With under a week to go until Christmas, children around the country are busy deciding which toys to put on their wishlists.

This year a viral toy sensation is proving to be popular for young and old, as well as a push for more 'traditional' toys after the Covid years were dominated by devices with screens.

Listen to Morning Report here: Which toys are popular this Christmas?

Morning Report producer and Squishmallow fan Charlotte Mulder explained this year has been an interesting one for the toy industry, with the cost-of-living crisis impacting parents' choices.

"Lots of families were quite budget conscious, which is quite understandable, looking for the best value in toys, ones that won't break straight away and you can keep for a long time."

Mulder said Toy World's Top Ten Most Wanted Toy List was topped by a traditional favourite.

"We start it off strong with the Barbie Dream House, which was a personal favourite of mine growing up, and then there was the Lego Emirates Team New Zealand America's Cup Yacht, and then finally in number three we had the TikTok popular Squishmallows."

According to Mulder, the popularity of Squishmallows can be traced to their fame on social media.

"Squishmallows are basically these soft toys that have gone viral. You can get them in big, medium, small.

"They went viral in 2020. They are comfy, you can put them behind your head."

Mulder explained they are a 'comfort' item that people put on their couch or bed.

"But most importantly they are adorable. You can go for the simplistic look, people collect them, but it's not just the younger generation, that's the funny thing, it's actually the older ones as well."

Squishmallow expert Lily O'Moore said the audience for Squishmallows has changed over time.

"The audience was initially very young girls, but as time went on, and as the lockdown impacted so many people and they became so widespread through social media and the demographic became young adult women."

Outside of the top three, Mulder said toy companies are selling lots of 'traditional' toys, such as wooden toys, balance bikes and outdoor swing balls, alongside interactive family games like Monopoly and Settlers of Catan. - RNZ