One of the hot new toys for girls in 2009 are the Fisher-Price Kid-Tough Digital Cameras. Manufacturer recommended for ages 3-11, these cameras can take kid punishment because they come in tough hard plastic "clamshell" casings.  They store up to 500 pictures, plus the camera is also available in a waterproof model.

What young girl doesn't like Hanna Montana?  If your child's a fan try Jakks Pacific G2 Game Girl Hannah Montana Guitar Video Game.   This fun interactive game has been described as being a lot like Guitar Hero but at half the price. Manufacturer recommended for ages 5-15, it is very engaging, easy to use, and very durable.

For the younger crowd check out Fisher-Price My First Doll.  Your child will love this soft and cuddly doll that makes a fun rattle noise when it is shaken.   It is easy to hold, machine washable, and manufacturer recommended  for ages 1 month and up.

Another hot toy for the Hanna Montana fan is the Hannah Montana Malibu Beach House.   This house is an exact replica of the house featured on the television show.  The house has 6 rooms, over 75 super cool accessories and folds also up nicely for storage.

Barbie Twilight Edward Doll and Barbie Twilight Bella Doll are the Barbie dolls for 2009.  These are the main characters in the feature book and film, Twilight.  Twilight  is a #1 New York Times best selling book series of teenage romance that tells the tale of romance between mortal Bella Swan, and vampire and Edward Cullen.

IlluStory is a great toy to help your child express their creativity.  This kit allows kids to illustrate and write their own story.  Once your child has completed their story they mail it in a prepaid envelope which is included in the kit.  In a couple of weeks they receive their story back as a professionally typeset hardback book.  How cool is that?  This toy has won many awards, including the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award.

Lego

Transformers

With the recent movie release Transformers are once again a hot toy this Christmas season. Best sellers in this category include Transformers Movie 2 Leader Jetfire, Transformers Movie 2: Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe Class Bumblebee, and Revenge of the Fallen Bumblebee Voice Mixer.

Lego continues to be a popular Christmas toy. LEGO Ultimate Building Set, and movie related Logo toys such as LEGO Star Wars: Limited Edition X-wing Fighter, and Lego Batman and Star Wars video games which combine video excitement with Legos building action.

The movie GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra has made a hot seller of a toy which has been around for almost 45 years.  G.I. Joe Mobile Headquarters Play Set, G.I. Joe 8 inch Duke Ultimate Soldier, RoomMates RMK1282SCS GI Joe Peel & Stick Wall Appliques, GI Joe Ninja Showdown Value Pack, and G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra for Nintendo DS are top sellers in this action toy category.

Another hot selling toy group sparked by the movies popularity are the Star Wars toys.  Top toys in this group include Star Wars The Clone Wars Action Figure - ARF Trooper, Star Wars Captain Rex Electronic Command Helmet, LEGO Star Wars: Complete Saga for Nintendo Wii, Star Wars Clone Wars Ultimate Light Saber, and LEGO Star Wars Anakin's Fighter.

Toy manufactures are responding to this new trend by updating their familiar games  to have a more current feel.  For example, the depression era game Monopoly has replaced it's familiar shoe playing piece with a laptop.  You can also purchase property using the new credit card swiper.  In place of removing a wishbone in the game Operation, you can now remove a cell phone finger, and the board game Clue has new characters, including  a dot-com billionaire.

Marketing of board games is also being updated.  Hasbro , the manufacturer of games such as Operation, Candy Land, and Scrabble has begun to promote "family game night" in response to the  growing board game trend.  Their Website features "games of the month" along with suggestions on how to host your own "game night".

Technology has recently made its debut into the board game world. with a game called Scene It? This game uses a DVD to display movie and television clips along with the traditional playing board to engage players in this fun trivia-style game.

So, what are going to be the hot board games for Christmas 2009?

A top seller in many stores continues to be the strategy game Settlers of Catan.  In this game, geared for ages 10 and above, the players battle to collect resources, building settlements and cities that ultimately determine the winner.

Another top seller this year is Quiddler, a quick paced word lovers game in which players attempt to create words from dealt cards.  Like Scrabble players try to use high point letters to get the highest score.  Points are also given for most words, so even small words can help you win.

What serious board-gamers are picking as their top game overall is Puerto Rico.  If your looking for a super fun strategy game that can teach your kids lessons in economics and commerce, this is it.  Recommended for ages 12 and above, players of this game take on the roles of various plantation owners around the 1800's.  The winner is determined by who positions themselves best to deliver their product across the sea to Europe.

With a combination of gambling and trivia, Wits & Wagers may again be top seller for 2009.  In this fast paced, easy to learn game, players not only try to answer fun and sometimes crazy questions, but also bet on the accuracy of other players answers to crown a winner.

If your looking for a game which can be as enjoyable for a five year old as well as an adult you have to try Blokus Classics Game by Mattel.  In this strategy game which lasts about 30 minutes, you place colorful pieces on the board in an attempt to be first to play all your pieces before your opponents.  Blokus is a fast game, easy to learn and fun for both adults and children.

With the economy still in the dumps and many board games selling for under $20.00, they are sure to be a popular present found under the  Christmas tree this year.   So pick up one while there's still a good supply on store shelves.  You'll find out like many others, you forgot how much fun playing a board game with your family and friends can be.

Most parents are aware of the importance of play in their child's development. Through play a child develops many important skills needed to be successful as they enter a structured school environment. What may be less understood is how the type of play, and thereby toys, influence what is being emphasized in the learning process. Lets see how riding that Big Wheel can be just as important as building a puzzle, and suggest some of this years hot toys along the way.

There are five major areas of development which the type of toys, and therefore play, can assist in helping your child grow. Although there is much overlap, these areas are motor skills (physical dexterity), social skills, cognitive skills (problem solving), creativity, and language development.

Motor skills are broken down into two categories gross motor skills and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills are those skills that primarily use the larger muscle groups such as running and jumping. Toys which would help in improving gross motor skills would be games such as Little Tikes Jump N Slide Inflatable Bouncer and The Fast Lane Scooter.

Fine motor skills focus mainly on the smaller muscle groups such as tying a shoe or putting together a puzzle. Toys which promote improving fine motor skills would be old favorites like, Mr Potato Head, or many of the new Transformer toys.

Social skills define your child's ability to relate with others. These skills will be of particular value once he or she enters school. Group games, teach interaction with others, a skill that builds relationships and will be of great importance as your child goes through life. Some popular toys which may improve social skills are Make Your Own Sock Puppets and Crazy Old Fish Wars Card Game.

Choosing a good toy which assists in building cognitive ability is very dependent on your child's age. As children progress through the process of child development they are able to understand, and complete more complex tasks. Becoming familiar with what are referred to as developmental milestones will help in choosing the right age appropriate toy to strengthen your child's cognitive or learning ability. You should also use manufacture's age recommendations as a rough guide in choosing a toy while keeping in mind your child's strengths and abilities. Some top sellers Christmas 2009 for ages 4-8 would be the Leapster Learning Game System or for ages 2-6 try the book, First 100 Words.

Although any toy can be used by your child creatively, toys which have a more oped-ended function and are free from right and wrong results work best to promote creativity. Playing with dolls or action figures prompts kids to use their imagination to make up their own stories. Painting and drawing toys are also good choices for children to explore their creativity. Try the Imaginext Pirate Ship by Fisher-Price, and TransFormers 2 Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe Action Figure as both are hot sellers this year.

The obvious choice for toys that help develop good speech and language skills are books such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and the Goodnight Moonboard Book. While books are excellent tools for this purpose, with focused interaction, all toys can be used to strengthen language abilities. For example, exploring different words used to describe the toy or its action. You may find your child asking, "What does that mean?" lending the opportunity to teach your child in the relaxed atmosphere of playtime.

As you can see all playtime is also learning time. How much is learned, and what is learned, is largely dependent on the interaction and the type toys provided. Choose wisely, but in the end don't forget playtime is about having you and your child having fun.

One of the most popular toys this season for the younger crowd is the new Tickle me Elmo or Elmo TMX.  This interactive doll will have you and your kids laughing with his unique hilarious movements.  Tickle him in the right spot and he comically rolls laughing and pounding on the floor.

Older kids are sure to enjoy Air Hogs Havoc Helicopter.  This radio controlled mini helicopter has outstanding flying abilities and is a quite easy to operate.  The controller has multiple channels so you can fly three in thae same room.

Your Star War fan will go galactic over the LEGO Star Wars Armored Assault Tank (AAT). It comes with Yoda and a clone and 3 super battle droids.  The big gun rotates 90 degrees up to became anti aircraft gun, side guns rotate 360 degrees and turret rotates a full90 degrees.  This toy is showing up on many top ten lists so make sure to order early.

Wild Planet Hyper Dash is sure to be one of the big sellers for Christmas 2009.  This toy has been the recipient of the iParenting Award and a Seal of Excellence Award from Creative Child Magazine.  Both parents and kids love Hyper Dash because it combines active play with lessons that support color and number recognition, basic math skills.  This combination of both physical versus mental challenges make sit a fun toy for the whole family.

A great nature lovers toy is the Live Butterfly Garden.  You and your child can be a witness to one of natures miracles up close, the metamorphosis from larvae to butterfly.  Butterfly larvae, food, and meshed habitat are shipped directly to your home.  The larvae and food available round the year so it makes a great Christmas gift.

Kids into board games?  If your kids are 10 or over you may want to try a relatively new game called The Settlers of Catan. This easy to learn strategy game has been a top seller at amazon for close to two years. It is said be like Monopoly only better.  Everyone is always involved and enjoying game play.

Playskool Busy Ball Popper is a great toy to help your young child develop good motor skills.  Your child places the ball on a track.  When the ball rolls to the bottom of the track it pops back up the center to a background of silly sounds and music.  This toy is also the winner of many awards.

One of the hot sellers in the Wii world is Wii Sports Resort. This game uses the Wii Motion Plus accessory to add a new level of realism to the player experience.  Set on a tropical island your kids will have hours of fun competing in games such as Sword Play, Power Cruising (racing a water scooter) and Disc Dog.  In a nutshell , this game is attention grabbing, awesome, easy to learn, and fun to play.

Fisher Price Power Wheels Lil' Kawasaki is a great little four wheeler.  If your child is between 1 and 3 years of age they will get a kick out of this mini ATV.  Push buttons on the handlebar make starting and stopping super easy.  It also features a storage compartment along with cup holder.  "Works GREAT on grass and hills, plus the battery lasts forever!"

The cool San Diego Comic-Con 2009 Grifball Spartan Halo figure features 26 moving parts and comes with a Grifball, Gravity Hammer and Plasma Sword.  A great collector item realistic, detailed, fun, and stands on its own. As a collectible exclusive it is limited to 6,000 pieces.