Old favourites make comeback on toy shelves

CRAIG WELSH
Special to Nunatsiaq News

Parents could be forgiven walking into the toy section of NorthMart or Arctic Ventures when Christmas shopping for their children and thinking “didn’t I own this when I was a kid?”

A stroll down the aisle in the girls’ toy section shows some old favourites are still popular. Barbie dolls still fill the shelves in all kind of varieties.

“The Three Musketeers” seems popular, but if you can lay your hands on them, the Barbie dolls of the characters from the “Twilight” movies might make your daughter very happy on Christmas morning.

No selection of girls’ toys would be complete, or course, without something from Disney.

Some of their main toys for this year include a Princess selection of dolls and, even though it’s been a while since the last movie, “High School Musical” remains popular with dolls and games.

Steffi Love is also a popular doll, along with the accessories and make-up kits for those times when your little girl might want to play dress-up. Dora the Explorer is also popular, but for the younger set.

And if you want to give your girl a taste of what toys were like when you were growing up, then My Little Pony, Care Bears and even the Smurfs have made a return appearance to the shelves at NorthMart.

Or if you just want something simple, well, Tickle Me Elmo is around for another holiday season. And stuffed polar bears will apparently never fade from popularity either.

Classics are no strangers on the boys’ side of the aisle either. If your boy likes to play with toy guns, there are plenty of options available.

Not to mention a variety of toy cars, from Road Rippers to Hot Wheels. There’s also no shortage of action figures to play with. Both Spiderman and Batman remain hugely popular.

And with the G.I. Joe and Transformer movies coming out on DVD, there are plenty of toys on the shelves for kids to play with as they watch the movies on Christmas morning.

However, the most popular toys will likely be of the electronic variety. The Source says both the iPod Nano and iPod Touch are in high demand.

The new Nanos have a built in video camera, allowing owners to shoot their own videos while listening to their music.

The iPod Touch owner can do everything from listening to music, watch movies, play games and get lost in the endless sea that is Apple’s Apps store.

And then there are the video games. Assuming you do not already own an Xbox 360, a Playstation 3 or a Wii, you can expect some pressure from your kids to make the leap.

As for the hot video games this year, Modern Warfare 2 is flying off the shelves. As are the music video games Rock Band 2, Rock Band: The Beatles, DJ Hero and Guitar Hero 5.

If your younger kids would like something a bit more appropriate for their age, then Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Edition might be up their alley.

For those who can’t wait to get back on their skateboard, then perhaps Tony Hawk for the Wii might be the thing they’re looking for. Regardless, there are plenty of electronic toys and gadgets available to fill up the space under the tree this Christmas.