Furby and the Teletubbies are hot, hot, hot. Barbie hasn't lost any of her allure or accessories. Television is creating stars. And nostalgic baby boomers are wrapping up some of the traditional toys of their youth for their own children this Christmas.
The season hasn't produced a smash hit like Tickle Me Elmo or Cabbage Patch Kids that found adults punching each other out in store aisles -- at least, not around here.However, Furby is in such powerful demand that retailers are hard-pressed to keep any in stock, and there is an Internet underground market scalping the fuzzy interactive creature.
"The biggest thing of the year is Furby, which no one has," said Patrick Bailey, store manager at the SuperTarget at Centerville. "When they do hit the shelf, they're the hottest thing out there."
Furby, who sports big eyes and a round mouth and costs about $30, was created by Tiger Electronics, which gave the world the virtual pet toy Tamagotchi. Furby speaks its own language, "Furbish," can sing, responds to light, sound and touch, and kids also can teach it as many as 200 words in English.
Bailey also said the British Teletubbies, fresh from their successful TV debut in the United States, have become the darlings of the toddler set.
The goofy, babytalking foursome -- Tinky Winky, Laa-Laa, Dipsy and Po -- can be found in many forms. But one of the most popular seems to be a plush Playskool toy priced at about $25 that talks and sings when its stomach is pressed.
Another big item is the Bouncing Tigger, a plush pal of Disney's Winnie the Pooh, who jumps around and talks, according to Bailey.
One phenomenon Bailey has noticed is that parents this year seem to be spending more on toys not only for their own children but also for others.
"I think they're getting more this year than last year. The economy's doing well, and when that happens, they're a little more giving, I guess," Bailey said. He has seen people shopping for the Sub for Santa or Toys for Tots programs for needy children buying much more this year than last year.
Additionally, outside the Centerville SuperTarget store KISN radio is selling Christmas trees and giving the proceeds to low-income children. "Not only are people buying those trees, but they're giving a little extra money and saying, 'Give another one to another needy family,' " Bailey said.
TV also has proved to be a gold mine for items associated with the "Blues Clues," the Nickelodeon channel's children's show that has become popular. The show features computer-animated creatures, including the dog Blue, and a real human named Steve who seeks help from his young viewing audience to solve mysteries. A $16 "Blues Clues TV Play-Along Kit" includes a plush Blue dog, a Handy Dandy notebook (for jotting down clues), washable crayons and three play-along paw prints that mark the telltale clues.
Barbie has gone from being merely buxom and beautiful to undertaking such careers as medicine or dentistry, and hobbies like camping and riding. There even is a new line of basketball Barbies whose outfits proclaim their allegiance to professional or college teams.
In recent years Barbie also has become so racially and ethnically diverse that it is fairly easy to find a brown- or black-skinned Barbie as well as such things as an Irish lassie with auburn locks and Emerald Isle garb.
Traditional toys are holding their own this year. Parents haven't forgotten the fun of Legos, Lincoln Logs, or board games such as Monopoly and Scrabble. "They're always popular," Bailey said.
Parents also aren't balking at fairly high price tags if they see lots of what the industry calls "play value" in a toy.
Cheri Freeze, manager at Gregory's Toys & Adventures in Foothill Village, said parents are buying plenty of "Action Factory" toys that consist of ramps and roads that kids first build and then use as places to operate remote-controlled cars and trucks that run via power packs. The structures are Lego-compatible and challenge a child's creativity: Many can be built into quite elaborate designs, and the vehicles do all sorts of stuff.
The Action Factory itself retails for $200, and the vehicles are priced separately from $34 to $65.
Freeze also said parents also seem to be looking for some old-fashioned toys such as jump-ropes. These frequently are inexpensive but have plenty of play value.
"People want doll beds and jack-in-the-boxes, and they can't find them anywhere," she said. "Also big are Hoppy Taws (a $1.99 hopscotch game played by parents when they were kids.)"
Other big sellers at Gregory's are hands-on activity kits that let kids make their own tea party snacks, bath gel, snow domes, enclosed gardens, hair accessories, jewelry and even weaving looms to create everything from potholders to shawls.
Michelle Gottfredsop of Salt Lake City recently was outside a local Toys 'R Us loading her vehicle with a Teletubbie for her 18-month-old niece and bags filled with action figures and other toys for her other 11 nieces and nephews.
Now the challenge is what to get for her own sons, ages 6 and 4, and her 18-month-old daughter. "My husband and I made a list," she said. "We're thinking of a Brio Train Set. It's big enough for both the two boys.
"You'll probably be happy with the wrapping paper," Gottfredsop said to the big-eyed little daughter on her hip.