Top Toys For Christmas 2011

As the holiday season approaches, savvy shoppers are recognizing the advantages of starting their purchases early. And before excited kids have even begun to write their letters to Santa, Moms and Dads, friends and relatives are beginning to think about what the top toys for Christmas will be this year.

Each year, the list of the Christmas toys kids love grows a little bit longer, as manufacturers bring out new toys, games, and gadgets to appeal to the imagination of the younger generation. And while there’s always likely to be something new coming into the stores each year as Christmas approaches, you can be sure that the list of the latest must-have items will be counterbalanced by a range of tried and tested classic toys whose appeal is simple but never goes out of fashion.

Christmas Toys Kids Love

As the saying goes, ” boys will be boys” — and, of course, girls will be girls too! And all that means is that if you are looking for ideas for the best Christmas toys to give as gifts, you probably won’t go wrong if you choose presents that relate to those traditional interests and likes that kids share.

So don’t be surprised if arts and crafts, musical toys, and toy figures remain popular across the board alongside the latest electronic games and toys with a TV theme, and other perennial favorites such as dolls and dressing up games, action toys, construction toys, vehicles and a whole range of educational items.

Feel free to check out reviews of some of this year’s popular boys’ and girls’ toys — and we invite you to add your own comments, too! Meanwhile, here are just a few of the categories that we predict are going to be hot in 2010.

Action Figures

Boys and girls have always loved toys and collectibles, including animals and playsets, military figures, firemen and police men, sports figures, and of course characters from fantasy and science fiction.

With the popularity surrounding the movie Toy Story 3, kids will love playing with the Buzz Lightyear Jet Pack, featuring Buzz on his rocket pack, complete with the sounds and lights of his afterburner jet, as well as laser arm lights, movie phrases, a retractable helmet and more.

The continuation of the Transformers movie series looks set to ensure the popularity of robot figures such as Bumblebee and Optimus Prime, and Star Wars figures regularly appear in the top toys list. Last year saw a craze for the Bakugan strategy game, based on the popular anime TV series, and a range of Bakugan warriors led by the Maxus Dragonoid will likely be sought after toys again this season.

On a different tack, younger children aged four and up have started to collect Squinkies, the fun, squishy, little kittens, puppies ponies and babies that come in their own bubble container with a surprise inside. There are hundreds to choose from, swap with your friends and build your own collection of favorites.

Arts and Crafts

Great for boys and girls alike, arts and crafts toys range from drawing sets and chalkboards, beads and jewelry kits, painting sets and clay activities. Items such as the Play-Doh Spaghetti Factory give kids aged between 36 months and six years masses of fun as they make pretend pasta dishes, meatballs and vegetables from the brightly colored material. And the Play-Doh Mega-Fun Factory lets them manufacture pretend toys, shapes, food and lots more. Put on the overalls and prepare to get creative!

Construction Toys

Kids have always loved building things, using their imagination to create a world of play, whether it be from a bucket of wooden bricks or a sophisticated construction model set.

Toddlers from the age of 18 months can get used to making their own models with toys like Lego Duplo, and as they get older progress on to items such as the Lego Ultimate Building Set, with a great assortment of bricks and elements that include windows, doors, wheels, and instructions for creating different models.

There are almost endless possibilities as kids grow in dexterity and sophistication, and Lego produces complex sets for boys and girls in the 8 to 14 age range, such as the models from the Harry Potter series, including Hogwarts Castle, Hagrid’s Hut, and the Hogwarts Express, the Star Wars movies, Toy Story and many more.

Music Toys

Toy pianos, drums, and instruments of all kinds have long been popular Christmas presents (at least, with the kids!) This year, as well as the brightly colored starter instruments, look out for the innovative new toys from Wow Wee called Paper Jamz — a range of guitars, drums sets and amplifier that employs circuit-embedded paper and Active Graphics Technology that lets kids play like rock stars simply by touching the paper surface.

Each Paper Jamz guitar comes with three built in hit songs and three different modes for jamming along — plus Mom and Dad will love the fact that players can plug in their own earphones for family friendly play!

Dolls

Little girls have always wished for dolls for Christmas, and Barbie has long been a firm favorite. As pretty in pink as ever, she has a beautiful Glam Vacation House, Glam convertible car, and Glam pool too! And straight from the movie, Barbie A Fashion Fairytale, look for Barbie herself in her famous fashion show outfit.

Meanwhile, Barbie Video Girl lets girls create their own movies from the doll’s viewpoint using a real video camera inside Barbie’s necklace — a high-tech, stylish accessory to add to the Barbie collection.

Educational Toys

Of course, there comes a time at Christmas when it’s good to have a game or a toy to encourage quiet time or family fun. Bananagrams is a word game that is simple yet addictive and encourages everybody over the age of 7 to take part.

Based on the idea of crossword puzzles, it’s good for those who are just learning to spell as well as more advanced players, it doesn’t need a board, paper, or a pencil, and you can easily take it with you when you travel. Many people believe that the best toys are those that develop imaginative and creative play, whether it be learning or exploration, a favourite hobby, some kind of role play or an interactive electronic toy.

There are so many possibilities of fun Christmas toys for Santa to bring this holiday season!