Don't forget, the day after T day is the biggest Christmas shopping day of the year....Here's what kids want (what are Bratz?)
chron.com
Nov. 25, 2002, 10:32PM
What kids want under the tree this year
By JEANNIE KEVER
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle
Here are a few things to know about toys: Grandparents love educational toys. Parents love toys that remind them of their own childhoods.
Kids love toys that make noise.
And toy sellers love the holidays.
The pressure is on to predict the season's hot new toy. Look for the Bratz dolls, Bey Blades, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Spider-Man, Star Wars and Rescue Heroes action figures.
Of course, the only hot toy that really matters is the one your kids want. No Rapunzel Barbie for me -- I've got boys. But FurReal Friends and the Crayola Crayon Maker could be contenders.
At the moment, anyway.
"Just like in the fashion industry, toys are so hot -- and then they're deader than a doornail," said Reyne Rice, director of marketing for NPDFunworld, a New York-based consulting group.
There haven't been many must-have toys during the past few holiday seasons, but this year may be different.
"There are a number of toys people are clamoring for," Rice said. "And with the dock workers strike (on the West Coast), people are starting to realize if they don't buy it when they first see it, it may not be there a month from now."
So grab Chicken Dance Elmo when you see him, unless you're afraid a squawking furry red Muppet will drive you crazy.
Which, come to think of it, might account for the popularity of the Crayon Maker. Like so many inventions, the Crayon Maker promises to solve what many of us didn't even realize was a problem.
Sure, parents of young children have nubs, those lifeless stumps of colored wax that litter crayon boxes like the crumbs of so many chocolate chip cookies. The Crayon Maker, powered by a 60-watt light bulb, melts the nubs -- Leftolas, in Crayolaspeak -- and pours the wax into rubber molds.
Voila! New crayons, in new colors.
Maybe you didn't know the world needed an Easy Bake Oven for crayons, but maybe you were wrong.
"For years, we have been hearing that moms are collecting these worn-down stubs in shoe boxes," said Crayola spokeswoman Susan Tucker. "They can't bear to part with them. But let's face it: Kids are not interested in coloring with these little stumpy things."
The Crayon Maker sells for about $30 -- 30 times the cost of a new box of eight crayons. But Crayola figures the hands-on aspect could help to recapture a market that has traditionally left crayons behind: boys. "It's sad but true," Tucker said. "Girls tend to color longer than boys do. But boys are fascinated by the idea of how crayons are made."
It comes as no surprise that Tucker likes the Crayon Maker. But so do lots of other people, including the experts at Child magazine, Ladies Home Journal, Nick Jr. and the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, all of which included it on their annual "best toys" lists.
Part of the appeal is the Crayola name, Rice said. "Your kids aren't going to get asbestos playing with a Crayola item."
Then there's the nostalgia. "The smell of Crayola, it's the smell of kids," she said. "You remember opening the box and smelling it."
But Rice said it also reflects a move toward toys that bring families together.
"Craft kits have been very popular since Sept. 11, activities that allow families to sit around the table, talking while they are doing things," Rice said.
Child magazine named the Crayon Maker one of its 41 favorite toys in the November issue. Children who tested toys for the magazine loved it, said Executive Editor Andrea Barbalich. "Using this toy is very fun."
Child magazine placed the Crayon Maker on its list for kids age 6 and up. Crayola says it's for kids age 8 and up.
Parents like the gizmo "because while the children are doing it, they're learning about colors, what happens when different colors are blended," Barbalich said. "And they're excited about the recycling aspect."
Mostly, she said, parents like toys that evoke a certain nostalgia. "There's almost no parent that didn't play with crayons growing up," she said.
Of course, there wasn't anything like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, either. The video game in which players shoot people, steal cars and make drug deals is on many teenagers' must-have list, but parents may feel more comfortable around the Crayon Maker and other toys with a retro twist.
They'll have plenty to choose from. Seven of this year's 10 fastest-growing licensed products -- groups of toys like Batman, Star Wars and Scooby Doo -- have been around for more than a decade, Rice said. Barbie is more than 40 years old, but Rapunzel Barbie, which sprouts almost a foot of hair, should be big this year.
Electronic learning toys for preschoolers, including the LeapFrog LeapPad learning systems, will be strong sellers, too, Rice said.
Thank Grandma for that. Grandparents account for about 22 percent of spending for infant and preschool toys, she said, compared with 17 percent overall.
And grandparents often buy electronic and educational toys. "Grandparents love that you're teaching somebody to read," Rice said. "And grandparents maybe have a little more disposable income."
Grandparents often aren't as comfortable choosing gifts for older kids, however.
"Kids are pretty vocal about what they want," Rice said. "They'll tell the parent which brand they want, which item they want. `I want the Spider-Man Dual Action Web Blaster.' "
Which, she adds, "is really cool. It's like a glove he puts on his hand; he can push a button, and it shoots out Silly String. What kid doesn't like Silly String?" |
