Top 2009 Christmas Gifts for Children

Top Toys for Babies (0-11 months old)

Skip Hop Funky Farmyard Activity Playmat
Featuring all of baby’s favorite farmyard animals, this plush playmat features a cute and colorful graphic design and plenty of squeaks and squishy toys to entertain all of baby’s senses. Featuring removable toys they can interact with, laying on their back, or a removable arch for tummy time on the floor or in the crib. This versatile gym is three toys in one.

Bright Starts Baby’s Playplace
This playmat is packed with different developmental games for your baby to play. The quilted play mat folds easily to create a safe environment for exploration. Excellent for newborn tummy time, and even better for babies who can sit or crawl. It comes with 7 different toys, and plays 8 melodies and nature sounds for 25 minutes. An extra large mirror, water-filled teether, rattles, and other toys make this award-winning toy a good investment into the coming year.

Your Baby Can Read Deluxe Kit
If you’re interested in teaching your baby to read, Dr. Toy recommends this kit as a top toy for 2009. The deluxe kit contains pretty much everything you could possibly need: 5 DVDs, over 100 different kids of interactive word and game cards, lift-a-flap books, and a Parent’s Guide. They also give you 3 free gifts: a CD of sing-a-long songs, “My First Words” window book, and the Early Learning Workshop DVD hosted by Your Baby Can Read founder, Dr. Titzer.

Tiny Love Princess Mobile
This mobile is a step above the old-fashioned string-and-toy mobiles of yesteryear. As the little toys turn, they spin so they are constantly looking down, into your baby’s face. The attached music box plays Chopin, Mozart, Bach, and Debussy as well as a “nature” button with birds. A remote control allows you to turn it off and on without your baby seeing you. (Personal Note: I love these mobiles and plan on getting my newborn this version for Christmas this year!)

Top Toys for Toddlers (1-3 years)

Leapfrog TAG Junior Reading System
Using the same touch technology as last year’s bestseller Leapfrog TAG, this junior version is a great jump start to reading for toddlers. Each book introduces a new pre-school skill like counting and the alphabet and are interactive so kids can watch all their favorite stories come to life with music, sound effects and games. And just like the old tag, TAG Junior can store up to 5 books so kids can listen to the stories be read out loud anywhere they are.

2009 Sesame Street Dolls for Toddlers
The Sesame Street plush dolls do more than just offer playtime fun. They teach. The Tickle Me Elmo provides more giggles, but the others help your toddler learn essential toddler skils, like potty training and dressing themselves!

Melissa and Doug Toy List for Christmas 2009
Melissa & Doug toys teach responsibility to children and help them learn on a level where they’re having fun and don’t even realize that the toys are educational in nature. These toys have an old fashioned feel to them because they play on the imagination skills of your child. But they’re modern enough that your kids won’t believe they’ve been given a hand-me-down for the holidays.

Zhu Zhu Toys Hamsters for Toddlers
Right about the time your baby grows into toddlerhood, you’ll want to teach him or her some basic life skills – like how to be nurturing to a living thing, how to be responsible and interact with things in a nice way. Zhu Zhu pet hamster toys are perfect Christmas gifts for tiny toddlers because they do all of the above – plus provide hours of endless fun for kids of this age group.

Top Toys for Pre-schoolers (3-5 years)

Crayola Beginnings Color Me a Song
Kids learn to color young but sometimes it’s more fun to color outside of the lines. This musical tablet allows them to create music and art at the same time. The faster they scribble the faster the music. Mix up the music with additonal instrumental buttons and triangler crayons are included in a hidden tray. Next stop: Julliard.

Zhu Zhu Pets
Zhu Zhu pets have rather taken the kids toys world by storm, and are definitely worthy of being among Top 10 Toys for Kids list this year! These toys are a favorite with younger kids (3 years and older). Each Zhu Zhu hamster has it’s own name, it’s own mannerisms and it’s own unique personality. They are made to respond much like the real thing!

Wild Planet Crayola Crayon Town
The Crayon Town line of toys from Crayola and Wild Planet is a fantastic idea and a creative way for kids to have a lot of fun! Here’s how it works: Each set from the Crayola toy lineup has it’s own theme – “My House”, “Construction Set” and more. For each set, kids can use their crayons to color the different parts of the set, then use the actual crayons as parts of the scene. Parts in each set are provided to allow the crayons to come alive as either characters or other parts of the environment such as trees, etc.

Top Toys for Grade-schoolers (6-9 years)

Playmobil Egypt Playset
Grade-school kids tend to lean towards more gender-specifc play but leave it to Playmobil to create a new playset both boys and girls will love. Kids can set up traps, build secret tunnels and switch around moveable walls. Both the pyramid and figures are extremely detailed and encourage learning about Ancient Egypt.

Bakugan 7 in 1 Maxus Dragonoid
For kids who love Bakugan, this one is sure to be a hit. Not only is this a “Bakugan” toy, it combines several toys into one to create the ultimate Dragonoid monster. The specific Bakugan characters that come with this include Grakas Hound, Dark Hound, Grafias, Brachium, Spitarm, SpyderFencer and Neo Dragonoid.

Top Toys for Tweens (10-12 years)

Star Wars Force Jedi Trainer
Talk about brain power, this cool tech toy uses brain wave techonology to detect how kids concentrate. The more they use their head, the closer they will get to mastering the force! Follow commands through Star Wars voices and effects to work your way through the advance levels to become a true Jedi master.

Jakks Girl Gourmet Sweets Candy Toys
Not only do the Girl Gourmet Sweets kits help girls create candy – but candy that they can use as jewelry! Last year the Girl Gourmet lineup from Jakks was a hit – this year with these new kits they are sure to be even more popular.

Top Toys for Teens
The Beatles Rock Band
It’s Beatle Mania this holiday season with the release of Beatles Rock Band. Teens and Adults can play together and fall in love with the Beatles all over again. All check out the new Rickenbacker guitar, made famous by John Lennon and unlock bonus material.

Top 2009 Christmas Gifts for Women

Jewellery Cleaner
Cleaning Jewellery was never an easy task, and with all those gift jewels flowing in, you could rather buy her a cool Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner.

Uggs are sheepskin boots
that are known for keeping your feet toasty warm. Styles include the traditional short boot, a tall boot, and the new sweater boots. For those of you living in warmer weather climates, rain boots are the way to go. Rain boots
have come such a long way. They’re very trendy and fun. The designs and colors are just awesome.

Diamond Pendant Jewelry
We all know that jewelry is a popular gift that’s always well received. Diamond pendants are great because you can choose a design that is unique to a woman’s personality. Popular pendants are the key pendants, animal pendants, and initial pendants. Key pendants are particularly romantic – give the woman you love the key to your heart and put some extra romance in the relationship. Trendy animal pendants include cats, snakes, and panda bears – great for animal lovers and for those who are fashion conscious. Initial pendants are classic, elegant, and can be worn with anything.

The Amazing Sleep Monitoring Watch
The Sleeptracker is one of this years top christmas gifts for women. You’ve probably seen the Sleeptracker all over the news. The Sleeptracker is worn on the wrist like a watch and monitors signals from the body to track natural sleep rhythms. The purpose of this device is to determine an individual’s optimal waking moment so you awake refreshed and energized. The optimal waking moment is an “almost-awake” moment of your regular sleep pattern.

Leather Gloves
The trend in gloves for the fall and winter fashion season is Leather, Leather, and more Leather. The right leather glove can be incorporated into an outfit to add more glamour and pizzazz. Match them with a awesome studded handbag for a great fashion statement.

Studded Handbags
Handbags Are Hot! Studded handbags are very popular and trendy this fall and are one of the top christmas gifts for women. They’ve been featured in many of the top women’s magazines and on the runways. They’re also being seen all over with the stars. Women will be able to jazz up any outfit with a great studded bag and turn heads no matter where they go. Studded bags are contagious and the woman on your shopping list might not be happy with just one!

Fashion Watches
A beautiful watch makes for a great Christmas gift. If it’s in your budget, a designer chronographic watch with a stainless steel case and diamonds should be at the top of your list. They’re the trend right now and the more silver the better. Every woman could use a new watch so this is a very safe and practical gift to give. You won’t go wrong no matter which one you choose.

Retro Sunglasses
Women always need a good pair of sunglasses, no matter what time of the year it is. The latest trend in glasses is a retro (or geek) look. Don’t be alarmed by the “geek” reference – these glasses look great on anybody. A great pair of retro glasses will spice up an entire wardrobe. Colors are great this year with solids, two tones, and even polka dots. Sunglasses are a neat gift to give!

Personalized CD/DVD …
I made one of these for my best friend when she was leaving for Canada last year. I put in a couple of songs that would take her through the ten years that we know each other (Yes it included some Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys ). I also put in a couple of pictures of the both of us and silly videos. And needless to say, she LOVED it! Nostalgia is an amazing feeling and we women are emotional fools The only cost incurred was that for the blank DVD. I also made a personalized CD cover using this site for free! You upload your picture (which in my case was a collage of our pictures), add a title, add some text and click on Create! Pretty basic but it does the job!

Top 2009 Christmas Gifts for Men

Home Brewing Beer Kit
Everything you need to brew 6 Gallons of Cooper’s beer for just $99, including FREE shipping. The beer brewing kit includes: Fermenting Equipment, 30 Bottles, Lager Beer Package, And Much More!

A Stylish Louis Vuitton Wallet
Does your man dream of a luxurious car or drives one? Does he have appreciation for high end brands? If so, a Louis Vuitton wallet would be just the perfect gift for your man. As soft as your touch, a Louis Vuitton Wallet will make him feel special and given it’s a nice designer piece, he’ll get a kick every time he uses it. And did I mention this gift will last him years and years?

Best Zombie Pin-up 2009 Calendar: Where Beauty Eats Braaiinns!
Blood, gore, and 1950′s style pin-up “gore – gious” women. Careful, your man might be supper! San Francisco based zombie photographer shot most scenes in Golden Gate Park, so at least they’re in splendorific settings. This is a limited edition calendar; if you put it on your list, you better buy it soon!

Sports / Concert Tickets
For Who? For any man who’s single, divorced, dating, young or old, enjoys sports, and loves to watch his favorite team live. Or, if you’re not the sporting type, maybe she can excite you with concert tickets to your favorite rock band. She can get them here.

Coby Digital Photo Keychain
This year give your loved ones memories they can take anywhere with this digital photo keychain. They’ll love this pocket-sized digital picture frame featuring a 1.5-inch full-color LCD screen. It’s easy to use and can display many of the most common file formats including JPEG, Bitmap, and GIF.

Bluray Gift Disc Player
Enjoy superior quality picture and still be able to play normal DVDs as well. Everyone still recalls the shift from VHS to DVD. It was so expensive and complicated that many people waited until it was absolutely necessary to continue viewing movies to make the switch.

An MSN Smartwatch, Not Just Any Old Watch
Now here’s a seriously high tech Christmas gift for your man this year. I have recently suggested some wonderful watches as great mens Xmas ideas for 2009 . This suggestion is a watch as well. Abacus Smart WatchBut not just any old watch. An MSN Smartwatch. One of the more unusual Christmas gifts of this year, but a great gift for a man on the go.

DVD Collection
For Who? For guys who enjoy watching movies that teach good famiglia values, from the comfort of their own home. The DVD collection of The Godfather, James Bond and The Sopranos are a great place to start. She can get them here.

Sony PSPgo Hand Held Gaming Device
The PSPgo is the newly updated hand held gaming device from Sony that makes the perfect gift for many people on your list this Christmas. Not only does the PSPgo play games for the Playstation Portable, it has a multitude of other options.

Amazon Kindle Gift
Anyone who loves to read will squeal with delight upon receiving a Kindle electronic reader. It holds nearly 1,500 books on an instrument that weighs less than many paperbacks. The fact that it also possesses 3G wireless means that you can download countless books for low prices to the Kindle

The iPod Nano.
Earlier I suggested that GPS devices would be hot this Christmas.Today I continue the series. Hot Christmas gifts for 2009 suggestion number 2. iPod Nanos. Christmas GiftThe iPod has taken the listening and now viewing world by storm. Apple has taken it’s successful business in computers and put it’s technical electronic expertise to good use making the iPod the worlds most popular music listening device. And soon to be one of the worlds most popular Christmas presents this year as I see it.

2009 Holiday Shopping Trends – Top 20

Timing Will Matter
Don’t expect the same kind of drastic price cuts you saw last December: With the National Retail Federation forecasting that shoppers will spend 3.2 percent less than they did in last year’s dismal season, retailers have purchased less inventory for holiday 2009.

Customers Are Pickier
If you’ve got a slimmed-down shopping list this holiday season, you’re not alone. “The upper hand is with the consumer, there’s no doubt,” said James Russo, vice president of global consumer insights at market research giant Nielsen. “There is a whole adjustment around the holiday mind-set. It’s not always about more.”

Stores Pushing Gift Cards
Here at MoneyWatch, we’re not big fans of gift cards. Drawbacks can include fees and usage restrictions, and some gift givers find them too impersonal. Yet shoppers are buying more of them than ever, said Russo. In Nielsen’s 2009 Holiday Season Forecast, shoppers in 8 percent of U.S. households planned to spend more on gift cards this holiday season — even as overall consumer sales are expected to be down from last year.

Walmart Calls the Shots
Even if you’ve never set foot inside the big-box megaretailer, you should know what Walmart is up to — because this holiday season in particular, Walmart is calling the tune for industrywide sales and promotions. Already the world’s largest retailer, the chain has gained new customers and clout in the current downturn; now it’s using its position to launch price wars that have drawn in a range of other stores.

There’s No iPhone
Last year, it was Nintendo’s Wii. The year before that, it was the iPhone. For the past few shopping seasons, there’s been a clear must-have gift item dominating Santa’s wish lists. Consumer Reports’ Marks points out that some consumers last year actually purchased their Wii systems on eBay — and paid as much as 50 percent more than the list price.

Mark It Down and They Will Come
Not surprisingly, the end-of-year clearance sales started well before the Halloween candy-corn got moved to the sale bins.

Let’s Be Practical
We’re all tough customers this year. A total of 86% of shoppers surveyed say they won’t buy anything without a 20% discount, and a quarter will demand at least half off.

Free Is Good
On the Internet, consumers will be deluged with commercial messages this year, delivered by every trendy new means the marketers can get their hands on. This year, that means they’re sprucing up Facebook pages, firing out Tweets, and preparing commercial blogs and RSS feeds designed to lure customers into their stores, online and brick-and-mortar.

Candy Is Better
When it comes to frills, consumers say they’ll make do with less this year. They’ll use the holiday ornaments they already have in the closet. They plan to spend less than in past years on decorations, flowers, greeting cards, and postage.

Small Is Best
Electronics are on the American shopping list, as always. But this year, people are thinking small. Not necessarily cheap, just small. Not wide-screen televisions or expensive sound systems. Clever little things that go “beep.”

Browse ‘Til You Drop
The big-box discounter is the top destination for holiday shoppers this year, but it’s not the only one. More than half say they’ll also shop at department stores, and four in 10 intend to holiday shop at grocery stores and on the Internet. Could be a big year for Amazon (AMZN).

Where’s the Bright Spot?
Retailers hope and expect that their 2009 holiday season results will be far better than in 2008.But that’s setting the bar pretty low. Overall, 2009 holiday same-store sales are expected to rise about 1%, compared with last year’s decline of 5.8%, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Home and Hearth
The year-end holidays traditionally are among the busiest travel seasons of the year.

This year, not so much.
More than one-fourth of Americans surveyed say that concerns over the economy are forcing them to travel less or not at all this season.

What’s In It for Us?
After all we’ve been through in the past year and more, many trend-spotters believe the “back to basics” concept may actually be a reality this time. That offers the prospect of a holiday that’s a bit less stressful and a little more fun for anybody over the age of 12.