You can see the top toys for Christmas (and other holidays of the winter season) here: Amazon’s Top Picks in Toys 2009.

Hyperdash has been selected in many toy lists each year, and it’s no wonder. We love the game that has kids thinking on their feet–literally. It’s an Edutaining Kids Top Pick as well, as it fits perfectly into our expectations for a quality “edutaining” toy. Hyper Dash puts a new spin on the term “active learning”–it promotes listening, memory, and math skills, as well as giving kids a little workout. Intense fun! For more information about this fun and educational toy, see Wild Planet Hyper Dash.

Zhu Zhu Pets are one of the most wanted toys this Christmas, but their scarcity has led to toy stores upping the prices. There are many other alternatives to be found, thankfully.

Some of the toys that appear on both Amazon’s list and our Edutaining Kids Holiday Gift Guides include Crayola Glow Dome which allow kids to draw on a dome and have their drawings projected onto the ceiling in full glow in the dark glory, LeapFrog My Pal Scout and LeapFrog My Pal Violet (cute little stuffies that actually say your child’s name after they’re programmed, LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table, and more.

The list of most wanted, wished for, and hottest toy ideas is categorized into children’s age groups and interests. This year’s list is a little more Web 2.0 with its video component and sliders–great fun!

You can see the top toys for Christmas (and other holidays of the winter season) here: Amazon’s Holiday Toy List 2008.

Hyperdash is selected as the number one holiday toy for 2008, and it’s no wonder. We love the game that has kids thinking on their feet–literally. It’s an Edutaining Kids Top Pick as well, as it fits perfectly into our expectations for a quality “edutaining” toy. Hyper Dash puts a new spin on the term “active learning”–it promotes listening, memory, and math skills, as well as giving kids a little workout. Intense fun! For more information about this fun and educational toy, see Wild Planet Hyper Dash.

More toys that appear on both Amazon’s list and our Edutaining Kids Holiday Gift Guides include Fisher-Price Smart Cycle, EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles,LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table, and more.

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 (Neurosmith, manufacturer & Small World Toys, vendor) Ages 6 months+

TODDLER (Ages 1-3 Years)

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

About the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA)

With more than 1000 members, the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) is the largest association for companies in the toy and children’s products arenas. ASTRA and its member companies promote the growth of the toy industry by delivering products that serve children’s best interests. For more information, visit www.astratoy.org.

It’s best to start with a basic or starter set and then build upon it with a special parts set. If you know your child is going to be especially fond of the rollercoaster set (called the iCoaster), go for that set. It has plenty of nice features, and actually adds cool sounds to the creative mix. There is a girls’ Magnext set also available–it’s the same system, but with pastel colors.

Recommended for kids ages 6 and up.

Magnext System

GelaSkins are artist-designed skins designed to protect and spiff up laptops, iPhones, iPods, PSPs, Nintendo DS Lite, select cell phones, and Touch. They truly are delightful to look at, and extremely functional at the same time. They peel off and stick on, so that you can reuse them; and, if you have more than one GelaSkin, you can change the look of your device whenever you’re in the mood.

The designs are a must-see–truly creative and inspiring. GelaSkins Inc. has recently added a line of gorgeous wallpapers for the iPhone, Touch, and PSP that you can use on the screens of these devices, downloadable for free at the GelaSkins website. There is a selection of GelaScreens designed to match each GelaSkin.

GelaSkins include a wide variety of styles and artwork. While some are straightforward (such as Golfer), most are alternative. Teens are sure to find something they like. In fact, they’re sure to find many skins they love! You’ll have to take a look at the GelaSkins gallery in order to get an idea of the sheer quantity and impressive quality of skins available. Skins can be purchased offline, but the best selection can be found at the GelaSkins site.

Because we’re talking art–and a lot of it–it’s probably best to let your teens decide which ones they like best, so if you’re planning on giving GelaSkins as a gift, your best bet is to buy a gift card, also available at the site.

Our Top Picks for Digital Cameras for Kids

Fisher Price Kid Tough Digital Camera

This camera truly does live up to its name–it is “kid-tough”. It’s durable, easy to use, and looks funky. Available in both pink and blue.

Picture quality is questionable, as with all digital cameras designed for kids. If you’re looking for quality pictures, go for a “regular” digital camera that is inexpensive enough that you won’t lament too much if it breaks.

We love the chunkiness of the camera and its ergonomic features. The LCD window is a not-very-healthy 1.5″ and full color. The viewfinder is two-eye so there is no squinting required. This latest model is waterproof as well. It comes with the necessary USB cable for computer connection.

What’s different than older models of the same camera is the lack of SD slot. However, it has 64 MB of flash memory built in, so there’s room for many pictures straight off.

For more information, user reviews, or to buy: Fisher-Price Kid-Tough Waterproof Digital Camera Pink

Kidizoom Digital Camera by Vtech

Although this camera boasts video and sound, its image quality is poor. Its 1.8″ LCD screen is acceptable, and a tad larger than the one on the Kid Tough camera, but still not great for little eyes. It has a dual viewfinder (so kids don’t have to squint), and more advanced features, although sometimes more is less when it comes to the target market–preschoolers.

For more information, user reviews or to buy: Vtech – Kidizoom Digital Camera – Blue

Because lower-end adult digital cameras are really quite inexpensive these days, we recommend getting one of those for kids approximately ages 6 and up, depending on the maturity of the child and the care with which he or she handles the camera.

Have a digital camera and looking for ideas for activities with the kids? We have some great suggestions in our article, Fun and Learning with Photos – Digital Cameras, Photography, and Kids.

The FlyTech DragonFly by WowWee is sure to delight kids ages 7 and up. It’s a radio-controlled flying “robot” that flaps its wings quite realistically. Kids use a remote to control the robotic insect, and it’s really quite a wonder to see–the Dragonfly is actually very dainty as it glides smoothly in the air and lands with finesse as well. Although kids can fly the insect outside, the weather has to be just right for it–forget about doing it on a windy day. It’s better to play with the Dragonfly indoors. The charge doesn’t last long–approximately 5 to 8 minutes total–which actually keeps kids from overdosing on the toy and anxious for it to charge again.

Here’s a video of the toy in action:

Kids can easily see when the dragonfly is running out of steam, simply by checking its status through the LED-lit eyes.

There is also a butterfly version of the toy, the Wow Wee Butterfly Indoor Outdoor Flyer: Pink, which is likely to appeal to girls as well. This one is also quite dainty, quiet, and fun to watch in action.

See our Edutaining Kids review of the toys here: Edutaining Kids Gift Guides for Kids Ages 5-8.

Elmo

Elmo Live – Available November 1, 2008, Pre-Order Now.

Elmo Live is a plush toy of Elmo, who, from his sitting
position, crosses his legs, bobbles his head from side to side,
tells jokes as his mouth flaps right on cue, sings songs, and even
plays games. Kids activate this extraordinarily true-to-life plushie
by squeezing his hands, nose, or feet.

Elmo Live is, of course, expected to be at least as popular as
its predecessors (such as Elmo TMX and Tickle Me Elmo). This one is
the most advanced interactive Elmo we have seen yet.

Here’s Elmo Live in action:

Elmo Live can be pre-ordered now (and will be
released on November 1, 2008). Many families are getting a jump on
this in case there is a shortage later:

Preorder at Amazon: Fisher-Price Elmo Live

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