With a clear wrapper, a plastic shell, and layers of packaging inside, one of this year's most popular children's Christmas gifts has been labelled the "toy of your capitalist nightmares".
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The LOL Surprise toy contains seven layers of wrapping containing surprises like stickers and charms and a brightly coloured doll, of which there are nearly 80 to collect.
Their popularity stems from the bizarre online craze of "unboxing", which involves people filming themselves opening presents or pristine packaged goods and then posting the video online.
YouTube videos of prim little girls opening LOL Surprise toys to reveal which doll is inside have attracted millions of views.
The toys, which can cost more than $80 for the largest version, are among the top-selling Christmas gifts at Woolworths and Big W, and have sold out online at Target and Kmart.
It appears to be an international craze, with a satirical piece in the Guardian UK describing the dolls as "the plastic population of a juvenile consumer hellscape" and an exploitation of "children's natural acquisitiveness, vulnerability to manipulative marketing tactics, untrammelled willingness to pester parents to indulge the whims of their moment and of parents' inability to withstand much of it, especially at Christmas".
The strategic card game Exploding Kittens is another popular Christmas gift, included in internet statistics company Hitwise's??? round up of top eBay searches.
Players draw cards until one is killed by the "exploding kitten" card, which can be diffused by cards including the "all seeing eye goat wizard", the "thousand-year backhair", or the "Tacocat".
Parents beware: the game is for children aged seven and over, but there is an adults-only version boxed in black.
Buying those two items would make up half of a possible Christmas spend, with Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showing Australians spent on average $202.30 on toys, and $34.93 on the all-important batteries during 2015-16.
The Hitwise figures suggest cheap electronics are on many Australians' Christmas lists, as PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, iPads and tablets were among the most popular searches on eBay at the beginning of December.
The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and Roy Morgan Research expect Australians to spend more than $50 billion from November 15 to Christmas Eve, and many shoppers will buy gifts online, including Amazon, which launched here this month.
With shoppers switching to online, it's expected to be a slow season for department stores. Myer revealed its sales for the first two weeks of December were down 5 per cent on last year.
The ARA said the Christmas shopping period got off to a cold start, as October trade figures showed a 1.82 per cent year-on-year growth.
IBISWorld research also suggests Christmas spending will stagnate, due to lower discretionary incomes, negative consumer sentiment, and year-round price discounting.
Department stores and jewellery and electronics retailers can expect a subdued season, as people move away from expensive gifts and towards items like food and alcohol, the research said.
Retailers are setting their sights on the traditional Boxing Day sales. In 2016, last-minute shopping and the sales meant people spent 23 per cent more in December than in November, according to ABS Retail Trade data.
Extended trading hours
Bondi Junction
David Jones
December 23: 8am - 10pm
Christmas Eve: 7am - 6pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: TBA
Myer
December 23: 8am - 10pm
Christmas Eve: 8am - 6pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: TBA
Woolworths
December 23: 6am - midnight
Christmas Eve: 6am - 10pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 8am - 10pm
Coles
December 23: 6am - midnight
Christmas Eve: 6am - 10pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 7am - 10pm
Westfield
December 23: 8am - 7pm
Christmas Eve: 8am - 6pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 7am - 9pm
Sydney CBD
David Jones
December 23: 8am - 10pm
Christmas Eve: 7am - 6pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: TBA
Myer
December 23: 8am - midnight
Christmas Eve: 8am - 6pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: Opening at 5am
Woolworths - Town Hall
December 23: 7am - midnight
Christmas Eve: 6am - 11pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 8am - 10pm
Coles
December 23 6am - midnight
Christmas Eve: 8am - 10pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 8am - 10pm
Westfield
December 23: 9.30am - 7pm
Christmas Eve: 10am - 6pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 7am - 9pm
Parramatta
David Jones
December 23: 8am - 10pm
Christmas Eve: 7am - 6pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: TBA
Myer
December 23: 8am - 10pm
Christmas Eve: 8am - 6pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: TBA
Woolworths - Westfield
December 23: 7am - midnight
Christmas Eve: 6am - 10pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 8am - 8pm
Coles
December 23: 7am - 10pm
Christmas Eve: 7am - 9pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 7am - 10pm
Westfield
December 23: 9am - 9pm
Christmas Eve: 9am - 6pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 7am - 9pm
Penrith
Myer
December 23: 8am - 10pm
Christmas Eve: 8am - 6pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: TBA
Woolworths
December 23: 6am - 11pm
Christmas Eve: 6am - 8pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 8am - 8pm
Coles
December 23: 24 hours
Christmas Eve: 24 hours - 10pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 9am - 6pm
Westfield
December 23: 8am - 7pm
Christmas Eve: 8am - 6pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 8am - 6pm
Chatswood
David Jones - Chatswood Chase
December 23: 8am - 10pm
Christmas Eve: 7am - 6pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: TBA
Myer
December 23: 8am - 11pm
Christmas Eve: 8am - 6pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: TBA 8am - 7pm
Woolworths
December 23: 6am - midnight
Christmas Eve: 6am - midnight
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 8am - 10pm
Chatswood Chase
Coles
December 23: 6am - midnight
Christmas Eve: 6am - 10pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 7am - 10pm
Westfield
December 23: 9am - 7pm
Christmas Eve: 9am - 6pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 8am - 6pm
Broadway
Coles
December 23: 6am - midnight
Christmas Eve: 6am - midnight
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 6am - midnight