Casual, comfy and the kids are chuffed

Australians are hunkering down for a Christmas indoors with tech gadgets, comfortable clothing and jigsaw puzzles the most popular gifts this year.

Brothers Maverick, 11, and Nash, 8, Barry enjoy watching the model trains at HobbyCo toy store in QVB on their annual pilgrimage to Sydney’s CBD. Picture: Jane Dempster

Australians are hunkering down for a Christmas indoors, even if they’re not in lockdown, with tech gadgets, comfortable clothing and jigsaw puzzles the most popular gifts this year.

Smart home tech and electronic entertainment is the top pick this festive season, in keeping with the “home resortification” trend across Australian households.

Intelligent control hubs like Google Nest Minis are a bargain at $39 or for $249 pick up some Apple Airpod earphones.

Keep the whole family occupied with a Nintendo Switch gaming console ($399) or have a concert at home with UE Wonderboom speakers ($97).

“This year, connection is more important than ever and this includes our houses, where we’ve seen an increase in customers taking the time to implement smart home technology,” said group general manager of the Scentre Group, Lillian Fadel.

Clothing gifts this year centre around comfort rather than style with a growing trend towards the casual.

While in previous years perfume and manicure sets have topped the Christmas gifts list, this year consumers seem to be less focused on how they are presented, and more on relaxing at home, research from Citigroup shows.

This year the fluffy hooded throw, the Oodie, which you can pick up for about $84, is the top choice for stay-at-home types.

Ms Fadel says shoppers of all ages are looking for “casual couture” as well as high-end accessories.

“Affordable luxury has been a key theme for this year, as younger customers look to purchase entry-level luxury accessories such as sunglasses, purses and jewellery” Ms Fadel said.

Games that function within the home are popular among kids this year, with Lego Super Mario ($59) topping the toys list.

Barbie dolls ($30), V-Tech smart watches ($69) and FAO Schwarz soft toys ($60) are in high demand at Myer.

Old-fashioned toys are still a big hit. When dad Todd Barry took sons Maverick, 11, and Nash, 8, for their annual pilgrimage from Hammondville to Sydney to see the giant Christmas tree in Martin Place on Monday, they did a little window shopping.

Maverick said he was impressed by a train set and he hoped Santa would be generous this year. “I would also like some sunglasses — because they’re cool,” he said.