What will be 2009’s hottest toy?

Elmo's Tickle Hands
Elmo’s Tickle Hands

Many holiday shopping years there is a breakout toy that everyone wants and nobody seems to have. In past years it was Cabbage Patch Dolls, or Tickle Me Elmo. Obviously, toy manufacturers want to be the one who has that item and toy stores want to have them in stock. Tyco, the manufacturer of Tickle Me Elmo has tried ever since to repeat their success with various "Tickle Me" items including more and more complex Elmo’s with varying success. This year they will try again with the Elmo’s Tickle Hands.

For 2009, both Toys "R" Us and Kmart have released their list of what they believe will be the hottest toys this season. Following are their lists:

Toys "R" Us "Fabulous 15"
Bakugan Battle Brawlers New Vestroia Maxus Helios 7 in 1
ChixOs Pink Design-A-Luxury Loft
Color Me a Song
Disney Netpal
Toy Story Interactive Buddies Talking Action Figures (Buzz and Woody)
Disney Princess: Just One Kiss Princess Tiana Doll
Fast Lane JLX Over Drive RC All Terrain Vehicle from Toys "R" Us (they listed their own item, nice.)
Laugh & Learn Learning Farm
Little Mommy Baby Ah-Choo
Mindflex
NERF N-Strike Raider Rapid Fire CS-35
Star Wars Fan’s Choice Anniversary Edition Home One Mon Calamari Star Cruiser (Lego)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Construction Devastator
Wii Sports Resort
Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters

Kmart’s Fab 15 Toy List:
Baby Alive Whoopsie Doo
Bakugan 7-in-1 Maxus Dragnoid
Chixos Design Luxury Loft
Dora Loves Puppy (sold exclusively at Kmart…surprise!)
Handy Manny’s Repair Shop
Holiday Barbie
Laugh & Learn Learning Farm
Littlest Pet Shop Adoption Center
Liv Dolls
Moxie Artitude Airbrush Gallery
Nerf n Strike Raider
Paperoni Deluxe Studio
Sesame Street Tickle Hands Elmo
Transformers Bumblebee Helmet
Trio Kings Castle

Of course, they both have their best interests at heart when it comes to these lists. This is really just what they hope will be the hot items this year because they have them.

Zhu Zhu Pet Mr. Squiggles
Mr. Squiggles

But there is one item that may be poised to be the big breakout toy this year and it only appears on one of these lists (sorry K-Mart).

Zhu Zhu Pets (formerly called Go Go Pets) had a pre-season launch in Phoenix that sold-out. They are now gearing up for the Fall holiday season and are expecting to ship between 4 and 5 million pets. Already they are having trouble keeping up with demand.

What are Zhu Zhu Pets? They are electronic hamsters that scamper about like the real thing without that pesky feeding and poop. You can let them run around on the floor in "explore" mode and have the run of your house. Or you can put them in "loving" mode and they will be receptive to petting, making squeaks and chattering. Each hamster has it’s own unique personality and sounds. Suggested retail price for the hamsters is supposed to be $7.99 with accessories ranging from $3.99 to $19.99. However, they are already selling for far more on sites such as Amazon and eBay with hamsters in the $15.00-$30.00 range (if you can get them).

Jingle All The Way
Arnold on the hunt

Of course, there are also accessories. There are hamster balls, wheels, play houses, carriers, beds, and the Giant Hamster City Playset for around $85.00.

And there’s another wrinkle in this story. Unlike hot toys from other years, Zhu Zhu Pets are not only popular with children, but they are also being bought by college students for their dorm rooms. This may make them even harder to find in the stores.

Will you be able to find Zhu Zhu pets this holiday? Although they were on the Toys "R" Us hot list, at the time of this post they had none in stock on their website. So, if your child (or college student) wants a Zhu Zhu hamster this Christmas, you may want to rent Jingle All the Way with Arnold Schwartzenegger to get a feel for what you may have ahead of you.

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