Holiday Gift Guide: Hot Toys for Christmas

Who Needs Big Box?

By Alison Marek
November 2007

Click here for TDmonthly's Holiday Gift Guide.

While every other shopper in America is standing in line, waiting for a "hot" toy that will lose its appeal five minutes after opening, you can shop online for the hottest toys around. These specialty toys are a cut above what you'll find in the big-box stores (e.g., Toys R Us, Target and Wal-Mart). So after you've cleaned out your local specialty toy shop and still need to fill-out your gift list, take a look at TDmonthly's Holiday Gift Guide to find the coolest toys with the best play value.

If you want to encourage your little girls on your list to help out other children less fortunate, consider the Karito Kids dolls from KidsGive. A portion of the profits is donated to a child-oriented charity. Plus, the dolls themselves celebrate diversity and real little girlhood; they're based on the bodies of 11-year-old girls and their special facial sculpts reflect their distinct ethnic backgrounds.

Help baby develop face recognition skills with a toy from Bill and Bud. Buddy is a high-contrast puppy with large features and stimulating textures that will encourage tactile exploration.

Kids can brush-up on their soccer skills with Miggle Toys' Electric International Soccer Challenge. It features realistic action and motions, plus hand-painted players.

Finally, get kids moving and competing indoors or out with Blongo Family Fun's BlongoBall. All ages and skill levels can compete to wrap their tethered balls around the goal posts. It's great for competitions, too!

Click here for TDmonthly's Holiday Gift Guide.