TDmonthly´s Top 10 Most Wanted - Toys for Girls AND Boys for the Holiday Season

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1. Fairly Odd Parents Flop Swop Fairies by Flying Colors (Age 5 years and up) Fairly Odd Parents Flop Swop Fairies are great for both girls, who will love the fairies, and boys, who will love the animals they turn into. While learning how to transform their toys, children will enjoy the role-playing features of these action toys.

• The “Fairly Odd Parents” is popular with many age groups and is well-liked teen show tied with Disney´s Lizzie McGuire and “ TheProud Family.”
• According to Nelson Media Research, “Fairly odd Parents” was No. 7 in its Top-ten Cable Shows category, with more than 3 million viewers on average.
• Timmy, the main male character who wears a silly pink hat and has fairy god parents, is an excellent role model for both girls and boys, as he eliminates the stereotypes associated with gender.

2. My First LeapPad Book: Dora the Explorer To the Rescue by LeapFrog (Age 3 years and up) Dora is a hit in most households, so this fun book is a popular choice for both boys and girls. Intended for use with the My First LeapPad player, children simply insert the cartridge, and touch any page with the Magic Pen to launch a series of games. Like most LeapPad products, it offers both educational content and a lot of fun and interactive games to keep children interested.
   • According to Target’s best-selling list, Dora the Explorer is one of this year’s favorite characters and this game is the top seller of all Dora products.
   • LeapPad toys have been among the top ten selling toys in many categories for three consecutive years.
   • According to BusinessWeek.com, Nickelodeon proved that boys would watch shows starring girls and that Latino characters like Dora could appeal to a general audience. Nickelodeon has made Dora a hit with both boys and girls.
3. Tuff Stuff Tape Recorder with Voice Warp by Fisher-Price (Age 36 months to 7 years) In a nutshell, this toy is a tape player with big, colorful buttons that also serves as a karaoke machine with a voice-warping mechanism.
   • This tape player is a durable toy with tons of functions.
   • Customer reviews show that this product is an excellent toy for helping boys and girls learn to talk or improve their speech.
   • This toy inspires imagination and talent development.
4. Hug & Learn Baby Tad by LeapFrog (Age 6 months - 4 years) Baby Tad is an interactive toy that offers babies and toddlers a fun learning experience.
   • LeapFrog products ranked No. 2 in NPD’s 2003 Top Ten Toys (based on dollars).
   • LeapFrog’s products are not marketed specifically according to gender. Rather, they appeal to boys and girls and encourage learning on all levels.
   • Both boys and girls love Tad’s squeaky, friendly voice, and quickly learn the reward system for playing with the light buttons.
5. Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set by LeapFrog (Age 2-5 years) Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set provides LeapFrog’s proven education quality as it transforms the traditional refrigerator letter magnet into an interactive game that teaches letter names and sounds.
   • Educational Toys are essential in promoting vital skills that will be useful throughout life for both boys and girls, and LeapFrog is a leader in manufacturing educational toys.
   • According to Child and Family Canada, today´s parents are anxious to provide every possible benefit for their children and place a strong emphasis on "educational toys". As a result, educational toys are increasing in popularity every year.
   • According to Amazon.com, based on customer purchases, this is the #95 Early Adopter Product in Electronic Learning.
6. Scholastic Alphabet Apple by Toys ´R´ Us (Age 36 months - 6 years) Scholastic Alphabet Apple introduces beginning readers to language skills with this simple carry-along item.
   • According to Amazon.com. based on customer purchases, this toy is the #94 Early Adopter Product in Electronic Learning.
   • The colors and activities in this game appeal to boys and girls who are learning the alphabet.
   • Children will improve their letter recognition skills and enjoy hours of play time.

7. Shrek Etch A Sketch by Sababa Toys (ToyShow) (Age 4 years and up) With the recent and phenomenal success of Shrek 2, it is no surprise that the makers of Etch A Sketch used the quirky character to add a cool twist to this classic drawing toy. This fun toy allows kids to turn the knobs to draw a picture, shake it up to clear the screen and do it all over again. In pure Shrek style, the toys’ ears wiggle while kids are at playing.

• Though few of the Lycos50 searches specify toys, Shrek seems to be one of the most popular licensed characters this year.
• According to new research from leading market information provider, the NPD Group, it is a good bet that the popular television shows and movies of the year will be linked to the most popular toys of the year. With the recent success of Shrek 2, it is very likely that Shrek products will be a huge hit this holiday season.
• The Shrek character is being used to promote Doritos, Lays, Holiday Inn, and many more companies, ensuring that Shrek’s image will continually be seen in the media, increasing the character’s popularity.

8. SpongeBob SquarePants Edition Uno by Sababa Toys (Age 7 years and up) The classic card game UNO adds an interesting element with its special SpongeBob SquarePants edition. Each card features colorful pictures of characters from the Nickelodeon cartoon, including SpongeBob, Sandy Cheeks, Patrick, Plankton, Mr. Krabs, Gary, and Squidward. The cards are stored in a durable tin box and the cards have a "super absorbency" feature.

• SpongeBob is listed as one of the most popular characters of the year by Target, Wal-Mart and Toys R Us Web sites.
• According to Nelson Media Research, SpongeBob Squarepants was No. 6 in its Top-ten Cable Shows category, with more than 3 million viewers on average.
• Uno is one of the world´s best selling branded card games.

9. Razor E200 Deluxe Electric Scooter by Razor USA (Age 8 years and up) Electric scooters are still all the rage amongst today’s kids. This scooter is light enough for easy travel and allows kids to travel at up to 10 mph.

• As far as scooters are concerned, parents are pleased with this product as it is the safest and quietest on the market. Boys and girls alike will love the variety of colors they have to choose from.
• The Razor E200 Deluxe Electric Scooter features an aircraft-grade aluminum construction, making it a safer, smoother ride.
• While the gasoline-powered scooters dominated the market in past years, the cleaner and easier-to-maintain electric scooter are considered more appropriate for children, so parents are more likely to buy these scooters for their kids.

10. Wiggles - Musical Guitar by Spin Master (Age 2-7 years) Although many parents find the Sydney-based children´s group, the Wiggles, just a little too strange and somewhat irritating, the kids’ vote is just the opposite. The Wiggles’ nationwide concerts sold out in weeks, showing that boys and girls across the U.S. are fans of the group, the chunky dinosaur named Dorothy and snazzy song titles like "Hot Potato”. It is no surprise that the Wiggles Musical Guitar, which allows children to play along to their favorite songs, is so popular.

• The Wiggles are listed as one of the most popular characters of the year by Target, Wal-Mart and Toys R Us Web sites.
• In a recent MSNBC review, consumer specialist Herb Weisbaum asked kids to test hundreds of toys and listed their top choices for under $25. The Wiggles guitar was amongst the top five.
• Consumer reviews demonstrate that the Wiggles’ products appeal to both boys and girls.

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