Some things never go out of style…
Barbie still tops toy lists
Retailers say retro-cool classics making a comeback
By KRISTINA SMITH HORN
Watchdog/enterprise reporter
FREMONT — She’s tall, blond, wears killer heels and has a house and car that the neighbors envy. And on most Christmases, she’s the No. 1 gift parents across the country are buying for their little girls.
Barbie, the fashion doll introduced in 1959, has remained an icon and the kind of girl young ladies want to dress up and parade around the dream house.
This Christmas will be no exception.
Barbie tops the National Retail Federation’s list of the top gifts parents are buying their daughters this year, as she has since 2004.
She also represents a resurgence in popularity of classic toys, retailers said. The toys you played with as a child — dolls, Hot Wheels cars, Star Wars, Care Bears, My Little Pony and board games like Monopoly — are retro-cool and on your kids’ wish list this year, according to the association and local retailers.
Parents enjoy seeing their kids having fun with the same games and toys they loved during their youth, said Rick Smith, manager of Kmart in Fremont.
“It ignites the inner child within all of us,” said Myrna Riedel, president and treasurer of the Enchanted Moment Doll and Gift Shoppe Museum and Gallery in downtown Fremont. “It brings back memories.”
Generic dolls came in at No. 3 on the retailers association list this year and have made the top 10 most years since 2004.
Riedel said her customers are looking for collectable dolls to display and play dolls for their children to love. She is 70-years-old and remembers playing with dolls as a child with her sisters, who opened the store with her.
But the Christmas toy market isn’t just about the classics.
Every year there is at least one mega toy, the one parents line up outside the store to get on Black Friday and desperately try to grab before it’s sold out.
This year, Sesame Street favorite Elmo is in the running for the most-coveted toy distinction, retailers said. The latest version, Elmo Live, is a talking version that tells jokes and stories and retails at $60.
Elmo ranks sixth for boys and seventh for girls on the retail association lists and is one of the most requested toys at Kmart and at the Port Clinton Wal-Mart.
“Once we put the display out, that one’s been selling out,” said Aaron Pratt, assistant manager at the Port Clinton Wal-Mart.
Video games are ever-popular, topping the retail association’s list of toys for boys with Nintendo Wii system following second and Xbox 360 at No. 10. Video games have been in the top five toys for boys since 2004, and games and game systems have made the girls list as well.
Rock Band, Guitar Hero and fitness games like Wii Fit are popular, Pratt said.
“We generally get in two to 10 (Wii Fit games) on a random weekday, and we’ll sell out by the end of the day,” Pratt said. “People are looking for something more mobile than just sitting around and pressing controller buttons.”
Fitness and active play toys are one of the bigger trends this year, according to the Toy Industry Association. They’re designed to help kids develop a healthy lifestyle from an early age, according to the association.
Another good-for-you segment of toys that are popular are learning games, such as the ones made by LeapFrog and VTech that are interactive and teach kids basic information, Smith said.
Some local businesses are reaping the benefits of another interactive toy craze: Webkinz.
These stuffed animals come with an Internet counterpart children can access online. Kids can play games online and win things for their virtual animal.
“They feed their pet and put it to sleep,” said Linda Markus, owner of Kiwi Bay at Harbor Light Landing in Port Clinton. “They’re just not like the typical stuffed animal. Whether they’re boys or girls, they like the Webkinz.”Priced at $13.99, they’re inexpensive enough for some parents to buy a few for Christmas, she said. Sometimes it’s hard to keep them in stock, she said.
“They’re a collector item similar to the Beanie Babies,” said Peggy Haar, owner of the Elmore shop Uniquely Yours, which also sells Webkinz. “They’ll probably last longer because they’re on the Internet.”
Although Webkinz didn’t make the top 10 list this year, they were No. 8 for girls in 2007 and still very popular, Markus and Haar said.
So who decides which toys are going to be the biggest sellers?
The retailers association bases its top 10 lists on responses from 8,700 parents who talked about what they plan to buy their children this year, agency spokeswoman Kathy Grannis said.
“Children are largely influenced by what they see on TV,” she said. “We saw the same thing with Halloween this year with costumes like Batman and Hannah Montana.”
So as long as Hannah Montana, “High School Musical” and video game commercials are in the media, kids are going to be interested, she said.
That leaves some families scrambling to buy Rock Band and anything with Hannah Montana’s image when both are in high demand. Store managers don’t know how many shipments they will receive before the holidays.
“Every store is wanting lots of them, so it’s up to our home office to decide what to send,” Pratt said.
Smith recommends buying the toy now because it will be much harder to find as Christmas approaches. Those who can’t afford to shell out the cash for Wii or any of the other toys can take advantage of Kmart’s layaway, he said.
E-mail Kristina Smith Horn at mkhorn@gannett.com.