The Mattel Christmas List
Barbie, Hot Wheels, UNO and Fisher-Price — the ones they ask for by name
This is the mainstream half of Christmas. We keep it on its own page because most of it has nothing to do with circus — nobody learns to juggle with a Hot Wheels car — but every December a good number of our families are buying these anyway, and they are the names children ask for by name. Our proper gift guide, the one full of things we actually teach with, is at bigstarcircus.com.au/christmas-gift-guide.
Paid promotion. Every link on this page is advertising. If you follow one you will leave this website and buy from Mattel's own Australian shop, and they pay Big Star Circus a small commission for sending you. It costs you nothing extra, but you are their customer, not ours: their price, their postage, their returns, and we cannot help if something goes wrong with an order. We do not take money to appear here and Mattel has no say over what we write.
Two things worth knowing before you click
Their shop is aimed at collectors
Mattel's Australian online shop is not the same as the toy aisle at a department store. A lot of it is collector pieces — Formula 1 driver cars, display-box dolls — bought by adults for themselves. So their "best selling" list is not a list of what children got last Christmas. Read it with that in mind.
We have left the battery ones off
Our own rule is that we would rather point you at the version without a battery in it. That has meant leaving off some of their biggest sellers, including the large dolls' house and the talking and singing toys. We cannot inspect anything we do not sell, so please read the packaging on whatever you buy.
What Mattel is actually shifting this Christmas
Mattel publish their own Christmas list and their own best-selling order. This is that, not our opinion — and worth knowing that their online shop leans towards collectors, so the top of their list is often grown-ups buying for themselves. Paid promotion: the links in this section pay Big Star Circus a commission if you buy. It costs you nothing extra.
Mattel's own Christmas list
Their full holiday selection in one place. The best starting point if you already know the child wants something from this world. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
The single Hot Wheels car
The plain one, sold loose. It is the best-selling thing on their entire Australian shop by a distance. Small, cheap, and it survives being trodden on, which in our experience is the real test of a toy in a house with children. Downside: you do not choose which model turns up. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
UNO, 80th anniversary edition
A pack of cards. No batteries, no screen, and it works on a caravan table on Boxing Day. One of their top sellers and about the cheapest thing they make. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
Whatever is on sale
More than half their catalogue carries a discount at any time, so this is where we would start if the list is long and the budget is not. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
For the child who wants to be on a stage
The one corner of Mattel that genuinely overlaps with what we do. Their Nutcracker range is built around ballet and performing, and we have a lot of children who come to circus for exactly that reason. Paid promotion: the links in this section pay Big Star Circus a commission if you buy. It costs you nothing extra.
The Nutcracker collection
The whole ballet range together. If the child has been taken to a Christmas show and has not stopped talking about it since, this is the shelf. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
Clara
The lead role, in costume. The one most children recognise from the performance. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
The Sugar Plum Fairy
The other part every child who has seen it wants to be. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
Ballet Wishes
A collector version, in a display box rather than a toy box. Downside: it is really made to be looked at, which is a different present from one that gets played with. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
The 25th anniversary Nutcracker
The big one in this range, and priced like it. A main present rather than an extra. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
Venus Williams, Inspiring Women
From their series of real sportspeople and scientists. We like these because the child can go and look up who the person actually was. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
Cars, and the Formula 1 thing
Hot Wheels has gone heavily into Formula 1 and it is the busiest part of their shop. Worth knowing a lot of those are bought by adults for themselves, so check it is the one the child actually wants. Paid promotion: the links in this section pay Big Star Circus a commission if you buy. It costs you nothing extra.
The Formula 1 range
Team and driver cars, sold individually. Downside: collecting by driver gets expensive quickly, and the one they want is often the one that is out. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
Formula 1 five-pack
Five at once, which is better value than five singles and takes the hunting out of it. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
Everything Hot Wheels
The full range, including the track sets. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
Matchbox Sky Busters
Little die-cast aircraft rather than cars. A cheap stocking filler for a child who has enough cars already. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
Building things
Building sets are one of the few parts of the Australian toy market genuinely growing this year, and they are the Mattel category we would pick for a younger brother or sister. Paid promotion: the links in this section pay Big Star Circus a commission if you buy. It costs you nothing extra.
First Builders big building bag
A bag of chunky blocks for smaller hands, from the people who make them rather than a reseller. It is the best-selling thing in their building range and about as simple as a present gets. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
The building sets
Their full block range in one place. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
Mega
The bigger construction sets. Downside: their online range here is thin compared with what you would find in a department store. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
Games for the table
Nothing here needs a battery, a screen or a flat surface bigger than a caravan table. Paid promotion: the links in this section pay Big Star Circus a commission if you buy. It costs you nothing extra.
All the card games
UNO and the rest. The thing we would buy for a family that is about to spend four days together. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
The wider games range
Board and family games. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
Everything under twenty-five dollars
Their own budget shelf. Useful for a class gift or a secret Santa where there is a cap. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
The little ones
For the younger brother or sister who comes along to watch and is waiting for their turn. We have deliberately left off everything in this range that needs batteries. Paid promotion: the links in this section pay Big Star Circus a commission if you buy. It costs you nothing extra.
Fisher-Price
Their range for the smallest children. Note their online selection is much smaller than you would expect from the brand. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
Little People
The chunky figures and playsets. Downside: the pieces are small enough to vanish under a couch permanently. — Paid promotion. Buying this takes you to Mattel's own Australian shop. Big Star does not sell it, and their price, postage and returns apply.
Before you order
Prices and stock belong to Mattel, not to us, so check them on the day — we have deliberately not printed prices here because anything we typed would be out of date by the time you read it. Australia Post publishes its last posting dates for Christmas each year at auspost.com.au. Order earlier than feels necessary.
The one we actually wrote for you
Juggling, mechanical kits, science sets and the things that get them outside — chosen by the coaches who watch children use them every week.
See the Christmas Gift Guide →