Approved Finalist List
Name of Finalist Toy 10-12 Years
Cosmic Catch
Speed Stacks StackPack
Blue Man Group Percussion Tubes
Mindstorms NXT
Spy Video Car
Robosapien V2
Pirates of the Caribbean Pirates Dice
Laser Battle
BubbleBrain
Name of Finalist toy 8-9 Years
Bead Blast
Verticon
Door Slammerz Basketball
Jabba the Hutt Sail Barge
Outdoor Challenge
Sentai Fortress
Dragon Duo Puppet
My Scene Fab Faces Dolls
Bratz Ice Champions Playset with Mirabel
Pirates of the Caribbean DVD Treasure Hunt
Cube World
DEAL OR NO DEAL - ELECTRONIC TABLE TOP GAME
Cranium Zooreka
Game of Life Pirates of the Caribbean Edition
Professor Noggins History of the United States
Name of Finalist toy 5-7 Years
Littlest Pet Shop Biggest Littlest Pet Shop
Soccer Match
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest - Ultimate Black Pearl Playset
Headbangers
Star Wars Transformers Deluxe: Millennium Falcon
Treasure Hunter
PlayFoam
Inspiration Bands
Lil Luvables Fluffy Factory
Furreal Friends Jungle Cats Assortment
PollyWorld Rockin' Theme Park
Lucky the Incredible Wonder Pup
Monster Under My Bed
Big Trouble
Scooby Doo TV Games
Cranium Giggle Gear Mega Mask Robot-Bug-Alien
Cranium Giggle Gear Super Fort
Cars Mega house
Bratz Cyber Style Laptop
SmartGlobe 2.0
Nitro Jams Notebook
Approved Finalist List 3-4 Years
Baby Talk - Barnyard Set
Baby Alive
Love and Licks Puppies
Feed the Kitty
Air-Powered Action Stadium
Magnetic Fishing Game
Pretend & Play Snack Shop
Bistro Grille
Real Projects Workshop
ABC Chalk Talk! Electronic Learning Chalkboard
Smart Safari Count n Stack Giraffe
Smart Splash Memory Match Clams
Diegos Talking Rescue Center
Play-Doh Creativity Center
CAT®Construction Site (#615)
Chicco Ducati 999 R/C Superbike
John Deere "Big Scoop" Steel Tractor
Bratz Kidz RC Scooter
How can you tell which toys kids will love before you dole out your hard earned cash?
It may be only September, but at least one publication has its eye on the holidays.
Every year, Family Fun magazine checks out which toys are the most popular. They take toys to daycare centers across the country. And this year, a center in our area took part.
Family fun magazine is trying to find out which ones make the cut with kids.
"The company has been testing toys for the family fun magazine for about 15 years now since it started," says Kerry Depka of Kindercare
The Kindercare in Clementon surveyed two age groups: Three and four year olds, and, eight and nine year olds. Each group got about 15 toys that made it through the initial cut.
After a few days, kids were asked to rate the toys first, second, and third. The teachers tallied it up and shipped off the results to the magazine.
Even though we don't know the final results, there are some clear favorites.
For the three and four year old set, it was "Diego" of Dora the Explorer fame. He has his own talking rescue center.
Baby Alive is also making a comeback. But that's not it. She does something else after she eats food and drinks water.
With the eight and nine year olds, games were all the rage.
With another nod to TV, "Deal Or No Deal" is apparently still fun, even when there's no real money involved.
A game called cranium Zooreka was also popular with the older kids.
But the best part about all this?
"The best part is we get to keep all the toys for free," laughs Depka.
The final results will be in the November issue of Family Fun magazine.