She's not only the envy of her Gungahlin school friends – she's now the envy of kids the world over.
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Little Maisy Ellis is one of only a handful of Canberra kids lucky enough to own a Hatchimal, the world's most in-demand toy. A global frenzy surrounding the toy started last week when Hatchimals officially sold out worldwide in the lead-up to Christmas. The toys are now available only online – selling in Canberra on Gumtree and on eBay with a minimum 100 per cent mark-up.
The Hatchimal is an interactive soft animal that hatches from a plastic egg and grows from a "baby" to a "toddler" to a "child".
Maisy received her Hatchimal – a green Penguala – for her seventh birthday and adores it. It sleeps in her bed, has conversations with her and is the envy of all of her friends.
"Watching it hatch was quite the experience," Maisy's mother, Melissa Ellis, said.
"It took about 30 minutes for the egg to hatch.
"While you're waiting you have to interact with the egg by rubbing it. You can't see the Hatchimal through the egg but you can hear it making lots of noises and you can see its eyes light up and change colour while it's hatching.
"It's quite exciting to watch as it pecks around the egg in a circle to crack it open. It was something the whole family really enjoyed watching.
"One of the first things it does once it's hatched is sing Happy Birthday to itself, which was very cute and Maisy thought it was singing especially to her for her birthday."
Ms Ellis said she spotted the toy at Big W in Gungahlin, knowing it was on "every kid's Christmas wish list".
"I had heard about them on Facebook in a Christmas group I follow and I knew they were on everyone's kids' Christmas list," she said.
"I was shopping at Big W and spotted them in a toy aisle and noticed they only had four left. I thought it looked cute and would make a great birthday present for Maisy, so I bought it.
"Maisy feels very lucky to have one and said it was her best birthday present ever."
Managing director of Super Toyworld & Hobbies, Geoff Morton, has a waiting list for Hatchimals but said the chance of any arriving before Christmas were "slim to none".
He said the other most in-demand toys for Canberra kids this Christmas included the Lego Friends Amusement Park, Hasbro's new board game Speak Out, and a solar-powered Tooth Fairy School.
