Tesco make and stock various different toys and games aimed at everyone from newborns to families. There are some holes in their ranges still (for example older children and teenagers) but they appear to be in the process of extending their ranges to fill in this gap by including such products as craft kits (eg Crystal Growing, Paper FX and Make a Teddy) and electronic gadgets (eg Data Max and Pixel Chix Mall). Tesco seem determined to gain monopoly on as many markets as possible so is their toy range a shameless publicity stunt to encourage more shoppers to spend all their money in store - or are they genuinely offering us value for money?

Well as far as brand name products go, the jury's still out as far as I'm concerned. Tesco have cleverly employed the "97p technique" in a thinly-veiled attempt to make us believe their prices are cheaper than elsewhere. After all, everywhere else charges us the full 99p do they not? Pricing items at 99p instead of the nearest pound is popularly regarded as one of the most shrewd marketing ploys of all time so it doesn't surprise me that Tesco have chosen to price most of their toys at something pounds 47p or 97p in an attempt to take things one step further.

In some stores or via their online household goods website www.direct.tesco.com you can purchase the "Twister Dance DVD Game" along with your weekly shop for 29.97 rather than going to Argos or ordering online from Amazon and paying 2p extra. 2p is 2p I hear you say, look after the pennies... And just think of the time you've saved yourself. But whilst certain brand name products might save you a few pence - plenty of others will cost you well over the odds. If you compare a few prices and find Tesco to be cheaper you may well stop bothering to check out prices at other stores, and that's when they can become expensive. Currently on sale via Tesco Direct you can purchase the Bratz Camcorder for 69.97 but if you took a trip to the Dixons sale you could pick it up for 44.99. Similarly, Tesco are currently selling the "Barbie 12 Dancing Princesses Genevieve" for 19.47 (RRP 19.99) whereas Hamleys have it on sale for 15.99 and Amazon for 14.99. Tesco give off the appearance of saving you money on brand name toys and games all year round whilst other stores bring out their quarterly sales. But if you add up ten savings of 2p against just two savings of five pounds you'll quickly realise where the better offers can be found. When the toy sales do occasionally hit Tesco stores - you'll often find that few popular products are included.

But what if it's convenience that appeals to you over prices? Well then picking up new toys and games for your children along with your weekly shop will certainly save you an awful lot of time and hassle. No need to waste your Saturdays trapsing round the shops when you can whizz up and down the toy aisle in Tesco grabbing things to pop in your trolley as you go about picking up your groceries. In most Tesco Extra stores you'll find the toy section conveniently layed out for easy browsing. Interactive toys that children can try out are usually placed on the lower shelves (keeps 'em quiet while you read the back of the box) with expensive or easily damaged toys placed higher up out of reach of small hands. You should find most stores lay out their toys so that you have baby toys on one aisle, small children's toys on another with girls one side and boys another and then family games located along shelves running down the ends of these aisles. Most Tesco stores stick to similar structures thanks to the expense that plannograms and marketing ploys set them back; however stores do vary depending on local purchasing habits and building layouts.

Where Tesco toys excel for me is with their own brand toys. In the baby range you can pick up little cars for toddlers for just 64p each. They have a range of musical instruments including castanets, plastic recorders (that play in tune) and tamborines for just 99p each. They have little firetrucks, ambulances and police cars with push-button lights on top that also set off a siren for just 2.64 and they offer a range of wind-up bath toys from 89p. They have soft books for 2.14 and soft pram toys with velcro straps for 1.99 as well as larger toys like a steering wheel with interactive lighs and sounds for just 4.99 (see picture below). The Tesco own range really excels here with their competitive prices, interactive features and bright colours. The downside however is that due to their having to mass-produce these items in order to offer them at such low prices - they rarely introduce new products. From picking up the odd toy here and there with my shopping from their baby range for my little boy I've now run out of things to pick up for him and no new products have been added locally for some months now; and that's despite their recent renovation from regular Tesco to Tesco Extra. They've introduced a larger range of brand name products and there's a lovely range of Disney baby toys on offer. However I don't consider a 17.99 Winnie-The-Pooh piano to be an impulse buy that people would typically make along with their food shopping; especially as this same product can be purchased from my local Woolies for 14.99. I rather consider it to be an unnecessary temptation to make me spend a lot more money than I need to on my weekly shop.

Similarly they offer a restricted range in children's toys of own brand products. You can pick up the cute children's game "Quackers" for just 5.97; a great and inexpensive way to treat the kids to an evening or two of fun. They have dolls and cars including a limited range of accessories starting from just 49p each. But the major drawback to inexpensive children's toys in my mind is that if they kids are bugging you while you're desperately trying to get your shopping done - you're more likely to give in if it's just a couple of quid. A couple of quid you hadn't planned on spending though. Worse still is when you only go in for a loaf of bread and a pint of milk and come out with a Disney DVD, a new dolly for little Suzy and the latest version of monopoly that apparantly Tommy's Mum bought him. Spending money is addictive and Tesco know that once you've put a few cheap items in your trolley you're more likely to think "what they hey" and include an expensive purchase too. Afterall - you have "saved" a few quid already.

In my mind this is one heck of a clever marketing ploy from Tesco. They reel us in with their funky, underpriced, mass-produced own label toys and then spit us out with the brand name toys having taken the big bucks off our credit cards. If you can resist the whining of your children demanding the latest Bratz or Pirates of the Carribean toy and stick to only buying their lower priced toys then you can use Tesco to save you both time and money in keeping the kids educated and entertained. But if you find you're one to regularly cave in to demands and the stress of having to explain to your children that you can buy such and such cheaper in town next week then my advice would be to steer clear of the toy aisles or the store altogether.

Stock varies from store to store with full ranges usually only appearing in Tesco Extra Stores and even then not necessarily. If you haven't got a Tesco Extra nearby, check out www.direct.tesco.com - the recent addition to the Tesco family that allows shoppers to purchase household goods including furniture, white goods, electronics and toys and games online for superstore pick-up or home delivery. Some stores seem to have managed to cram in as many different board games, DVDs, Cars, Dollies and computer games as you'd expect to find in your local Toys R Us or Woolworths. Everything is often right there under one roof so you don't have to waste your precious time shopping around and spending your money in other stores. What can I say, those kind-hearted people are just making our life a little easier. Afterall, every little helps.

So all-in-all the rumours are true; you can now conveniently purchase a wide selection of good quality toys and games to suit all ages alongside your grocery shopping. You can save yourself a lot of time and sometimes a bit of money and as with most Tesco purchases you can be assured of a replacement or a refund should anything happen to go wrong. The question I'd implore you to ask yourself though, is do you really need to buy so many toys and games that you can't take a special trip out as a family round the shops one weekend? And more importantly, could you genuinely afford to spend that extra fiver when you got the food shopping in last week?