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

Wooden Toys - The Most Classical and Lasting Toys in the World

First, how did wooden toys come about? Wooden toys exist because that’s the most readily available material, and toys can be produced simply with a carving knife.

The price of a wooden toy depends very much on its age and general condition. The older it is, and the better the overall condition, the more valuable it will be.

In terms of price, wooden toys cannot match plastic toys upfront, as it’s cheaper to produce plastic toys. However, wooden toys often last much longer, resulting in substantial savings in the long run.
Wooden toys traditionally started out to be cheaper than all other toys. But as technology evolves, plastic eventually starts to replace wood when it comes to making toys. Hence, many toy makers switched to plastic. So if the decision to buy a toy is based on price alone, then perhaps plastic toys will win this battle. But often, toys mean more than just money alone.

Today, the price of a piece of wooden toy rises in proportion to the time and skill required to make the toy. In other words, the more time and skill needed, the higher the price. Still, people continue to buy wooden toys because they are suitable for everyone.

Whether you are an adult or a young child, you will fall in love with tiny wooden toys, as they are just too adorable to resist. Wooden toys are also suitable for both boys and girls. There are toys like toy cars and toy furniture that are suitable for both genders. Children love wooden toys because they can play with them both indoors and outdoors.

To preserve a wooden toy, clean the surface with a wet cloth before putting it away. Regular cleaning will make the wooden toy last longer. Some children like to use wooden toys for pretend play. Pretend play stimulates a child’s imagination. Simple wooden toys could engage children and motivate them to think. The secret to improving thinking and motor skills is to use simple wooden toys to play simple games. For example, use wooden blocks for counting games, or use puzzles to help encourage thinking.

But for most toy collectors, they like to collect wooden toys because wooden toys can last for a very long time, they are often kept for sentimental reasons. For an avid toy collector, there are many different types of wooden toys to choose from. But what makes a wooden toy a desirable artifact to collect?

For one, as wooden toys last so long, they are often still around even when their owners have grown up. And despite having grown up, the owners often refuse to give away their wooden toys as these toys bring back many happy memories. Also, one does not have to worry about harming the environment with wooden toys. In terms of durability, wooden toys can outlast any plastic toys with ease. They are also popular because of their versatility.



Case in point: skilled toy makers can create more complex wooden toys such as puppets. Pinocchio is a wooden puppet in a fairy tale, and he wants to become a boy. Puppets are interesting toys that can move. Simple wooden blocks can be used as educational toys. They can be used to playing counting games, or to build shapes. Such wooden toys can be used many times over.

So no matter simple or complicated, wood can be made into all sorts of different toys. That means, surely, there must be some wooden toys out there suitable for everyone.

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.