Last year Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters took Christmas by storm, being traded online for as much as £40 as stores ran out of stock. Toys R Us are predicting the hamsters may be the biggest selling toy this Christmas as well, with the advent of Khung Zhu and Special Forces hamsters.
If you have sons, daughters, nieces, nephews or indeed if you need to buy a Christmas gift for any children under 10 (though they say they must be at least 4) then these furry friends may provide the answer. The Zhu Zhu population has been breeding like rabbits, with 24 new hamsters launched (in a marketing sense) in 2010. But beware – although prices seem inexpensive at around £10, these are collectable toys, plus there are accessories, so it is easy to spend well over £50.
Price Check has searched for the best prices for the hamsters and a selection of their accessories, and has sourced reductions of as much as 40% off the price. Please add your findings in the comments section below, as prices and offers regularly change.
Firm favourites
A selection of best prices for these are: Jilly is best priced with Argos in-store at £7.99 and can be £11.95 elsewhere. Play.com sells Scoodles and Winkie for £8.95.
Bulk buys
Boots is currently offering 3-for-2 on selected toys, and they stock a selection of Zhu Zhu hamsters and accessories. So for example, you could buy the badger-like Rocco, the visually underwhelming Kung Zhu Special Forces hamster Rivet and pea-green favourite Sergeant Serge for £20 in-store, or £22.90 on-line (including postage), working out at £6.67 per hamster in-store or £7.63 each online. Do check store availability before you set off.
If you have not opened a credit account with Very yet, you can squirrel away three hamsters for as little as £5.62 each. If you input the code provided by My Voucher Codes you get £15 off your first order over £25. So if you buy a Ninja, Special Forces and Rockstar, the overall cost will be £16.87 including standard postage.
Selected accessories
There are accessories galore, and here is a selection of the best prices at the time of writing: a grooming salon with Amazon is a snip at £18.35, down from the RRP of £22.99. The Spiral slide has an RRP of £19.99, however is best-priced at £9.99 with Smyths in-store. The deluxe fun house will keep the hamsters entertained for £13.25 at Play.com rather than the RRP price of £19.99.
The cool dudes
Play.com lead the way online with The Wild Bunch with Rocco, ZuZu and Stinker being £6.99 and Sweetie a pound more at £7.99. They also have the Rockstar's fruitily named Pax, Ryder and Kingston at £6.99, with Roxie being a diva at £7.99. In-store Toys R Us have the Rockstars and Wild Bunch for £8.97.
Tough-nut hamsters
Leading the way in the new-style battling hamsters are Kung Zhu Ninjas, which include Drayko, Yama, Azer and Thorn, and it's all going to kick off at John Lewis, where they cost just £8.95. Ding ding! You can also make your Kung Zhu hamster even harder, with Ninja Armour for £7.95.
Fight it out in the Battle Arena
The best online price with Amazon for the Kung Zhu Pets Arena Deluxe Playset is £19.99. Play.com has it for the same price. Best in-store price is with John Lewis at £23.95. Preparation is vital in any battle, and where better for your hamsters to do this at the Ninja Dojo base. The best online price is with Play.com at £13.99. Best in-store offers are with Argos and Toys R Us for £19.99.
Kung Zhu Special Forces (Serge, Rock'o, Stonewall and Rivet) are commanding the shelves at John Lewis for £8.95 and Toys R Us at £8.97. Best on-line price: Play.com at £6.99.
One-stop shop
Toys R Us have the Exclusive Big City Playset, which includes two hamsters (Mr Squiggles and Patches), bedroom, bathroom, connecting tunnel, exercise wheel, car and ball for £69.99.
Good luck.
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