THESE days, 40-year-old account executive Karis Loong spends more time poring over toys than numbers.

Yes, Christmas is around the corner and there are gifts to buy. But Mrs Loong is paying much more attention to toys than she ever used to when festive shopping in previous years.

She, like many Singapore parents, are peering at potential presents a lot longer than before - out of fear, not pleasure.

There's been one too many China Toy Dramas, enough to make a parent worry that the cute doll or weapon-wielding figurine they buy may be a health risk to their child.

Mrs Loong, for example, assesses the reliability of the brand, looks for the age group it's suitable for and scrutinises it to see if it's easily breakable.

'With all the negative news on toys, I have to pay more attention,' says Mrs Loong, who was shopping for toys at Carrefour with her three-year-old daughter last Wednesday.

'But I won't boycott China-made toys. It's impossible - so many are made there.'

She's right. About 85 per cent of all toys are made in China today, and a slew of negative publicity about them has emerged in recent months.

In August, American toy giant Mattel issued a massive recall of its China-made toys because they were reportedly coated in toxic lead paint.

Two weeks ago, 'bead-based' toy Bindeez was pulled from shelves globally, including Singapore, after it was found that a chemical coating on the beads, when ingested, becomes 'date rape' drug gamma hydroxy butyrate. The arts and crafts toy was sold by Australia-based Moose Enterprises and was also made in China.

Such toxic toys are no fun for worried parents.

'During the Mattel recall, everyone wanted to know if the toys were safe,' says Mr Kee Boon Hua, a partner at Simply Toys at Suntec City. 'We told them that these incidences are rare.'

But while parents have been spooked, it hasn't stopped them forking out for figurines - or whatever else their kid covets.

Toy store tills are jingling merrily, it would seem. A check with 10 toy retailers by LifeStyle revealed that most have not been affected much. Others say business has bounced back after being initially dented by about 10 to 20 per cent.

One parent who has not allowed the recent scare to stop her from shopping for toys is Dr Rachael Tay, 37, a director at financial advisory firm GYC.

She recently bought about $300 worth of toys for her three daughters at Toys R Us.

'I'm avoiding the ones that are on the recall list, such as Polly Pocket, or anything that might contain lead paint,' she says.

And with toy purchases entering their peak season of Christmas, department stores have been gearing up for it the last two weeks.

Robinsons has just transformed its sixth floor - which used to be shared by toys and nursery items - into Toy Kingdom, largely dedicated to toys. The product range will be expanded and from next Saturday, there will be visits by Santa, magic shows and balloon sculpting every weekend.

Takashimaya department store kicked off its annual Christmas toy fair at Takashimaya Square on Nov 8, a week earlier than usual. And starting this weekend, there are meet-and-greet sessions for popular cartoon Ben 10 or muscial performances from Sesame Street characters.

Tangs has increased the prominence of its toy section. Now called Toyland, it has been moved from its usual space on the fourth level to a bigger area outside its entrance.

'We gave the exterior space to toys because it looks more exciting,' says Tangs spokesman Lin Pei Hua.

The move seems to have paid off. Although Toyland has been opened for just over a week, Ms Lin says sales are already better than last year's, but she declines to reveal figures.

Toy sales have also been helped by an emerging gaming market. Carrefour, which says it has seen a big surge in this segment, unveiled its new gaming section earlier this month at a prime spot, its second-floor entrance, to cater to demand.

And with the school holidays starting, toy sales are expected to pick up even further, says Tangs' Ms Lin.

So if you want to get in the game, what are the top toys this season? LifeStyle presents a guide to the 10 hottest ones. » 10 hot toys