Hot Christmas Toys? Maybe.

What do kids want for Christmas this year?

Why would I be thinking about buying Christmas toys right now in October?  Because now is when you want to start buying, people!  Don't be stupid and wait until the end of November when the stores are full of idiots and the shelves are emptying out quickly!  Get the things your kids want now and save yourself the hassel.

I guess the next questions would probably be how do I know what kind of toys your kids want?  *chuckle*  I think about the kinds of things I would want if I were still a kid.  (Let's not kid ourselves, I would still be running right to the video game aisle!  But there are still a few other neat things that might catch my fancy, too.)

So of course video games will be the hot items.  But do you really want your children sitting in front of a tv or computer screen playing video games all day?  Of course you don't and for the little kids, they need other things to play with.  Tonight I took a walk through a Toys R Us store to see what I could find.  Let's see what caught my fancy:

How about some garbage?  Would you like your little ones to be encouraged to play with garbage?  *chuckle*  I'm not even sure what the hell this stuff is, but here's a garbage truck that you can use with some garbage characters.

It comes with two trashy characters!  Now as an adult this might seem a bit nasty, but kids like what kids like.  And of course if you buy this, your kids will want extra characters to play with.

I thought $19.99 seemed like a bit much for the trash truck, but Amazon.com is selling it for $29.99.  Are these things somehow popular without anyone actually knowing about them?  *chuckle*  A great gift for little boys, but you'll end up stepping on the little things in the middle of the night when you're barefoot and trying to make your way to the bathroom.

They sound as bad as Legos, don't they?  And since we're on the topic of Legos, they're always really expensive!  The one Lego thing I found while walking around was this Lego Speed Train set.  I always loved trains and cars as a kid, and so if I were still small I know I would love one of these!  

It looks like you can put your expensive little Lego people inside the train!  I love it!  And it's $149.99 which is insane.  I like Legos, and I like trains, but I wouldn't pay that much for one of these.  If you've got the extra money to spend on your kids, you go right ahead.  But for those of us who might like to keep within a smaller budget, this is way too expensive.

Here's something that's a whole lot bigger than the Lego train set and I really have no idea what it really is.  It really looks fun, though!  And it's a bit cheaper at $119.99!  What little boy wouldn't love to wake up and find this under his Christmas tree?  It even looks cool to me as an adult! *chuckle*

How about something a bit sciencey?  A learning toy that could be a lot of fun?  I've always wanted a rock tumbler, and it looks like they still make them!

I'm sure this is loud and annoying.  It's something you can buy for a niece or nephew, or maybe a grandchild.  *chuckle*  Something for them to use when they aren't at your place.  Besides being loud, if your little one really likes this you may end up finding polished rocks all over your house.  At least they probably won't have pointy edges when you step on them at night on your way to the bathroom.

On to Barbie.  Barbie dolls are classics, right?  How about if we make them really, really small so you can step on them on the way to the bathroom at night?  Or maybe find them lodged in a couch cushion?

Trust me when I tell you these are small.  It's hard to tell from this picture, but they're the size of Lego figures.  Tiny.  Step on them on the way to the bathroom tiny.  *chuckle*  And what the hell is a little girl supposed to do with a tiny Barbie doll?  Why have a yacht party with all her tiny figure friends!

Perfect for bath time I guess, until one of the tiny figures ends up going down the drain.  Better get everything out of the tub before pulling the plug and letting the water out!

I wonder what happened to the regular Barbie dolls.  They're still around.  Here's a Barbie who's ready to get married!

I'm not sure who the male doll is.  The package says Barbie.  Is it supposed to be Ken?  Then why doesn't the package say Ken?  I'll call him Jed.  "Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named Jed, poor mountaineer barely kept his family fed.  then one day he was shootin' at some food, and up from the ground came a bubbling crude..."  Jed's rich now!  Time to marry a trophy wife named Barbie and get down!  *chuckle*  Yes, I have a very vivid imagination when it comes to dolls or figures.  Does Barbie's mother come with the marriage?  Barbie's a princess, right?  Maybe her mother is an evil queen?

Now that's my kind of action figure!  *chuckle*  Now how often do you find a Disney Evil Queen figure?  I almost bought this myself tonight, it was only $19.99.  To be honest though, I really wouldn't have anywhere to put it.  It's still neat, though!  If I were still a kid, I'd love one of these.  I would keep bringing her to my sister's Barbie Dream house.  I would just have her point and laugh.  "HA HA HA HA!  Would you like an apple?"  *chuckle*

Speaking of dolls for little girls, if you have a really young girl that you're buying for, you'd better find one of these.

Get your Frozen stuff now.  Trust me when I tell you that come December when everyone's looking for this stuff, it'll be gone.  It's popular now and that means it's more than likely going to be popular for Christmas.  By the way, never give a balloon to Elsa, she'll "Let it go".  If you get that joke, it's actually pretty hilarious!  *chuckle*  Don't pass this stuff up thinking you'll find it later, because you won't.  If the little girl in your life likes Frozen, grab this stuff up now.

What about boys, though?  Isn't there some neat, really hot popular stuff for them?  Besides video games I mean.  *chuckle*  Do you have a back yard?  Or somewhere where there's a bit of dirt that your little boy can go out and dig in?  He needs one of these then.

Don't go for cheap plastic crap, the best dirt toys are metal!  These did have plastic wheels, but most of the rest of the stuff was metal.  And metal lasts!  Hours of dirty fun with this stuff!  And to the grandmother I know who has been known to play in the mud with her grandson, I'm sure he would love this stuff!  *chuckle*

Here's a fight waiting to happen.  I think both English and American boys alike would like one of these, especially if you have a brother.

Now let me explain how these really work.  I have a little brother and we would have loved something like this.  You start playing and then someone gets angry and frustrated and pretty soon one kid ends up throwing the ball at the other one and they end up pounding on each other.  Then mom comes in and decides that because brothers can't get along, the toy has to be put up somewhere.  Now the brothers are upset because it was such a fun toy to begin with!  They still want to play and promise to be good!  Ten minutes later they're arguing again.  *chuckle*  But that's all part of being a brother.  Years and years later you always remember something like this as a favorite toy.  You'll both always remember what fun you had playing with it (fights and all!).

And yes, eventually you'll be stepping on the ball while you're trying to go to the bathroom late at night.

How about some "Minions"?  Everyone loves Minions, right?  Despicable Me was a great movie and I know Minions are a hot thing to watch on YouTube now.  This seems a bit expensive to me, though.

$26.99 for three small stuffed Minions?  Really?  REALLY?  Yeah, I'll pick some of these up right after I get the money for that $149.99 Lego train set.  They're really neat, but just seem a bit over priced to me. 

Last, but not least I have something that is actually for a video game.  It's sort of an accessory.  But I'm thinking this will be something that you won't be able to find soon.  People may be looking pretty hard to find one of these, so if you see one you might think about picking it up.

Yes, it's a Disney Infinity Elsa figure.  It goes with last year's Disney Infinity video game, but you can still use her for the new Disney Infinity 2.0.  This was the last one at the Best Buy nearby where I live.  They may get in more, they may not.  The new figures for the Disney Infinity 2.0 are everywhere, but it's getting harder and harder to find some of the figures for the older game.  A figure from the Incredibles called "Violet" went from $12.99 to $26.95 on amazon.  I haven't even seen a Violet figure in any store lately.  I think the same thing is going to happen to Elsa.  

It may happen, it may not.  But around December 20 when a coworker is saying they've been looking everywhere for a Disney Infinity Elsa figure, you can let him know that you have one that you'll be willing to part with it for $149.99.  That will be just enough for the Lego train set!  *chuckle*  (Yes, sometimes I'm a shark.)

Go out and walk around in a toy store yourself sometime.  Think back about the toys you used to have as a kid and check out some of the new stuff.  G.I. Joe has all but disappeared from most store shelves.  Sad, but true.  Take a look around, there are still plenty of fun toys beyond video games.