Great Gift Ideas for Children - Hot and Popular Christmas Toy for 2008

In this article, we will provide you with some popular Christmas toy ideas that will help you hunt for 2008 hot Christmas toys.

Every year, the markets are flooded with different kinds of toys for Christmas. So, it becomes of prime importance to keep yourself updated, so as to make sure that whatever you are buying is in line with the trend. There were times, when kids were satisfied with any toy they got, but, today, they want the latest thing. They have become choosy about the toys also with which they are going to play. In the present times, it has become the most difficult task to convince kids into using something.



Now, pls Check out the following popular and hot Christmas toys for 2008.

1. Star Wars Toys

Star Wars is an epic science fantasy saga that has been revealed to the audience in the form of six movies. It was initially created by George Lucas and made a debut in 1977, with the last film being made in 2005. The animation movie 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' came out in 2008. There will hardly be a child who is not a Star Wars fan and would not like to receive Star Wars toys as Christmas gift, be it the video games, action figures or other toys.

2. Doll with a Musical Potty

If your child is still an infant, who does not understand anything about video games or Playstation, then a doll with a musical potty is just the toy that you can gift him for Christmas. The crying, potty-going doll made its debut in 1991 and its latest version comes with a flashing, musical potty. The first doll to boast of 'human functions', it is expected to be one of the hottest-selling toys for Christmas 2008.

3. High School Musical Toys

'High School Musical' is the name of a very popular American television series that was released, for the first time, in 2006. Its sequel - 'High School Musical 2' came out in 2007, while 2008 saw the 'High School Musical 3: Senior Year' hitting the screen. Today, High School Musical toys rank amongst the most popular toys for Christmas. Right from the dolls based on 'High School Musical' to the video game series, you will find everything in the market.

4. Sesame Street Toys

'Sesame Street' is the name of an American educational children's television series that premiered in 1969. The longest running children's program on American television, it has been shown in 120 countries till date. No wonder, the toys based on 'Sesame Street' characters retain one of the position amongst the top 10 Christmas toys for 2008. Amongst them, the most popular is Elmo Live, an all-singing, all-dancing version of the red puppet.

5. Ben 10 Toys
 
Ben 10 has wooed the kids of today. The hero of an American animated television series, by the name of 'Ben 10', he made his debut on Cartoon Network in December 2005 and still has children going ga-ga all over him. Omnitrix, a watch-like alien device that transforms Ben into the alien of his choice, is the most popular Ben 10 toy amongst children. Apart from that, there are Ben 10 action figures, games and cards.

 
6. Cupcake Maker Toys
 
This Christmas, introduce your child to the joy of baking. How? By giving him/her a Cupcake Maker as Christmas toy. It will serve as an educational toy, making your children learn about the basics of cooking, such as measuring and mixing. At the same time, the Cupcake Maker will let them have lots of fun, just as a toy should be, by letting them decorate their cupcakes with various types of accessories, giving their personal touch to each.

7. Nintendo DS Gaming Consoles

Another one of the popular gaming consoles by Nintendo, DS is a dual-screen handheld console. Built along a clamshell design, the console has two LCD screens on the inside. While the upper one is used as viewing screen, the lower one acts as a touch-screen. It was released in 2006, as a slimmer, brighter, and more lightweight version of the Nintendo DS. Its latest version - Nintendo DSi has been released in Japan and will be available in other countries by mid-2009.

8. Doll Toys

If the recipient of Christmas toys is your daughter, then rest assured that dolls never ever go out of fashion. Whether it is Cinderella Barbie Doll, Baby Annabell Doll or Bedtime Lullaby Fifi Doll, dolls will always be amongst the best toys for your baby every year and that includes 2008 as well. Just make sure that you buy the latest model of the doll or the one that you Little Princess has been eyeing for a long time.

9. Bakugan Battle Brawlers Toys

'Bakugan Battle Brawlers' is a Japanese anime series that debuted on TV Tokyo in April 2007, on Teletoon in July 2007 and on Cartoon Network in February 2008. It revolves around a gang of children, called Battle Brawlers, who have the power to wield creatures known as Bakugan. Go ahead, buy a Bakugan game for your kid and see him beaming with happiness on Christmas.

10. Roary the Racing Car Toys

Children and cars have a long-term association and it was further strengthened by the debut of 'Roary the Racing Car', an animated children's television show. Set around a motor racing circuit, called Silver Hatch, the series showcases the adventures of Roary, a red, single-seater racing car, and his race car friends. From Roary the Racing Car Sliver Hatch Turbo Race Set to Roary the Racing Car 10 inch Bike with Sounds, the options before you are many.


* Original address of this gift post: China Gift and Fine Arts & Crafts in China

An Overview for The Sales Market of Toys in China

The quantity of young kids under the age of 14 and babies, toddler and preschool children in China is over 300,000,000, accounting for 25% of the whole population. Among them 80,000,000 live in the city, which form a great number of toy consumption. Especially in recent years, parents identify with the concept that toys can enlighten children on their intelligence, moreover, majority of modern families in China only have one child, whose parents are willing to spend money on their child.


In recent years, it has appeared some features and special trends for toy sales in the mainland of China:

1. R/C Toys

Appeared with high technology, for instance, electronic toys that can sound or shine, R/C toys and interactive toys that can speak or perform a series of actions are salable goods. Presently, various R/C toys on sale in the market reach about 1 hundred kinds, mainly are variety of R/C toys (remote control toys) and hobby items, such as R/C car, R/C helicopter, nitro R/C car, R/C gas boat, remote control helicopter, remote control car etc., each R/C car(remote control car) costs about 20-65 dollars，R/C gas boat(remote control gas boat) is about 20-50 dollars，and the price of R/C helicopter differs between 450 - 2,000 dollars.

2. Model Toys

Electric model toys attract both children and adults, such as tank cars, cars installed with alarm whistle and so on. Though these toys are not cheap in price, especially the electric toys, commonly between 8-10 dollars, some even as high as 80-100 dollars, but they have a strong footing in the market.

3. Adult Toys

Besides the children toys, adult toys in mainland of China are also have large market. According to the latest investigation of China Social Investigation Office, 33% of adults think they are fond of toys and would like to buy them. It is investigated that except for traditional Chinese Chess, I-go and kite, adults prefer R/C toys (remote control toys) and hobby items, such as R/C car, R/C helicopter, nitro R/C car, R/C gas boat, remote control helicopter, remote control car etc. The last research of China Toys Association shows the acceptable toy price for most consumers in the large and medium sized cities is no more than 15 dollars. However, in some large cities and some medium sized cities, some ingenious and top graded toys reaching up 150 dollars and even 1200 dollars still have their market. It takes an average of about 5% of the whole year consumption for Chinese citizens to buy toys, and with the toy development of top grade, brightness and series, in particular, R/C toys (remote control toys) and hobby items, such as R/C car, R/C helicopter, nitro R/C car, R/C gas boat, remote control helicopter, remote control car etc., the toy consumption will be in the status of advancing.

4. Plastic Toys

Plastic has taken the place of metal, wood and have become the main material for toys making, because it costs low, easily deals with, safer and light.


Although according to the official statistic, the toy sales in mainland of China are no more than 2,000,000,000 dollars in 2006, it is estimated by people in this industry that the actual market demands should be 9,000,000,000 dollars. People in this industry believe that the forecast demands of Chinese toy market will increase at a rate of 40% per year in the following years, and the consumption of Chinese toy market will hopefully exceed 13,000,000,000 dollars.

2008 Hot Toy New Trends

2008 Hot Toy New Trends

All toy companies are eager to grow sales in a stagnant $22 billion market, they want to know which toys are "hot" for the year. Invariably, the toy trends for the year are strongly influenced by movies being released that year. This year, there are some awesome icons vying for our attention - Indiana Jones, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and Batman. Aside from these superheroes, the hot toy trends for 2008 also include dinosaurs, robots, musical toys and of course, web connected toys!

Aside from these, "Electronics and the Internet. That's what kids are obsessed about today," said Jim Silver, editor and co-publisher of Toy Wishes magazine. "They have an iPod, they are on Facebook and some are e-mailing by age five."

1. Web Connected Toys

IToysWe all know and love Webkinz, the pioneer of the "virtual toy" revolution. Webkinz is still doing very well and now has been joined by several other toy manufacturers. Russ's Shining Stars, TY Girlz, Barbie and now even TY's Beanie Babies. Aside from dolls and plush toys, there's a brand new preschool game which nicely incorporates play and technology. It's called Me2 from IToys. Also worth noting is Clickables, a wonderful line of toys from Technosource. Clickables integrates the virtual world of Disney Fairies with toys for girls. There are a lot of other web connected toys and dolls. My collegue, the Doll Collecting guide, has a great article up on the virtual doll trend.

2. Dinosaur Toys
Dinosaurs have been around for a while now, (remember the very recent Pleo?), but they certainly made their presence felt at the Toy Fair! Here is one dinosaur which was hard to miss - Kota the Triceratops from Playskool. This friendly creature is pretty tall at approximately 40 feet and is equipped with sensors, which when activated, make him move his head, tail and horns. Kids will enjoy sitting on this playful (and very pricey) creature. Another dino in the spotlight comes to use from Mattel. D-Rex, a remote controlled dinosaur with a lot of different sounds and realistic motions aims to fascinate kids this year.

3. Indiana Jones Toys

HasbroIndiana Jones is really something to look forward to this year. The movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is slated to be one of the hot movies of 2008. It's no wonder then, that Lego, Hasbro and the rest have jumped onto Indy's bandwagon! The plot of the movie isn't yet revealed fully. Still, Lego had some wonderful sets based on Indiana Jones. The Indiana Jones LEGO sets include Indiana Jones Temple Escape, Indiana Jones Race for the Stolen Treasure, Indiana Jones and the Lost Tomb and Indiana Jones Motorcycle Chase. Some of Hasbro's Indiana Jones offerings include Mr Potato Head: Taters of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones Sound FX Whip and of course Indiana Jones action figures.


4. Science and Nature Related Toys

Jakks PacificI noticed a large variety of Science Kits and nature themed toys at this year's Toy Fair. Elmers (the glue company) had some really cool science kits represented by Bill Nye, the science guy. Scientific Explorer had a lot of fun kits to offer where kids can experiment with fascinating stuff like bubbles, perfumes, volcanoes and more. The biggie in the science category is none other than EyeClops from Jakks Pacific, which has updated versions(read night vision and higher magnification) available. Also, Uncle Milton of the Ant Farm fame had some cool Indiana Jones based products to show.


5. Batman - The Dark Knight Toys

MattelThe new Batman movie, The Dark Knight is slated to be released later this year. Mattel has a host of Batman related toys and action figures up their sleeve. The Stealth Batmobile and the Wayne Tech Tri Fire Blaster are must haves. Apart from those two, there are a lot of pretend play options and Batman action figures from Mattel. Lego also has some great Batman themed construction sets for release this year.

6. Speed Racer Toys

MattelSpeed Racer is another big movie franchise on which Mattel has a great lineup of toys. I know that Hot Wheels has a Morph Mach 6 vehicle and an interactive helmet to offer as well as the Speed Racer Sky Jump Track Set among other toy vehicles. The movie should spark off a craze for racing and toy cars which is going to be huge. Lego also had some great Speed Racer kits on display at Toy Fair. Personally, I think this is THE franchise to watch out for.


7. Animated Toys/Robots

Fisher-PriceOk, so by now everyone must have heard of Elmo Live, right? Well, the animated toy trend seems to be very prevalent this year with Elmo Live, Hasbro's Biscuit, Playskool's Kota the Triceratops, Tomy's ISobot and more. While I'm on the topic, let me mention that I just previewed an adorable duckling from Hasbro's Furreal Friends line - it's too cute for words. Just like me, it seems like everyone enjoys seeing animated animals nowadays!

8. Iron Man Toys

HasbroHasbro has a fantastic line of action figures based on the Iron Man. This is another movie franchise for this year which is going to be popular with Marvel fans.

9. Green Toys

It's no wonder that everyone is focusing on healthy and safe play this year. The "green" theme is predominant with many toy firms promoting their eco-friendly products. One toy manufacturer which I really liked was Plan toys from Indonesia which had a wonderful lineup of natural wooden toys. There were some toys made out of recycled milk bottles from a company called Green Toys. They had tea sets, gardening sets and beach sand sets on display which looked very appealing. I also noticed the Kapla line of wooden construction planks which falls into the "green" category as well. 12. Classic Toys - Lots of Anniversaries!


10. The Incredible Hulk Toys

HasbroThe Hulk was at a lot of places at Toy Fair 2008. I specially loved the Kid Designs line of Hulk laptops and learning toys. Hasbro has a fantastic lineup of Hulk toys including the much awaited Hulk Smash Hands, a plush animated Hulk toy, conventional Hulk action figures, a Hulk power glow electronic mask, a Hulk dart blaster and much more. Looks like "green" is popular in more ways than one!


11. Musical Toys

KID Designs For the last couple of years, toys based on musical instruments have really grown in popularity. Remember Piano Wizard, Piano Made Easy, I Can Play Guitar, Guitar Hero and the other toys on similar lines? This, along with musical toys based on celebrities like Hannah Montana and hit TV shows like American Idol practically dominated the musical toy scene. This year, the trend continues with some more Hannah Montana toys, new DVD games based on American Idol (KIDDesigns has an awesome American Idol DVD game) and much more. Stay tuned. (pun not intended)

12. Keyboard for toddlers, Wallcrawler Spiderman

The portable DVD player is made to withstand a kid's abuse. It features a 3.2-inch color TFT screen, rechargeable batteries with a two-hour lifespan, an anti-skip buffer, grip handles and a stand for hands-free viewing. The player, which plays DVDs and CDs, comes with a battery charger and wall power unit, a video output jack, and a headphone jack.

13. Wall Crawler Spider-Man

"Wall Crawler Spider-Man" is a standout innovation from Hasbro. The remote-controlled Spider-Man toy, which incorporates vacuum-pump technology, actually crawls ups and down walls.

Last, but not the least, classic toys are very much in the forefront. This year, many classics were celebrating their anniversaries. Hasbro's My Little Pony celebrated their 25th anniversary with a lovely birthday party at the Hasbro showroom, complete with a cake cutting! Cabbage Patch Kids celebrates it's 25th anniversary as well. The LEGO brick celebrates its 50th anniversary with a commemorative gold brick. Other brands celebrating this year include Scholastic's Clifford, the big red dog, the Toy Company's Wham-O and Mary Meyer (who is turning 75 this year). We'll wind up with congratulating Hasbro's Mr Potato Head who is turning 80 this year. Way to go!