t<\/div>\r\n \t\t\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/section><\/div>\n\n

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Collectibles

2012 \u2013 Skylander\u2019s Giants, 2003 \u2013 Beyblades, 1995 \u2013 POGS, 1986 \u2013 Merlin\/Panini Football Stickers<\/p>\n

Curating a collection can be one of life\u2019s small pleasures. Whether it\u2019s records, stamps, shoes or tattoos, it\u2019s also a pastime that can prove addictive (not to mention expensive). Children are particularly susceptible to its lures, with their collections serving as an easy currency of comparison amongst their peers.\u00a0 Every few years schools up and down the country fall prey to a new collectibles craze. Beyblades and Pokemon managed to manufacture this demand through an animated series \u2013 whereas the popularity of something like Football Stickers tends to peak around major tournaments. All that\u2019s needed is something that\u2019s broadly the same \u2013 say a card or a disc, that has the capacity to feature many different designs. Of course, a key component of the whole charade is that some designs will be much scarcer than others \u2013 inciting some suitable hysteria and bartering when a rarity is unearthed.<\/p> \t\t<\/div>\r\n \t\t\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/section><\/div>\n\n

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Substitutes

2009 \u2013 Go Go Pet Hamster, 2006 \u2013 Robosapien, 1998 \u2013 Furby, 1997 \u2013 Tamagotchi<\/p>\n

Children crave companionship but can sometimes find the compromises of building a friendship challenging. It turns out that other people can\u2019t always be relied upon to do exactly what you want and exactly how you want it. Crazy. As a result, kids can end up seeking a substitute for a friend \u2013 an animal, a doll, a teddy etc.\u00a0 These proxies allow children to experiment with the vagaries of language and emotion without the potential fear of ridicule or rejection. Furthermore, they can also garner a sense of pride from making their Furby happy or keeping their Tamagotchi alive \u2013 no mean feat if memory serves me correctly.<\/p> \t\t<\/div>\r\n \t\t\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/section><\/div>\n\n

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We\u2019ll be back for more fun and games in early 2018. Until then \u2013 stay curious!<\/h4>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":9,"template":"","class_list":["post-11736","curious","type-curious","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"author":{"ID":11769,"post_author":"1","post_date":"2020-08-20 14:14:33","post_date_gmt":"2020-08-20 13:14:33","post_content":"","post_title":"Team Curious","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"team-curious","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2020-08-20 14:16:45","post_modified_gmt":"2020-08-20 13:16:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/?post_type=people&p=11769","menu_order":0,"post_type":"people","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},"hero_video":"","hero_image":{"ID":11737,"id":11737,"title":"curious-1","filename":"curious-1.jpg","filesize":161626,"url":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/curious-1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/curious\/2017\/dec\/all-i-want-for-christmas-is\/attachment\/curious-1","alt":"","author":"3","description":"","caption":"","name":"curious-1","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":11736,"date":"2020-08-20 11:45:04","modified":"2020-08-20 11:45:04","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/curious-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/curious-1-300x113.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":113,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/curious-1-768x288.jpg","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":240,"large":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/curious-1-1024x384.jpg","large-width":640,"large-height":240,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/curious-1-1536x576.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":576,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/curious-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":720,"Header":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/curious-1-1920x720.jpg","Header-width":1920,"Header-height":720,"Wide":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/curious-1.jpg","Wide-width":1920,"Wide-height":720,"Square":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/curious-1-1152x720.jpg","Square-width":768,"Square-height":480,"Tall":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/curious-1-768x720.jpg","Tall-width":307,"Tall-height":288,"Mobile":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/curious-1-768x720.jpg","Mobile-width":768,"Mobile-height":720,"Facebook":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/curious-1-1200x630.jpg","Facebook-width":1200,"Facebook-height":630,"Grid-Item-Square":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/curious-1-768x720.jpg","Grid-Item-Square-width":768,"Grid-Item-Square-height":720,"Grid-Item-Wide":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/curious-1-768x384.jpg","Grid-Item-Wide-width":768,"Grid-Item-Wide-height":384,"Grid-Item-Tall":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/curious-1-384x720.jpg","Grid-Item-Tall-width":307,"Grid-Item-Tall-height":576}},"meta-title":"","meta-description":"","social-media-image":false,"relateditems":false,"related_content_title":"YOU MAY ALSO LIKE"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/curious\/11736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/curious"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/curious"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vccp.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}