Zhu Zhu Pets toys are hot, hot, hot, appearing on most major top toy lists this holiday season. However, they’re also selling out and many sellers have upped the prices. They’re sure to please little fans, but parents need to decide if they’re worth the extra dollars.

Scene It? Twilight Deluxe Edition by Scene It, featuring clips from the popular Twilight movie. Great fun for fans, and a good party game.

Printies Design Studio by Printies. Kids make soft stuffy toys with this kit. First, they design their stuffed toy online, print out the pattern onto included fabric sheets, and then create the cotton toy.

Princess and the Frog Just One Kiss Tiana is a new favorite doll based on the movie, The Princess and the Frog. The doll features lights and sounds…and the frog!

Bakugan 7 in 1 Maxus Dragonoid by SpinMaster. For fans of the super-hot collectible toy game series, this one is sure to delight. One Bakugan and six Bakugan Traps combine into a very impressive Maxus Dragonoid creature. Kids can play with the 7 Bakugan individually, and/or combine them. Crayon Town

Disney Netpal by ASUS is an 8.9 inch Netbook with a 5 hour battery life designed for kids. It also comes in a swirly pink design that little girls will love: Disney Netpal by ASUS – 8.9-Inch Netbook – 5 Hour Battery Life

Nanovor Nanoscope Digital Collectible Game

Candy Jewel Factory Oven by Girl Gourmet Sweets

LEGO Star Wars The Battle of Endor (8038)

Star Wars Clone Turbo Tank Vehicle

Crayon Town

Fisher Price Smart Fit

The new Fisher Price Smart Fit is an interesting system that includes an activity pad that plugs into your television, and kids follow on-screen activities that encourage them to run, jump, stomp, and walk. Kids learn about letters, shapes, colors, and numbers; they play games; do warm-up activities; and they take part in exciting races. The faster kids run in place on the mat, the faster their character moves onscreen. Kids can use their hands and their feet to interact with the system. Our recommended age: 3-5.

For more information, user reviews, or to buy: Fisher Price Smart Fit

Fisher Price Elmo’s Tickle Hands allow kids to don a pair of red, furry, interactive Elmo-style gloves. Kids put on the Tickle Hands, press Elmo’s nose (his face is a badge on one of the gloves), and the hands begin to vibrate and move, along with the sounds of Elmo’s trademark giggle. Tap his nose again, and Elmo instructs kids on how to do his fancy new dance called the Tickle Hand Groove. The set comes with a DVD that teaches kids to do this groovy Elmo dance.

For more information, user reviews, or to buy: Fisher Price Elmo’s Tickle Hands

The winners of these prestigious toy awards are…

Activity Toy of the Year – Crayola Color Wonder Magic Light Brush, Crayola LLC

Boy Toy of the Year – Bakugan Battle Brawlers Battle Pack Series 1 Spheres, Spin Master

Educational Toy of the Year – LeapFrog TAG™ Reading System , LeapFrog

Girl Toy of the Year – Playmobil Horse Farm, Playmobil USA, Inc.

Electronic Entertainment Toy of the Year – Fur Real Friends Biscuit My Lovin Pup, Hasbro

Game of the Year – Bananagrams®, Bananagrams LLC

Infant/Preschool Toy of the Year – Fisher-Price Elmo Live, Fisher-Price, Inc.

Most Innovative Toy of the Year – Air Hogs Zero Gravity Micro, Spin Master

Property of the Year – Bakugan Battle Brawlers, Cartoon Network

Outdoor Toy of the Year – Crayola® 3D Sidewalk Chalk, Crayola LLC

Specialty Toy of the Year – Create Your Own Pop-Up Books, Creativity for Kids®/Faber-Castell USA

Top Toy of the Year – Bakugan Battle Brawlers Battle Pack Series 1 Spheres, Spin Master

Hasbro’s U-Dance turns your child’s feet into a game controller with the system’s innovative motion-sensing system. Setting it up is easy: simply plug the console into the TV, then attach the paddles to your feet..and dance! The U-Dance’s motion-sensing technology means kids are not confined to a dance mat or board–they can dance anywhere close to the TV.

Select from twelve current dance songs, all hits, and follow the steps that appear onscreen. Virtual footprints appear on the TV that match kids’ movements.

We love that the U-Dance is not overpriced like many high-tech toys. It’s relatively inexpensive.

Kids will most certainly receive a good workout with Hasbro’s U-Dance. The game also gives the option to workout on a treadmill, and to visit a virtual lounge area where kids can enjoy stepping games.

The best part? It’s great for all ages, from the young to the young at heart. If your kids (or you!) love to dance, the U-Dance is a great choice for fun that will extend well beyond the holidays. The whole family will learn new dance moves in the comfort of home, and U-Dance certainly keeps kids active and engaged.

U-Dance

With the holidays quickly approaching, there’s no doubt you’ll be indulging in holiday parties and meals. Once the holidays are finished there’s no doubt you’ll see some of the consequences, i.e. weight gain resulting from those holiday parties and meals!

No need to wait until New Year’s Day to make your resolutions to get fit. Consider investing in a Nintendo Wii Fit for your family this Christmas and stave off the negative effects of those holiday goodies. The Nintendo Wii Fit is a video game and peripheral package for the Nintendo Wii video game platform and is designed to make exercise an accessible and pleasant activity for the entire family, no matter what level of fitness they are currently at.

Players step on the balance board, which actually reads movement, weight distribution, and balance. The Wii Fit provides feedback on a person’s weight, BMI, and center of balance. After some preliminary tests and goal setting, players move on to the activities that include exercises to improve cardiovascular health, yoga poses to improve posture, aerobics for a more classic workout, balancing exercises, and strength training designed to increase muscle mass. All of this in the comfort of your own home. Those who are gym-shy will enjoy being able to work out in privacy.

Weight measures and BMI can be kept private. Players have the option to keep their personal information password-protected.

The Nintendo Wii Fit is also designed to help you set fitness goals for yourself and track your progress over time. You can measure your Body Mass Index and Nintendo Wii Fit age, and then reassess yourself over time. The Wii Fit keeps track of how many hours and minutes you put into the program. There are plenty of features to keep players coming back to the game.

Families are likely to enjoy countless hours of fun while keeping fit and generating a positive attitude towards fitness.
Top Selling Wii Fit Games

GOAL IS MORE IMAGINATIVE, MAKE-IT-UP-YOURSELF, BELLY-LAUGHING PLAY FOR KIDS AND EASIER SHOPPING FOR MOM AND DAD

Toys don’t get much better than these. If you’re a kid just wanting to have fun, or an overworked parent looking to keep holiday shopping simple, check out the one expert-selected holiday toy list that cuts through all the heavily-hyped electronic razzmatazz in favor of safe, creative toys with staying power.

The hot-off-the-presses 2008 Best Toys for Kids list released today by the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) gets back to the basics. It features toys for make-it-up-yourself, belly-laughing play that’s safe, fun for kids and supports their physical, cognitive, and social development. These toys are a great reason to bypass the hordes of anxious, exhausted shoppers at the usual big box stores and try smaller toy stores with better selection, good service, and a priority on toy safety.

“Many toy shoppers are surprised to learn that there is a whole world of engaging, unique, well-made toys that they never see in huge, impersonal, one-size-fits-all stores. These are the toys you will find on the 2008 Best Toys for Kids list and in your local neighborhood toy store,” notes Kathleen McHugh, President of the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association.

“The people at your locally-owned toy store are from your community. They hand-select a wide range of safe, highly creative toys you don’t see advertised,” continues McHugh. “These toys may not be the ones your kids bug you to buy them, but they will be the ones they play with over and over.”

Toy store owners who are toy and play experts have selected the 2008 Best Toys for Kids (listed below). The list includes toys for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and older children, and guides parents to toy selections according to different types of play. Details about each toy can be found at www.astratoy.org.

INFANT (Ages Birth-12 Months)

1. Busy Bee Discovery Flower (ALEX) Ages 6 months+

2. Together Tunes Too Block (Neurosmith, manufacturer & Small World Toys, vendor) Ages 6 months+

TODDLER (Ages 1-3 Years)

3. Wheely Bug (Prince Lionheart) Ages 1.5+ (small size), and 3+ (large size)

4. Dexter the Digger (WOW Toys, manufacturer & Ravensburger, vendor) Ages 1.5+

PRESCHOOL LEARNING (Ages 3-6 Years)

5. Magna-Tiles: 3-D Magnetic Building Tiles (Valtech Co.) Ages 3+

6. Magnetic Mosaics – Kids (The Orb Factory) • Ages 4+

Preschool Pretend & Play (Ages 3-6 Years)

7. Road & Rail Play Set – Railway Station (Plan Toys, Inc.) Ages 3+

8. Stablemates(TM) Red Stable Set with Two Horses (Breyer Animal Creations, Div. of Reeves International, Inc.) Ages 4+

CONSTRUCTION

9. Circus Ring (Playmobil) Ages 5+

10. Excalibur Castle (Le Toy Van, manufacturer & Hotaling Imports Inc., vendor) Ages 3+

11. 24-foot BluTrack Challenge Pack (MJ Sports dba BluTrack(R)) Ages 3+

ARTS & CRAFTS

12. Sticky Mosaics Jewelry Box (The Orb Factory) Ages 6+

13. Wikki Stix Tons of Fun (Omnicor Inc. / The Wikki Stix Co.) Ages 3 – 11

MUSIC

14. Schoenhut 44-Key Baby Grand Piano (Schoenhut Piano Company, Inc.) Ages 5+

15. Learn to Play Piano (Melissa & Doug) Ages 3+

GAMES FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN (Ages 3-7 Years)

16. Zingo! (ThinkFun, Inc.) Ages 4 – 8

17. Qwirkle (MindWare) Ages 6+

Games FOR OLDER KIDS (Ages 8 Years+)

18. SET Cubed, a Curious Game of Clever Connections (Set Enterprises, Inc.) Ages 8+

19. Bananagrams (Bananagrams) Ages 7+

SCIENCE

20. Wind Power — Renewable Energy Science Kit (Thames & Kosmos) Ages 8+

21. Geyser Tube (Be Amazing! Toys) Ages 8+

ACTIVE

22. The Original Flying Turtle (Mason Corporation) Ages 3 – 12

23. Mini Super Sports Disk (OgoSport, LLC) Ages 4+

TOYS TO WOW KIDS!

24. Multi-colored Ball of Whacks (Creative Whack Company/US Games Systems, Inc.) Ages 8+

25. Karito Kids World Collection (Karito Kids by KidsGive) Ages 3+

The 2008 Best Toys for Kids list, along with an easy-to-use Toy Store Finder for locating independently-owned toy stores, can be found at www.astratoy.org.

Toy Wishes Magazine hosted its annual Holiday Preview on Tuesday, October 7th, 2008, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. In its 10th anniversary, Toy Wishes Magazine presented the exclusive first look at the hottest toys and kids entertainment products of the 2008 holiday season. The highlight of this year’s event was the eagerly anticipated unveiling of the “Hot Dozen,” the list of must-have toys for the 2008 holiday season.

This year’s Hot Dozen includes many of the toys we have already featured here on our site (see link to the Hot Dozen below).

Amazon is now a partner with Toy Wishes, and showcases this year’s Hot Dozen here: Toy Wishes Magazine’s HOT DOZEN

Toy Wishes Magazine’s HOT DOZEN

For the past 18 years, Marianne has provided parents with unbiased information on how to select products that enhance a child’s development. The Toy Tips Research Institute is a year-round program of toy evaluation and testing that does not accept submission fees from toy manufacturers.

Marianne and a team of psychologists at multiple universities wrote an independent academic profile which is the basis of her research. Marianne has led her organization’s unbiased play tests of over 45,000 toys and publishes Toy Tips report cards and profiles on each toy based on skill-based learning on toytips.com. You may have seen her on The Rachael Ray Show, Oprah, CNN, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Discovery Channel, FOX, Lifetime or The Early Show and close to 300 local news stations across the country.

Toy Tips with Marianne Szymanski