| Retailers stock up on what consumers want this holiday
Interactive games, penguins, dolls, candles and figurines are all hot gift items for the holidays this year, according to the predictions of store managers and owners.Electronic toys and games that encourage physical involvement, such as the Fisher Price Smart Cycle and Nintendo Wii, also will be popular gifts this year, area merchants said.The Smart Cycle is a colorful, stationary bike that plugs into the television set. Children pedal as they play games featuring well-known characters, such as Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants.The Smart Cycle is expected to be one of the most popular Christmas items at the Rock Falls Wal-Mart, said Linda Carlson, store manager.The Nintendo Wii is a video game system in which participants play games by doing something physical, such as swinging a golf club or throwing a touchdown pass, rather than just sitting and pressing buttons."The control is innovative; you actually move the control.
Adults seek to restore bond between kids and nature
On any given Saturday, if you want to find Alex and Matthew Weber, you'd better put on hiking boots. Alex, 9, and Matthew, 7, aren't going to be at soccer practice, watching TV or playing computer games. They're probably going to be exploring the woods or tromping around a nearby creek. And it's not just on weekends. After school, the kids play in the stick teepee in their woodsy south Charlotte backyard. When darkness falls, they walk with their parents to hear night sounds. Many Americans recall a kind of feral existence as a kid, scrambling down ravines, building forts and climbing trees, returning home only when the street lights blinked on. But ask these adults what their own kids' lives are like and you hear something else. Homework, sports, music lessons, video games and TV cram most corners of their lives, and if they're outside it's often on a playground or sports field.
Retailers stock up on what consumers want this holiday
Interactive games, penguins, dolls, candles and figurines are all hot gift items for the holidays this year, according to the predictions of store managers and owners.Electronic toys and games that encourage physical involvement, such as the Fisher Price Smart Cycle and Nintendo Wii, also will be popular gifts this year, area merchants said.The Smart Cycle is a colorful, stationary bike that plugs into the television set. Children pedal as they play games featuring well-known characters, such as Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants.The Smart Cycle is expected to be one of the most popular Christmas items at the Rock Falls Wal-Mart, said Linda Carlson, store manager.The Nintendo Wii is a video game system in which participants play games by doing something physical, such as swinging a golf club or throwing a touchdown pass, rather than just sitting and pressing buttons."The control is innovative; you actually move the control.
Dolls gone wild: Unhappy moms want wholesome alternatives
Moms are hunting through toy aisles for more wholesome-looking dolls, concerned that the scantily clad Bratz dolls with their Party Palaces and Magic Make-up Studios are sending their daughters the wrong message about how they should dress and act. With their heavily made-up faces, short shorts and halter tops, Bratz are the No. 2 best-selling dolls in the country, just behind Barbie, but creeping up on her with their own lines of clothing, school supplies, video games and, most recently, a live-action movie playing in theaters. And some Moms are not happy about it. "I don't want my daughter viewing herself that way," says Gloria Baca of Tempe, Ariz., who has steered her daughter, now 10, away from Barbie and Bratz in favor of an American Girl doll by Mattel named Josefina.
Dear Santa: Here's what Humboldt kids want for Christmas
Every year, it seems, there's that one toy -- the one all the Saturday-morning commercials are pushing, all the kids are clamoring for and all the parents are elbowing each other to score. But, according to Sydney Knight, an employee at The Toy Box in Henderson Center, there's no runaway favorite this holiday season, no frenzy-inducing, mob-attracting hot item. Or, as she put it, "There's no Tickle Me Elmo." Instead, say local toy store workers, kids are falling back on time-honored favorites -- the kind of classic toys that their parents, or even grandparents, may well have enjoyed. "Pirates are big," said Dawn Craghead, manager of Moon's Play & Learn. "They've always been big, but since the movies, they're even bigger. And science kits. Those are always popular." Toy Box owner Michelle Knight pointed to animal figurines called Safari Adventure Outpost, colorful trucks and tractors made by Wow and a line of fantasy-themed toys, including unicorns, dragons and princesses, from the German company Schleich as their most sought-after items.
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