Christmas Toys

I have three nieces and one nephew; so when it comes to Christmas, I really like to spoil them with gifts. My brothers two children who are in high school are easier to buy for than my younger niece (4-years) and nephew (3-years) in Dublin. I am always on the look out for the IT toys; toys that I think they may want. So since it’s that season again, I decided to do a little research to find some of the hippest toys this year.
With scores of toy recalls this year in the U.S. - the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled millions of toys this year in the U.S. because of lead paint or parts that could choke a child. At one stage, it looked like there was a news conference every week recalling one toy or another from the shelves. ‘Batman Batmobile’, had 314,000 units recalled alone.
Here are some toys I found on about.com and I think they are just brilliant.







Hasbro's Transformers Movie Ultimate Bumblebee, transforms from a yellow car into an Ultimate Bumblebee robot.. Boys will love this toy.
($80 / Euro 54)


The Puppy Grows & Knows Your Name from Fisher-Price is adorable. The puppy grows to a full sized dog in 4 days. It knows its own name, your child's name and can sing 2 songs using your child's name. The puppy can be personalized using the CD provided. You also get a measuring tape with a growth chart, a bone, brush, and a birth certificate. ($50 / 38 Euro)




Hasbro's Furreal Friends Squawkers McCaw Parrot is a toy
with features such as voice recognition, animatronics, and dance features. It comes with a remote control which has pre-programmed voice commands which can prompt the parrot to say something or dance if there's music playing. Although, since this parrot loves to dance, it will do so to his own tunes too. ($70 / Euro 47)


Hasbro's Power Tour Guitar meant for ages 10 + is a great way for youngsters to learn how to play the guitar. The beauty of the Power Tour Electric Guitar is that there are no strings attached (literally) which makes it much simpler to learn. The whole concept is touch activated. The guitar fret is color coded, and the flashing lights prompt the player where to place their fingers. ($50 / 38 Euro)


Jakks Pacific's Eye-Clops, the handheld bionic eye that plugs into your TV. Not only is it designed to keep kids of all ages (including fully grown kids) occupied and excited for hours, it also serves to educate your children. Eye-Clops works by providing close up images of minute objects. It's amazing to see something magnified by a factor of 200 on your TV screen! It even includes an observation dish and tube to view liquids, salt, bugs or anything that catches your fancy. Three built-in lights help to illuminate the objects under observation. ($40 / 27 Euro)