2010\\\'s Hottest Holiday Toys!

Instead of paying an arm and a leg for that giant stuffed dinosaur that seems to be the so called “top toy” for the holiday season, take a tip from Laurie Schacht, co founder of the uber helpful site The Toy Insider. Laurie co founded The Toy Insider to help make parents' and gift givers' lives a little easier as they are searching for the perfect toys for their kids. The Toy Insider includes an extensive list of the best of the best of hot holiday toys. Along with a list of Laurie’s favorite toys this year, she also has some tips on toy shopping!1. If you see something that you think your kids will like, buy it now. Popular toys are guaranteed to sell out. Some popular toys this season are:Squinkies, Zoobles, Hexbugs, and Paper Jamz.2. Think about buying games for your kids. Games are a nice alternative to toys and they help bring families together.3. Avoid buying "watch me" toys. All of the toys on The Toy Insider list are toys that kids can play with and not just sit back and watch.Now here are some toys you might want to consider looking into, as they’re sure to please!Go Bilingual with the Magic Window Talking FarmBest for ages 1 and up, the Bilingual Magic Window Talking Farm features a unique color LCD display that brings the farm animals to life with smooth animation. The toy features 3 levels of play to keep the fun engaging while your child learns by listening, watching and interacting with the animals on the farm. The child also learns to sing the first letters of the alphabet and the first numbers, both in English and Spanish. This toy sells for starting at $49.99Every little girl loves a princess! The Disney Princess and Me Dolls are best for ages 6 and up, and they bring the classic Disney Princess characters into a contemporary world that girls can relate to and share royal adventures with. These beautifully sculpted 18-inch large dolls are all about fashion with a variety of outfits and accessories. These start at the $50 price point.The Bop It! Bounce says it’s best for ages 8 and up but really it’s fun for all ages!You've got to bounce your best to win in this awesome BOP IT Bounce game! This ball bounce game features an electronic voice command to cue you through six different challenging games: Max Bounce tests how fast you can bounce in 30 seconds, Infinite Bounce tests how long you can keep bouncing, Hang Time tests how high you can bounce, Right Height challenges you to match the shots called by the electronic voice, Little-Middle-Big challenges you to bounce at exactly the right height and Free For All lets you bounce it out freestyle. Get one starting at $12.99! A great deal!!The Air Hogs R/C Hawk Eye Video Camera Helicopter will surely be your techie’s favorite toy this year! Best for ages 12 and up but fun for every age, the Hawk Eye is capable of taking clear and steady video recording even while it is flying. There are two separate buttons on the controller, one for picture and the other for video. It can shoot clear and steady video and its video eye-in-the-sky camera is positioned for forward-looking aerial surveillance. You can pick one up starting at $49.99The Truth be Told Gameis great for ages 14 and up and is the revealing new laugh-out-loud, pretend to know your friends party game! Each round, one of the players in the Host, and plays a question card such as, 'Truth Be Told, my favorite snack is "X.' The Host writes a truthful answer and all of the other players pretend to be the Host, and write bluff answers which seems like something the Host could write. The Host collects and reads all answers aloud, and players try to guess the True Answer to score points. Pick up some fun for the whole family starting at $19.46!Find all of these and more of the hottest holiday toys by checking out the Toy Insider or AOLshopping!