With Christmas 2008 looming ever closer, the race is on to find the items that kids are going to be craving. The trick is to find them at the best prices and with enough time to spare to get them under your tree before the big day itself. Of course, half the problem is solved simply by shopping online and beating the mad crowds and the crush of the festive High Street. Everyone knows how stressful this time of year can be, so advice is always a good thing To help you along with your Christmas shopping, here is a handy guide to the most sought-after items for children this Christmas.

As ever, TV and film items are popular, but there are also some great new additions to the market for Boys Toys at Christmas 2008. Here are some of the items that kids are wanting this year:

Transforming WALL.E: the definitive WALL-E toy based on the adorable robot from the hit film.

Bakugan Starter Pack and battle Arena: The starter set and huge battle arena from the hot new trading game.

Air Hogs Zero Gravity Micro: A micro radio controlled car that is capable of incredible stunts.

Transformers Animated Roll Out Command Optimus Prime: Here is Optimus Prime from the new Transformers cartoon, standing 12 inches tall and featuring 'Auto Spin' conversion.

Cars Walkin' Talkin McQueen: McQueen comes to life with lights and sound, and he walks and talks just like in the animated film.

Star Wars Clone Trooper Voice Changer: This full-head replica helmet features technology that will transform kids' voices into the processed rasp of a Clone Trooper.

Ben 10 Deluxe Omnitrix: A great toy replica of Ben's wrist-mounted device from the TV show, used for calling aliens to do battle.

Power Rangers Overdrive Tracker: great toy replica of the Morpher from the TV show, with lights and sound.

Gormiti Island of Gorm Playset: A superb playset designed to display Gormiti figures on in an action setting.

Indiana Jones Sounds FX Hat & Whip: The title4 says it all. Now kids can dress up as the movie adventurer.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars AT-TE: The formidable vehicle from the Star wars: Clone Wars movie and TV series comes with articulated legs, lights and sounds.

WWE RAW Arena Playset: The wrestling phenomenon comes to your living room! A superb playset for fans of the theatrical wrestling movement.

GIRLS TOYS FOR CHRISTMAS 2008 The girls are also very interested in media tie-in merchandise, but some old favourites are still going strong too, along with some great new items on the market.

High School Musical Sing Together Dolls: From the Disney hit come Gabriella, Troy and Sharpay dolls with microphones. The dolls sing their signature song from the film and sing along with kids.

Barbie Princess Liana Singing Doll: The Princess Liana comes in a day dress, which transforms into a ball gown. Her necklace lights up as she sings songs from the accompanying DVD.

FurReal Biscuit, My Lovin' Pup: One of the biggest hits this Christmas for kids is the FurReal Biscuit toy dog, a life-size golden retriever puppy with some fantastic interactive features, movement and sounds.

Littlest Pet Shop Tail Waggin' Fitness Club: This great play-set gives your toy pets a fun fitness workout, with a spinning hamster wheel, hurdles and more. The play-set also includes two pet toys.

Littlest Pet Shop VIPs: These cute plushes include a code that allows you to play your favourite characters online in the Littlest Petshop Virtual environment.

Sylvanian Families Old Hollow Oak Treehouse: The classic toy line returns with this beautiful new play-set, featuring multiple indoor rooms and outdoor living spaces.

I Love Ponies Honey, My Baby Pony: Honey, My Baby Pony is a lap size interactive pet foal including real pony sounds and movement.

BABY born with Magic Potty: Baby Born with Magic Potty is one of the most wanted dolls on the market this year and features eight different movements, lights and sound.

CHOU CHOU My First Tooth: Another hit doll this year is the CHOU CHOU - This 48cm doll comes with a teething/nurturing play modes and realistic baby sounds.

Rescue Pets Swim to Me Puppy: The Rescue Pets Swim to Me Puppy is a cute stray puppy that will swim when placed in water.

Bratz Girlz Really Rock Dolls: The famous toy line is back with the Bratz Girlz Really Rock Dolls, which come with 2 outfits and 2 musical instruments each.

Camp Rock Gift Pack: the new TV musical sensation comes to the toy world with this great double pack of characters.

There's countless other items on the market for Christmas 2008, but these are amongst the most desired by kids at the moment, and hopefully this will give you some pointers on finding the perfect gifts for Santa to put under your tree this year. You can reduce your stress levels (and the cost of the festive season) by shopping online, and also reduced the headaches by checking out some of these great examples of the current toy market. Merry Christmas one and all.

Andrew Hawnt

All toy companies are eager to grow sales in a stagnant $22 billion market, they want to know which toys are "hot" for the year. Invariably, the toy trends for the year are strongly influenced by movies being released that year. This year, there are some awesome icons vying for our attention - Indiana Jones, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and Batman. Aside from these superheroes, the hot toy trends for 2008 also include dinosaurs, robots, musical toys and of course, web connected toys!

Aside from these, "Electronics and the Internet. That's what kids are obsessed about today," said Jim Silver, editor and co-publisher of Toy Wishes magazine. "They have an iPod, they are on Facebook and some are e-mailing by age five."

1. Web Connected Toys

IToysWe all know and love Webkinz, the pioneer of the "virtual toy" revolution. Webkinz is still doing very well and now has been joined by several other toy manufacturers. Russ's Shining Stars, TY Girlz, Barbie and now even TY's Beanie Babies. Aside from dolls and plush toys, there's a brand new preschool game which nicely incorporates play and technology. It's called Me2 from IToys. Also worth noting is Clickables, a wonderful line of toys from Technosource. Clickables integrates the virtual world of Disney Fairies with toys for girls. There are a lot of other web connected toys and dolls. My collegue, the Doll Collecting guide, has a great article up on the virtual doll trend.

2. Dinosaur Toys
Dinosaurs have been around for a while now, (remember the very recent Pleo?), but they certainly made their presence felt at the Toy Fair! Here is one dinosaur which was hard to miss - Kota the Triceratops from Playskool. This friendly creature is pretty tall at approximately 40 feet and is equipped with sensors, which when activated, make him move his head, tail and horns. Kids will enjoy sitting on this playful (and very pricey) creature. Another dino in the spotlight comes to use from Mattel. D-Rex, a remote controlled dinosaur with a lot of different sounds and realistic motions aims to fascinate kids this year.

3. Indiana Jones Toys

HasbroIndiana Jones is really something to look forward to this year. The movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is slated to be one of the hot movies of 2008. It's no wonder then, that Lego, Hasbro and the rest have jumped onto Indy's bandwagon! The plot of the movie isn't yet revealed fully. Still, Lego had some wonderful sets based on Indiana Jones. The Indiana Jones LEGO sets include Indiana Jones Temple Escape, Indiana Jones Race for the Stolen Treasure, Indiana Jones and the Lost Tomb and Indiana Jones Motorcycle Chase. Some of Hasbro's Indiana Jones offerings include Mr Potato Head: Taters of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones Sound FX Whip and of course Indiana Jones action figures.

4. Science and Nature Related Toys

Jakks PacificI noticed a large variety of Science Kits and nature themed toys at this year's Toy Fair. Elmers (the glue company) had some really cool science kits represented by Bill Nye, the science guy. Scientific Explorer had a lot of fun kits to offer where kids can experiment with fascinating stuff like bubbles, perfumes, volcanoes and more. The biggie in the science category is none other than EyeClops from Jakks Pacific, which has updated versions(read night vision and higher magnification) available. Also, Uncle Milton of the Ant Farm fame had some cool Indiana Jones based products to show.

5. Batman - The Dark Knight Toys

MattelThe new Batman movie, The Dark Knight is slated to be released later this year. Mattel has a host of Batman related toys and action figures up their sleeve. The Stealth Batmobile and the Wayne Tech Tri Fire Blaster are must haves. Apart from those two, there are a lot of pretend play options and Batman action figures from Mattel. Lego also has some great Batman themed construction sets for release this year.

6. Speed Racer Toys

MattelSpeed Racer is another big movie franchise on which Mattel has a great lineup of toys. I know that Hot Wheels has a Morph Mach 6 vehicle and an interactive helmet to offer as well as the Speed Racer Sky Jump Track Set among other toy vehicles. The movie should spark off a craze for racing and toy cars which is going to be huge. Lego also had some great Speed Racer kits on display at Toy Fair. Personally, I think this is THE franchise to watch out for.

7. Animated Toys/Robots

Fisher-PriceOk, so by now everyone must have heard of Elmo Live, right? Well, the animated toy trend seems to be very prevalent this year with Elmo Live, Hasbro's Biscuit, Playskool's Kota the Triceratops, Tomy's ISobot and more. While I'm on the topic, let me mention that I just previewed an adorable duckling from Hasbro's Furreal Friends line - it's too cute for words. Just like me, it seems like everyone enjoys seeing animated animals nowadays!

8. Iron Man Toys

HasbroHasbro has a fantastic line of action figures based on the Iron Man. This is another movie franchise for this year which is going to be popular with Marvel fans.

9. Green Toys

It's no wonder that everyone is focusing on healthy and safe play this year. The "green" theme is predominant with many toy firms promoting their eco-friendly products. One toy manufacturer which I really liked was Plan toys from Indonesia which had a wonderful lineup of natural wooden toys. There were some toys made out of recycled milk bottles from a company called Green Toys. They had tea sets, gardening sets and beach sand sets on display which looked very appealing. I also noticed the Kapla line of wooden construction planks which falls into the "green" category as well. 12. Classic Toys - Lots of Anniversaries!

10. The Incredible Hulk Toys

HasbroThe Hulk was at a lot of places at Toy Fair 2008. I specially loved the Kid Designs line of Hulk laptops and learning toys. Hasbro has a fantastic lineup of Hulk toys including the much awaited Hulk Smash Hands, a plush animated Hulk toy, conventional Hulk action figures, a Hulk power glow electronic mask, a Hulk dart blaster and much more. Looks like "green" is popular in more ways than one!

11. Musical Toys

KID Designs For the last couple of years, toys based on musical instruments have really grown in popularity. Remember Piano Wizard, Piano Made Easy, I Can Play Guitar, Guitar Hero and the other toys on similar lines? This, along with musical toys based on celebrities like Hannah Montana and hit TV shows like American Idol practically dominated the musical toy scene. This year, the trend continues with some more Hannah Montana toys, new DVD games based on American Idol (KIDDesigns has an awesome American Idol DVD game) and much more. Stay tuned. (pun not intended)

12. Keyboard for toddlers, Wallcrawler Spiderman

The portable DVD player is made to withstand a kid's abuse. It features a 3.2-inch color TFT screen, rechargeable batteries with a two-hour lifespan, an anti-skip buffer, grip handles and a stand for hands-free viewing. The player, which plays DVDs and CDs, comes with a battery charger and wall power unit, a video output jack, and a headphone jack.

13. Wall Crawler Spider-Man

"Wall Crawler Spider-Man" is a standout innovation from Hasbro. The remote-controlled Spider-Man toy, which incorporates vacuum-pump technology, actually crawls ups and down walls.

Last, but not the least, classic toys are very much in the forefront. This year, many classics were celebrating their anniversaries. Hasbro's My Little Pony celebrated their 25th anniversary with a lovely birthday party at the Hasbro showroom, complete with a cake cutting! Cabbage Patch Kids celebrates it's 25th anniversary as well. The LEGO brick celebrates its 50th anniversary with a commemorative gold brick. Other brands celebrating this year include Scholastic's Clifford, the big red dog, the Toy Company's Wham-O and Mary Meyer (who is turning 75 this year). We'll wind up with congratulating Hasbro's Mr Potato Head who is turning 80 this year. Way to go!

Krista QQ(www.123giftfactory.com)

It can sometimes be difficult finding a movie to watch that is suitable for the whole family. Even when the ratings are safe, you may not be happy when it comes to actually watching the movie itself. Here is a quick guide to a few fun films that are perfect for the whole family, and that your kids will absolutely love!

Toy Story

This is a firm favourite amongst the younger generation, as well as the adults! Toy Story 1 and 2 were two of the biggest selling films due to their imaginative storylines and action packed adventures. Children and adults alike love to imagine what it would be like if toys really came to life, so this would be a great choice to add to your permanent movie collection.

Willy Wonka/ Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

There are now two versions of this modern film, but your kids will probably love them both. You could choose the hit from the 70s or go with the more modern version starring Johnny Depp. This truly is a magical film, and what kid does not enjoy watching those wonderful scenes inside the factory! It contains the tale of Charlie Bucket, who is a poor boy that gets a chance to visit this dreamed-of chocolate factory. Bear in mind that the scenes in this movie may not be suitable for the very youngest kids!

Pirates of the Caribbean

Again this might be more suitable for the slightly older kids, but the adults will love it too! This stars Johnny Depp as the unforgettable Captain Jack Sparrow and is an adventure right from the start. With pirates and treasure the action really never stops, and the great thing is that there are already 3 of these films to keep your family occupied for hours!

Disney Films

There are too many Disney cartoons to list them all here, but they are a sure fire hit with kids of all ages. Whether your little girl wants to be a princess, or your little boy wants to be a pirate you can choose a film to suit their tastes and to keep them happy for hours. These are great fun for the whole family, and include some really classics that are still just as charming today as they were when they were made.

Spy Kids

For a non-cartoon film to watch how about Spy Kids? Again there are a number of releases in the series of Spy Kids movies, which is great for kids who love to watch films! You might find that these films are pretty ridiculous, but the kids absolutely love it, and it is great if you don't have time to sit down and watch it with them!

As you can see there are plenty of great films that can please both kids and adults, and can suit different ages of kids. It is always great to be able to sit your child down in front of a good movie and not worry about what they are seeing. There are plenty more, but for now your child should have nothing to complain about!

Weera Kunti
http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/the-best-kids-movies-711737.html