To help anxious parents keep their promises to their children, we've compiled a package of suggestions for stretching a buck, maybe two, this winter on toys.
The first step, of course, is to take your shopping seriously. Plan and consolidate your trips. Avoid impulse buying.
We've scoped out some gift-category suggestions and affordable, yet exciting, merchandise on the jingle-bell market. We've cited some of the toys that are expected to be hot this year, with an eye toward keeping costs down.
For those youngsters you think expect more than they'll be getting, we offer suggestions on gift presentation and putting a spin on your presents.
And, because the fun never stops, there's a guide for taking the wrong stuff back to the merchant.
Little cars are hot, so's Harry Potter
Here are some of the gifts for young people that are likely to be in the greatest demand, according to Family Matters magazine, retail and media sources:
• ZipZaps, Matchbox-size radio-controlled cars (right) from RadioShack are at the top of a lot of lists. The demand is so great that earlier this month RadioShack stopped selling the $19.99 cars online. The little Mustangs, Porsches, PT Cruisers and more are popping up on eBay and other sites for more. Competitors, such as MicroSizers, are gaining momentum.
• Cranium games (Cranium, $16.95-$34.95, ages 3 and up). Four games, two for kids. Original board game tapped as "game of the year" by the Toy Industry Association in February.
• Barbie as Rapunzel (Mattel, $19.99, 3 and up). Our gal with more than a foot of hair, crown, gown, necklace and hair brush.
• Frog Tennis (Hasbro, $19.99, 6 and up). Electronic tabletop tennis with a frog substituting for a ball. Frog goes splat with each missed shot.
• Harry Potter Basilisk Attack Playset (Mattel, $26.99, 5 and up). Re-creates scenes from Chamber of Secrets by acting out battle between Harry and evil Basilisk.
• Bratz Funk `n' Glow (MGA Entertainment, $29.99, 7-12) latest installment in a funky line of dolls with fiber optics sewn into mini denim jackets.
• Disney Little Princesses (Playmates Toys Inc., $19.99 each, 3 and up) Collection of three 15-inch dolls - Little Cinderella, Little Belle and Little Ariel, with accessories for child and doll.
• Geomag (PlastWood, $19, 3 and up). High-tech tinker toys. 42-piece starter set of 1-inch nickel-plated magnetized steel rods and shiny steel spheres for making a myriad of geometric structures, like spinning tops, towers, suspension bridges and jewelry. Choose from five colors, or graduate to the glow-in-the-dark model ($25.50).
• Dancing Dora the Explorer Doll (Fisher-Price, $30, 2 and up). Latina doll based on Nickelodeon show. Moves her hat and talks in English and Spanish.
Dolls speak foreign languages
Without the benefit of bottomless pocketbooks, most shoppers will be looking for better-than-average bangs for their bucks.
Even if you end the season with even less money than you had intended, you'll feel better about it if you give kids things that will last. Things that they need. Things that might make their lives better.
That said, take a look at a series of 16-inch talking foreign-language dolls from Language Littles. Choose from Spanish-, French-, Italian-, Chinese- and Hebrew- speaking raggedy boys and girls. (Each speaks English translations.) For $35, you get, in addition to the doll, a translation booklet, access to a special language Web site and two AA batteries. And perhaps a break on tuition bills somewhere down the road. Go to www.zanybrainy.com.
Count on some toys to have staying power
Since we first heard them on the sidewalks from about a mile away in 1968, Hot Wheels have been popular with little kids.
They're still around, with technological advances that give kids access to 3-D online racing via vehicle replicas. Prices top out at $40. Go to planethotwheels.com.
Other toys have passed the test of time and ongoing popularity. Here are some gift options you just know kids will like now, and in the future, their little brothers and sisters will like them, too.
• Monopoly, the board game about getting ahead in the real world, now available in 26 languages and special geographic and theme editions, with rules and explanations online. Pay about $30 for the new American edition; $12 for the standard version. Go to www.monopoly.com.
• Action figures, ages 5 and up. G.I. Joe, hugely popular in the 1980s, is back, with new characters, new helicopter and other vehicles, with battle sounds. $8 to $60 for various assortments, combinations of characters and equipment. Power Rangers figures and accessories, $17-$70. Other options: Spider-Man, Batman, both highly popular.
• Barbie. Pick a theme. Pick an accessory. Pick a hair color. $6 to $30. Go to www.barbie.com.
• Leap Frog learning toys, $40 to $60; books $15. Go to www.leapfrog.com.
• Game Boy Advance, $80. Go to www.gameboy.com
• Bikes: $34 to $70 for 12-inch beginner models, at Wal-Mart.
• Tomy toys for pre-schoolers, colorful plastic toys that never go out of style, $10-$25. Try to beat the clock with interactive electronic Circuit Breaker (left), with zany sound effects, cooky lighting, wacky voices. Go to www.intplay.com.
• Tonka Toys...Tonka Radio Control Bobble Boys ATV, Family Fun magazine's "toy of the year" in preschool vehicle category, $40. Go to www.hasbropreschool.com.
Don't forget other old stand-bys: Clue and Candy Land games, scooters, skateboards and sleds, basketballs, footballs and baseballs.
Knock-offs knock down prices
Life-size American Girl dolls come with books about their background and a variety of optional accessories. The latest in the series is Kaya, an American Indian.
But, with a hardback book, she's $90, available only from the official American Girl catalog, (800) 845-0005, the official American Girl Web site, www.americangirl.com, and the official American Girl store, at American Girl Place, Chicago. Other AG dolls, from Mattel, start at $48.
There are less-expensive big dolls on toy shelves. Other manufacturers have produced similar models, some of which are available for less than $70.
The same holds true for other brand-name, highly priced, licensed products. There are similar, less-expensive products for almost everything, toy store employees say.
Many happy returns
No matter how good you are at shopping, mistakes will be made.
They might not even be your fault.
Given the volume of merchandise that will pass through your Toyota trunk, it's likely that something will be going back to a big-box service desk.
So, in case it hasn't occurred to you:
Keep your receipts. In most cases, if you don't have proof of purchase, the best you'll be able to do is a store credit. In that case, you'll need valid identification.
Keep the components. If it's a toy with dozens of pieces, pay close attention when it's being opened. Retailers will want all of them, if the item is to go back on the shelf.
Keep the boxes. If the merchandise is faulty or incomplete, the merchant will need the box to ship it to the manufacturer.
Keep the packaging. To ensure that the product makes it back to the factory intact, save the foam and cardboard cushions and plastic wrappers and bags. Good luck positioning everything back into its original position.
Wrapping can make difference
Sometimes it's all in the presentation. And the ripping and tearing of tissue paper and ribbons.
The excitement of Christmas isn't necessarily a factor of the size or the value of the present. The fact that there is a present should be cause for celebration.
For kids, take every opportunity to wrap gifts separately, instead of combining smaller items in a single larger box. Much of the fun is in the opening process.
To thwart the shaking-and-guessing routine, try the old little-item-in-a-big-box disguise (doesn't work in reverse).
If you don't like the idea of spending extra money for extra wrapping and decorating, get creative with newspapers, old maps and grocery bags. Reuse gift bags, tissue paper and ribbon. For an unusual touch, use presents to wrap presents: neckties and scarves work best.
Think before you buy
Consumer Reports offers these tips for Christmas shoppers on the hunt for the best toys:
Buy according to the child's interests.
Look for a toy that allows your child to interact with it.
Toys that have staying power typically allow children to play with them in a variety of ways so the activity doesn't become boring.
Keep small parts away from younger siblings.
Check out whether parental help is needed and make sure you have the time to provide it.
Visit www.consumerreports.org for a list of shopping tips.
