Christmas is cancelled: Shortage of all your favourite festive treats

THIS weird toy is the must-have Christmas gift of 2016, apparently. The problem is, no stores have it in stock - and shoppers are getting desperate.

SORRY Australia, we know you’ve been good, but from Hatchimals to cherries to prawns, everything you want the most for Christmas is running out.

The must-have toy of 2016 — an $80 Furby-like creature that hatches out of a shell — is sold out in most stores and online around the world. Major retailers say they have been inundated with queries from desperate parents, who are unlikely to be able to get their hands on a Hatchimal in time for Christmas at this point.

Kmart is advising customers to check their local store, and another option is eBay, where a handful of savvy sellers are listing the toy for five times the price.

It’s the year to beware leaving anything to chance, with some of our most beloved seasonal items running dangerously low:

Prepare your kids for disappointment. Picture: Regi Varghese

MOST DESIRABLE TOYS

A spokeswoman for Target said the entire stock of a Nintendo Retro Console that only went online on Monday was snapped up in a few hours.

The retailer is also running low on the Lego Amusement Park Rollercoaster but has more of the popular toy coming every day.

Beloved Paw Patrol products are also “selling as soon as they hit the shelves”, so beware of leaving shopping for kids until the very last minute, with new stock only coming in on a weekly basis.

PREPARE FOR POTATO-GEDDON

One of Australia’s largest potato producers, Red Gem, warned that adverse conditions have affected the supply of our No 1 side dish, too.

“Record rainfall in Riverina, NSW, will impact yields and quality,” Red Gem spokesman Robert Cerchiaro told news.com.au. “We’ve seen some unprecedented prices, but retailers have kept prices pretty steady.

“A cooler growing period through Bundaberg, which produces 70 per cent or more of Australia’s sweet potato, meant yields were down. Prices for the last six weeks have been very high. There’s a lot of demand and the supply hasn’t been there.”

This symbolic Christmas fruit is in crisis, after crops were down 50 to 60 per cent.

SYMBOLIC FRUIT

The curse of Christmas 2016 even extends to your favourite food items, with cherries expected to cost an extra $5 a kilogram this season after wet weather caused the Christmassy fruit to swell and split, reducing crops by around 50 or 60 per cent. Woolworths is currently selling the symbolic stone fruit for almost $20 a kilo and charging $7 for punnets.

We can also expect increased prices for mangoes, with crops set to be down 10 per cent on last year across the country, according to the Australian Mango Industry Association. A warm start to the winter meant most mango trees, which grow fruit when the weather turns cool, flowered late.

A Coles spokeswoman told news.com.au: “An unseasonably cold growing season has led to industry wide shortages of cherries and potatoes and we are working with growers across Australia to minimise any impacts.

“We’ve been working hard to ensure Coles will deliver great value and plenty of availability on the products which customers buy most at Christmas. We have a great range of quality, fresh produce available for our customers with plenty of in-season favourites like mangoes, berries, peaches, nectarines and tomatoes.”

Expect to pay extra for mangoes, too. Pictures: Jack Tran

PANIC OVER PRAWNS

Even the ultimate Aussie Christmas seafood could be at risk after an outbreak of white spot disease in prawn ponds south of Brisbane.

Authorities are scrambling to contain the outbreak to Queensland’s Logan River area, with fears it could spread to lucrative fisheries nearby.

Wild prawns in the river have tested positive, as have prawns at three of eight land-based farms in the region. Tanker-loads of chlorine are now being poured in the ponds to contain the outbreak of disease.

While Coles said prawn shortages were not an issue, if you favour local seafood, you might want to get some in the freezer now — better safe than sorry.

NUTS ABOUT COCONUTS

Coconuts are also running out globally, due to storms, droughts and Lethal Yellowing disease, which is spread by plant-hopping insects. Melbourne University’s Lauren Rosewarne told news.com.au we had drained the coconut dry by repackaging it as a superfood and using it for everything from skincare to drinking.

He advised trying alternatives such as cashew or almond milk, and using shea products on the skin.

LIFE-THREATENING SHORTAGE

Most critically of all, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service has warned it is facing a shortage of thousands of donors over the festive period. “Coming into Christmas and New Year, a lot of regular donors take a break,” a spokesman told news.com.au. “We’re definitely low on days surrounding public holidays, Christmas and New Year.

“Cancer patients in particular rely heavily on platelets, which have a very short shelf life of just two or three days. People might take a break, but the need for blood never does.”

Your favourite sweet potato side dish could cost an arm and a leg. 2016 - The year of food shortages