Top Toys for Christmas 2011

Christmas is a great time for the family to spend some quality time – while it is a religious time, it is also a time to pass on some joy to your children. What better than seeing your children’s eyes go wide as they get the latest Top Toy for Christmas 2011.

This year there are a wide variety of toys that will be popular – ranging from video games, all the way to new adaptations of classic toys like Barbie. While you can spend a lot of money for Christmas, there are still a lot of Top Toys for Christmas 2011 that are reasonably priced!

Here are some ideas for this Christmas:

While perhaps not truly a toy, a tablet computer is a great 'fun' gift for Christmas. The iPad is by far the best so far, but the Kindle Fire looks likely to be a great competitor. Both are color eReaders, allow you to play movies and music, surf the web and use Apps - there are already hundreds of cool games available.

 One of the easiest toys to buy is the Video Game (and console) - as the Video Game market expands and family games are becoming more prevalent, the video game is becoming a family oriented toy.

With the introuduction of the Motion Controller, Nintendo opened up the market to more than computer game geeks - now, with Microsoft bringing out their Kinect and Sony introducing their Wand, the world of games is becoming more and more mainstream. Thus, a video game will be a well prized Christmas Gift for 2010.

Over the years there have been plenty of soft toys that have been adored by countless children around the world. This year, the Webkinz is the soft toy of choice. It’s a limited edition pet that gives you access to Webkinz World online, allowing the owner to create a virtual pet. The combination of having an offline toy and connection to a social type of online toy is interesting and new and helps children learn about the online environment in a safe and parent monitored forum – a great toy for younger children.

OK so Star Wars Lego figures have been around for a while, but they are still hot toys to have. Not only does it help a child learn elements of construction and planning, but it also helps the imagination of these children by providing recognizable and fun toys to play with. Star Wars is one of the most recognizable movies of all time and to see a new generation playing with Luke Skywalker and destroying the Empire is great fun, especially for me as I grew up when Star Wars first came out.

Lego Star Wars figures and toys are very safe and suitable for younger children – they are fun to play with and can be used for many years, and even passed down to younger siblings!

This musical adventure allows you to play both Miley Stewart and Hannah Montana. Your aim is to become a pop star by using the DS stylus to play the guitar, bass guitar and drums. It allows you to produce music videos and customize Hannah’s outfits as you play. It’s a great game for Hannah Montana fans, and brings a rock band type of game to a younger generation!

As a young boy I used to love to use my home made skateboard and have many scars to prove my prowess (or lack of it) on the slopes of my village. These days, the modern skateboards are a lot better than the ones I could get, with better more solid construction, and a lot more safety equipment.

The latest craze though is a hybrid skate/snowboard that has a pivoting deck and caster trucks that allow for snowboard like carving. Designed for 8+ children, this is a great toy – however like anything it is important that you also buy the correct protective gear!

I must admit to being an Iron Man fan and absolutely loved the new Iron Man 2 movie. What better then to buy Iron Man 2 equipment like the deluxe helmet, or the battle car. Whether you buy the video games, the figurines or the full size Iron Man 2 suits, you’re sure to get screams of joy when you children find these wonderful toys under the Christmas Tree in 2011.

These toys are fun to play with, and will help your child get out-doors rather than sitting around playing video games! They might just save the world as they play too!

 OK so these perhaps are not appropriate for the cold days of winter, but they still make great gifts that your children can use in early spring and summer. Not only will they help children get some much needed exersize, but they are a fun way to keep cool!

There are a whole host of water guns these days, ranging from small pistols to gigantic blastes - the Super Soaker is my personal favorite!

Barbie is probably the most famous iconic doll of all time. As time has gone buy, the dolls have adapted and changed. It’s no surprise then to see a Barbie and Ken tie-in to the Toy Story 3 movie. This is a great example of how toy makers can take two distinct genres and meld them together to renew an old idea.

Barbie and Ken are perfect for younger children, and the tie in to the Toy Story 3 movie opens up a whole new field of imagination for your children as they can introduce some of their other toys to Barbie!