Christmas: Top 10 hot items

Photos / File, Thinkstock

iPhones, barbecues, outdoor furniture and costumes from Disney's Frozen movie will be filling stockings next week if Trade Me search patterns are anything to go by.

Traditional "hot items" including Apple devices, Lego, trampolines and outdoor furniture made up the bulk of searches in the past two weeks, but were buoyed by some new additions, Trade Me spokesman Jeff Hunkin said.

"We've also seen the rise of Frozen merchandise for kids, and the Swedish video game Minecraft is clearly making its mark on wanted lists too," he said.

Star Wars toys fell off the top 10 list after coming in at No.6 last year, but Mr Hunkin predicted they would be back next year with the release of the new Episode VII film.

Presents for adrenaline junkies were also popular, with kayaks and go-karts also making the top 10 list.

However, it was technology giant Apple which again took out the top spot, with searches for iPhones and iPads on top for the fourth consecutive year.

"On Trade Me over the past fortnight, the iPhone 5 was the most searched-for Apple product, followed by the iPhone 4s, the new model iPhone 6, and the iPad," Mr Hunkin said.

"Apple devices have consistently floated to the top of our most-searched lists for a while now, and not just at Christmas time."

The auction website traditionally experienced a "tick-up in activity" in the lead-in to Christmas. he said.

The biggest buying/selling day last year was December 8, with nearly 40,000 members making more than 50,000 purchases that day. That lines up with the traditional high - a couple of weeks before Christmas - with enough time to ensure the item arrives in time to get it under the Christmas tree.

Top 10 Christmas searches on Trade Me for December 1 - 15:

1 - iPhones and iPads
2 - Lego
3 - Outdoor furniture
4 - Trampolines
5 - Dogs, puppies & kittens
6 - BBQs
7 - Disney's Frozen toys and clothing (new)
8 - Minecraft toys and clothing (new)
9 - Kayaks (new)
10 - Go-karts (new)