Hot Toys for the Holidays

The shopping season is almost over but there is still time to find some of the best toys if you are willing to hunt for them and maybe pay a little more for shipping.  If you have major shopping yet to do, Amazon has the prime service with free 2 day shipping.

Here’s a re-cap of the toys we found to be oh so popular this year.

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal on Dec 6 about Nintendo Plays it a Wii Bit Cautious.  Not only is the Wii still hard to find this year but also the Nintendo DS systems are too.  There were 2 new packages and colors and they were advertised as limited editions.  Both the new gold and metallic rose packages sold out early.  Likewise, the new colors that are almost a year old now are also hard to find. The Nintendo Wii shows up in stock occassionally at Wal-Mart (but it’s in a large bundle with games you may or may not want) but other than that you have to get lucky to find it at a store or purchase at inflated prices at Amazon or ebay.

One of the top sellers for the preschool set is the Rose Petal Cottage.  We find it refreshing that there is a great product for imaginative play and without electronics! The cottage has several accessories and many of them have sold out but the cottage itself is still available at Amazon and Wal-mart. The accessories include a stove, sink, washer, and cooking items.  Kids love pretend play that is just like Mom.

Also popular with the preschool set is the Fisher Price Smart Cycle.  The appeal here is that a youngster can get exercise while playing games. Great concept.  The Smart Cycle and software are pretty much sold out everywhere.  I have seen some reviews that are great but some talk about the less than sophisticated games.  Hmm, I wonder if we’ll see a version 2 next year that improves on the technology.

Hannah Montana is wildly popular and there are several great Hannah Montana toys.  There are a couple of versions of Hannah Montana Singing Dolls.  The Hannah Montana guitar has been flying off the shelves too.  There was a real guitar by Washburn (sold out) and some great toy guitars which just came back in stock.

We all know that iPods and MP3 players are popular and more kids have them than ever. Besides headphones, kids need some inexpensive speakers.  The new i-Dog Amp’d is the hot ticket.  The i-Dog plays music and rocks to the beat.  These speakers were popular last year and the new ones promise even better sound.  The fancy pink and blue patterns are sold out but the white i-Dog Amp’d is still available at a few retailers.

The FurReal Friends products were popular again this year. The Butterscotch pony was joined by a new color, the S’mores Pony and a fun accessory kit.  New this year is the Squawkers McCaw parrot – a fun realistic talking parrot.

One of the top selling Toys for Boys this year is the Jakks EyeClops Bionic Eye.  This is a fun twist on a microscope or magnifier.  It is a handheld device that hooks to the TV for viewing. A great way to instill a love for science at a young age!  Sold out in many places but still available at a great price from Amazon!

I am sure there are some great toys that we left out but the above list summarizes some that we found in high demand this year!

Happy Holidays! We hope the kids enjoy their new toys!