2008 is a banner year for boys!  There is some waaaay cool stuff out there, and now the hard part is deciding which ones to buy for my own son.   And of course, nobody is saying girls can’t play with these, too.

Looking for more hot Christmas toys for 2008? Go here!
Looking for hot Christmas toys for girls? Go here!

Bakugan Battle Brawlers Starter Pack This toy is HOT for Christmas 2008! They are sold out in many places and if you think these are a good fit for your little guy, then I would by all means snap one up. These are actually a game of strategy, with magnetized marbles that pop open into a figure when they hit one of the metal playing cards. Boys love this toy, it’s been billed as the new “Pokemon-type” craze. There is also a launcher and a battle arena that can be purchased, if you’re feeling generous.

Nintendo DS Lite Cobalt Blue This is one of the holiday’s most wanted toys! Smaller and lighter than the original DS, this revolutionizes game play with with ultra-bright dual screens, adjustable backlighting, stereo sound, and touch-screen technology. Connect wirelessly to Nintendo’s WiFi Connection and play against someone on the other side of the room or the other side of the world!

Iron Man Invincible Iron Man Assortment  One of the most popular movies of the summer, this Iron Man doll action figure has many cool accessories.  Now, the hard part will be not losing them all.

EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles For eighty bucks, you can get real night vision technology, which usually runs for around five hundred! Of course it isn’t top of the line, but is still pretty awesome.

Air Hogs R/C Zero Gravity Mini Car This is the first remote-controlled car that is able to climb walls and even drive on the ceiling! Caveats are that it works best on smooth surfaces, and that it’s a bit loud. But did I mention it can climb walls?

Fisher-Price Manny’s Transforming Tool Truck Lots of tools come with this toy truck, and it even turns into a workbench! Bilingual phrases, sounds, blueprints, and even random “breakdowns” that only your own Mr. Fixit can help with!

Fisher-Price Imaginext Spike the Ultra Dinosaur This large, remote-controlled dinosaur makes dinosaur sounds such as growling and uh, burping and sniffing. It can walk forward, blink its eyes, move its neck, and even throw a boulder! It also has lights and can rear up on its hind legs. This prehistoric dude is very popular, and Amazon actually has the best price on this one.

Fisher-Price Transportation System GeoAir High-Flyin’ Airport Simply clip the remote-controlled GeoAir planes to the tracks, and watch them go! Includes an elevator, three fueling bays, a security gate, and a drop-off platform. Can be connected to other GeoAir or GeoTrack sets for an even bigger experience.

Hasbro Nerf N’ Strike Vulcan Allows them to stun their “enemies” with the ability to fire 25 nerf darts in a mere 10 seconds! It has a rapid-fire capability that will completely overwhelm any and all opponents! The bad part? Picking up the darts, of course. But don’t tell them that!

U Command Wall-E From the instant classic Disney/Pixar film, send Wall-E an instant order or preprogrammed action sequence via a wireless remote. Features lights, sounds, orginal movie voice, and realistic expressions. 10 different program buttons enable up to 1000 different action combos!

Mega Brands Magnext iCoaster New for 2008, build (and reconfigure later on for even more fun!) a completely magnetic roller coaster. It has lights, sound, stunts, and the ability to hook an iPod in to customize the soundtrack. A must for any adventurous engineer!

Fisher-Price Power Wheels AT Rex currently $100 dollars off! The ultimate in ride-on fun! This two-seater is an updated version of the classic Jeep Wrangler. It features a new grab handle for easy in and out, can go up to 5 mph, and has a rechargable battery.

I can see that you are all thinking, Glinda, you are teh crazy.  Why are you taking me back to the 1920′s, rating men I may or may not have heard of before in my life?

Trust me, my friends.  There is a method to my madness.

Now, last week we voted on some silent fim stars, and poor John Gilbert got the boot from Ronald Colman.  I feel badly for Mr. Gilbert, as he was never able to transform his success in silent film to “talkies.”  And he could not beat Mr. Coleman, which is almost as it happened in real life.  I shed a tiny tear for him.  Sniff.  Was it the fact that they looked practically like twins?  We’ll never really know…

So as is our tradition, the dark-haired Ronald moves up to the next round to face the next opponent, who happens to be a hot blonde.  And that opponent would be one of the most famous actors of his generation, and whose house was almost as famous as he was.  Look, it even has its own Wikipedia entry! And bonus, it’s for sale!

Ahem, moving on…

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You know what to do, so do it in the comments!

Passed along by a proud parent (Thanks!)

This thing couldn’t be more fabulous if it came in leopard-spotted patent leather: a blender which is operated by voice! Had a bad day? Scream at your blender and watch it whip you up some therapeutic Margaritas. Had a good day, put the kids to bed, and want to get cosy with The Husband? Purr softly as it gently melds the magical ingredients for a couple of Pink Lady cocktails.

Or, if you prefer an ascetic life of suffering, recite Rage Against the Machine lyrics as it prepares your wheatgrass smoothie.

Via Kris Krug

“The machine allows the user to access sensorial modalities otherwise dormant.”

Huh, I had a boyfriend who did that. Why did I drop him again?

Blendie not only follows verbal commands, it thinks for itself, so presumably once you’ve trained it, every Friday at five it could just trot over to the cabinet and start mixing up a batch of Weekend Wonders. Where do you get one of these genius contraptions? Alas, it’s unique, but you can start with one of these:

Inner dialogue of bodyguard:

Do you know the kind of training I’ve had?

Do you?

I’m an expert marksman, a third-degree black belt in karate, and a former Olympic wrestler.

I can kill a man with my bare hands.

At bodyguard school, they said I was the best there ever was.

And here I am. Carrying a bald baby doll and a stuffed giraffe.

I hate my life.

Yes, it’s only October.

But everyone knows that the tradition of getting the Christmas toys early, hiding them, and having the kids secretly attempting to find them is a classic. And, it can’t be done unless you are out there early! The other upside to getting all that shopping done is more time to get into the Christmas spirit, rather than running around the stores like a headless chicken!

This week I’m featuring toys that are for both boys and girl, and are hot, hot, hot in 2008. In the coming weeks, I’ll also provide special editions for “boy” and “girl” toys.

Looking for the hottest “girl” toys? Go here!
Looking for the hottest “boy” toys? Go here!
Looking for some great video games? Go here!

Elmo Live The most lifelike Elmo ever made! His mouth opens and closes while he is talking. He sits, dances, and waves his arms as he sings and tells jokes. Toddlers everywhere will love this newest Elmo.

Nintendo DS Lite This is one of the holiday’s most wanted toys! Smaller and lighter than the original DS, this revolutionizes game play with with ultra-bright dual screens, adjustable backlighting, stereo sound, and touch-screen technology. Connect wirelessly to Nintendo’s WiFi Connection and play against someone on the other side of the room or the other side of the world! Available in many different colors.

KidiArt Studio on sale! Hook this up to the television or the computer to enhance the experience of this digital camera. Kids can do basic art lessons, add and edit photos, and even create stop-motion animation!

U-Dance No mat necessary! Instead, you hook an innovative, customizable band around your shoes and get ready to execute almost any dance move you can think of!

Rock Band for Xbox 360 and Rock Band for Playstation 2 and Playstation 3 These special editions are fun for the entire family. Expensive? Yes. Entertaining? Absolutely! With a playlist ranging from Smashing Pumpkins to the Beastie Boys, everyone will indeed be rocking out.

Monopoly Here and Now World on sale! A world wide vote determined what cities would be included on this game board. There’s no telling which exciting, exotic locations you will own! Also comes with Monopoly “credit cards” and digital banking device that keeps track of your balance.

EyeClops Bionic Eye on sale! Forget stationary microscopes, kids can use this portable one to examine anything and everything up to 200X magnification! You can also plug it into the television to see it on the big screen!

LeapFrog Didj Custom Learning Gaming System Taking the popular portable Leapster to the next level. It offers a computer interface to continue the learning online. Also has customizable characters, backgrounds, animation, music, and more!

Fun-2-Learn Computer Cool School Preschoolers will love this keyboard built just for them! Includes a stylus, writing tablet and software. Leo the Lion takes them on fun adventures in reading, writing, math, art, music, and science.

Webkinz Ganz Large Fantail Goldfish Your young one may already have one of these, but do they have this new release? Instead of just a regular old room, the Goldfish will get you an underwater one! If you approve of safe online game play, the Webkinz are some of the best bargains around!

ME2 It works like a pedometer, but awards points for physical activity that can be redeemed for virtual goodies. Kids can also compete against other kids and enjoy an ME2 online universe.

Fur Real Friends Biscuit With lifelike sounds and movements, you will almost be convinced that you’ve got the real thing! Except, no vet bills, animal dander, or cleaning up after. I’m sold!

LeapFrog Tag Reading System Watch as books come to life! Using the Tag Reader, cool sounds, character voices, and music are added to literary favorites such as The Little Engine That Could.

I thought I’d throw you a curveball this week, with something NOT obviously holiday-themed. The winner of this and our (what was it, Monday? Tuesday?) caption contest will be announced together on Monday and yes, you can win both if you’re good enough, so get those competitive juices flowing. Our imaginary prizes are among the most coveted in the cyberverse!

Completely awesome, but kids, don’t try this at home. Because it’ll give your parents a frickin’ heart attack!

via 69105

Mind you, on something like this Sandy Summit wooden playset it’s not such a big risk.