3. Early Rider Classic

15 Hot Holiday Toys

Tyke Rider's Early Rider Classic -- with its cool chopper styling, 'fat-boy' rear wheel and faux-leather saddle -- is a trainer "balance" bike with attitude. The pedal-free design encourages mobility and rapid development of balance, strength and fine motor skills in children aged 2-5 years. For more info on this bike ($190) or the powder pink model for little lady riders, visit TykeRider.com.

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6. Zhu Zhu Pets ... Zhu Zhu Pets, which retail for about $10, are this year's bona fide must-have toy, following in the footsteps of past crazes for Tickle Me Elmo and Cabbage Patch Kids. On resale Web sites like eBay and Craigslist, they fetch $40 or more. Vital accessories as the hamster car and funhouse are sold separately. Ages 4 and up.
1. Paperoni With Paperoni Deluxe Studio ($30) from Spin Master, young artisans can create 3D artwork using tiny, colorful rolls. This mess-free set lets kids devise and craft animals, friendly faces and more using a child-friendly cutter. Ages 4 years and up.
2. Mindflex Mattel's Mindflex ($80) challenges players to test their mind-over-matter skills by levitating a soft foam ball in order to move it through an obstacle course, using only the power of their mind. Kids just strap on the included headset that contains sensors for the forehead and earlobes to measure their brainwave activity. Ages 8 years and up.
3. Early Rider C... Tyke Rider's Early Rider Classic -- with its cool chopper styling, 'fat-boy' rear wheel and faux-leather saddle -- is a trainer "balance" bike with attitude. The pedal-free design encourages mobility and rapid development of balance, strength and fine motor skills in children aged 2-5 years. For more info on this bike ($190) or the powder pink model for little lady riders, visit TykeRider.com.
4. Disney Netpal Available in Princess Pink and Magic Blue, this Disney-themed netbook computer ($350) from ASUS was designed with Internet safety in mind, allowing parents to create a web-safe computing environment for their kids with more than two dozen parental controls. Once kids turn on the netbook, they're logged on to the Disney Desktop, an intuitive software program that offers simple operation for children, along with easy access to the Disney web browser, preloaded with several kid-friendly websites. Ages 6 years and up.
5. Imaginext Dra... Fisher-Price's Imaginext Dragon World Fortress ($50) allows kids to open gates, make lightning crackle and unleash a powerful dragon with a fierce roar. Two medieval-themed action figures activate all of the castle's secret abilities, including a launching cannon to ward off intruders and a boulder that can be released down the dragon's tail to attack invaders. Thanks to battle sound effects, kids just might believe they've been transported to the age of swords and sorcery. Ages 3 to 8.
7. Nintendo DSi™... Building on the popular Nintendo DS™ platform, this updated system ($170) combines the fun of hand-held gaming consoles with the ability to take pictures and search the Internet. Available in black, blue or pink, the Nintendo DSi™ offers dual-screen, touch-sensitive play, and comes with a stylus to help control in-game action. Ages 6 years and up.
8. Matchbox Rock... Matchbox Rocky ($60) from Mattel stands up, squats, shakes, tells jokes and even dances. Kids will delight as Rocky says, "Shake what your mama gave you!" and wiggles and jiggles to his own fun music. Ages 3 and up.
9. The Original ... Fisher-Price's Tickle Me™ Elmo ($30) is back, exclusively at Toys "R" Us after over a decade of popularity. Tickle him once and he'll giggle. Tickle him twice and he'll laugh. Tickle him three times and watch him convulse with laughter. Ages 18 months to 4 years.
10. Wii Sports R... This sequel to the popular Wii Sports ($50) takes the action out of the console and onto a virtual island resort, filled with a dozen fun activities. Using the Wii Remote™ and Nunckuk™ controllers, players can take control of their Mii characters to compete against the computer or their friends in archery, basketball, bowling, golf, table tennis, fencing, air sports, canoeing, cycling, Frisbee®, power cruising and wakeboarding. Rated "E" for Everyone.
11. Liv This new collection of dolls (around $18 per doll), designed to look like real teenagers, merges the world of fashion play with an online community. Using a code provided with each doll, children can peer into the daily routine of the Liv girls, Daniela, Sophie, Katie and Alexis, when they visit www.livworld.com, which offers daily diary entries, virtual closets filled with fashions, webisodes, games and more. Ages 5 years and up.
12. Text and Lea... Little learners can explore in a grown-up way by mimicking how mom and dad use their BlackBerries with this oversized version ($22) by LeapFrog® that provides educational fun through three different modes. Whether exchanging text messages with their puppy pal Scout or checking Scout's planner to see his weekly schedule in pretend browser mode, toddlers will learn the basics of communicating while using a real keyboard. Additionally, children can match letters, identify shapes, learn letter names and more. Ages 3 years and up.
13. Pink ChixOs Spin Master®'s ChixOs Design-A-Luxury Loft ($30), available exclusively in pink at Toys"R"Us, offers the perfect space for an amazing party, but the fun can't begin before kids decorate their stylin' pad. To prepare for the festivities, kids can dress and style three ChixOs dolls from 243 possible choices of mix and match body parts, then give them a dusting of glitter for the finishing touch. Ages 4 years and up.
14. Little Mommy... Little Mommy Walk & Giggle™ Doll ($70) reaches the ultimate milestone -- walking -- and takes her very first steps. The doll magically senses when her "mommy" is holding her hands to help her walk with help or alone. She also responds to tummy tickles with giggling sounds and motion. Ages 3 and up.
15. Harumika The Harumika™ RUNWAY SHOWSTOPPER SET ($20) from Bandai® lets future designers create fantastic fashions by folding fabric over a dress mannequin and locking the swatches in place. Once a new dress is formed, kids can capture images of their garment with an included USB camera before uploading them to the Harumika website where their styles can join an online fashion show. Ages 6 years and up.