Maybe you had made a resolution to get your Christmas shopping done early this year. Maybe you were feeling confident throughout the year, with stacks of time up your leave, that this year would be different and you’d have it all done early and be kicking back on your sofa, while everyone else is rushing around in a crazed frenzy! But now it is November and who would know? You haven’t even started! Oh well, it was a nice idea, but now you better get your skates on first because Christmas is right around the corner. If you don’t want to find yourself shopping for last minute Christmas toys this year, then you better get moving or some poor child might be left with a broken heart this year. The best Christmas toys 2009 are much like the cool Christmas toys of 2009, but with some exciting new twists that will simply delight your children, but like last year, the hottest Christmas toys are being snapped up about as fast as they’re being stocked! The time to shop is now if you want the pick of the most popular Christmas toys this season.

It can be a pain trying to guess which toys for Christmas will be prized and appreciated by children these days. What you might think is a hot Christmas toy might make your child cringe in side, especially if a big kid wanting the latest gadget or gizmo like an upgrade to their iPone or iPod for example. So do yourself a favor and don’t leave it any longer. Or suffer the pain of finally figuring out the best Christmas toy, only to find it is sold out when you reach the shops.

How To Get On Top Of Your Christmas Shopping

While ideally you should have started your Christmas shopping immediately after the conclusion of last Christmas, better late than not at all they say. The process of starting your Christmas shopping late is exactly the same as buying early Christmas presents, you might just have to push a little harder. Plus, if you follow these tips, then the chances are you will be much better prepared that the majority of last minute Christmas shoppers.

Christmas Shopping Tips

The first step in nearly any Christmas shopping campaign that we’d encourage you to do first is to make a Christmas list of ever person you are buying gifts for. The list should include adults as well as children.

Next set a Christmas budget, which is how much you can spend on Christmas overall divided by the number of people on your list.

Thirdly make a list of gift ideas. It is usually best to go through your Christmas shopping list while thinking about each individual’s personality in turn. Then start a Christmas gift list. This list should list each recipient, with a number of items that you think would make a great gift for this person, placed below the recipient’s name. It is a good idea to try and list more than one potential gift for each recipient in case you have trouble finding your preferred choice.

Go to town with ideas if you like and fill your list with as many gifts as possible. You can refine your choices later on. Get online and search for “top 10 Christmas toys” for some ideas on what the hot Christmas toys are this season. If when you are shopping you find something that is a better match for a person than your original choice, there is no onus on you to stick to the list. The list is only for ideas.

To make your job easier, we are listing some of the most popular Christmas toys on our website. You can even purchase the top Christmas toys that you like and have them delivered to your door.

“Best Christmas Toys” Buying Tips

If you do a web search in Google for “top Christmas toys 2009″ or “best Christmas toys”, you will find scores of websites listing a bunch of meaningless, generic toys. But did you ever thought about just what is meant by “best”? What someone thinks of as “the best”, another person would scoff or laugh at them and proceed to tell them what they thought as “the best”. Well I discovered a meaning for the word “best”, that I think is as close to the true meaning as possible.

First thing you have to ask is “best for who”? Before selecting a Christmas gift, you have to know and understand a little bit about the personality of the person you are buying for. What is good for Joe won’t be good for Ted if they have distinctly different interests and personalities.

You also have to take into account the age of the person you’re buying for. Is it a child or an adult? Is it a toddler or a teenager? Is it a 20 year old or an 80 year old? When buying a Christmas gift you have to think in terms of the interests nad lifestyles of this person.

Once this is resolved you can then narrow start to think about some actual potential gifts for this person. So what is the “best Christmas present” or the “top Christmas toy”? When it comes to individual gift selection, the meaning of “best” refers to attributes like the quality, play-value or usefulness of the gift. Far too many a “cool Christmas toy”, while maybe appreciated in the moment, has quickly ended up in the trash, or thrown in the toy box never to be touched again. Wen you purchase a Christmas gift, by far the most appreciated and by our definition, “best” of these are the items that have LASTING PLAY VALUE or LASTING VALUE. The hottest Christmas toy in 2009, may, quite likely be completely forgetten about in 2010. Other gifts tend to hold their value, year after year and might never stop being used.

Lego is an example of a cool toy that has not faded from the hearts and minds of children. The beauty of lego is that it stimulates a childs imagination and can be reused over and over with different results.

Popular board games like Monopoly are another example of a Christmas toy that never quite loses its appeal, even if it is stored away and has been sitting in the cupboard for years, chances are someone will, one day impulsively suggest.. “Let’s play a game of Monopoly!”

So when looking through the hot Christmas toys 2009 list, perhaps what you really should be looking for is something that has been around for a long time, or something that is based on a long term brand. Essentially something that has the potential to be timeless will greatly increase your chances of getting something that’ll be a big hit this year.

Another good idea when seeking out some top toys for Christmas that are of superior quality than the usual “hottest toys for Christmas 2009″ list, is to read what other people say. Places like Amazon.Com are great for reading reviews written by people who have purchased and used the item and have been kind enough to submit their thoughts and opinions. By reading what people’s experiences have been like, you can often pick up on little details that weren’t obvious from the manufacturer’s description. Amazon.Com also gives you the option of sorting categorized items by the most popular toys for Christmas. This list is a snapshot of what toys sorted by number of sales. The popularity of a product can be a sign of good quality, just be wary of “hot trend” item like the many you’ll see in the top 10 Christmas toys 2009 lists.

When reading reviews on Amazon.com, it is probably a good idea to look for toys that have a rating of 4 stars or more. Products that are rated consistently well, tend to be the best in their class. Don’t look too much into products that haven’t been rated by a lot of people as some people can rate up or rate down a product excessively, which when a product only has a few reviews is not always a reflection on the item’s “true rating”.

Online shopping is a great way of shopping for Christmas items, or at least some of them as it can be much easier than fighting the crowds in town, plus most online retailers offer you the option to gift wrap your orders.

We will be posting some of our Christmas toy recommendations in the lead-up to Christmas, but for now we will leave you with an initial list of some of the most popular Christmas toys 2009 currently on offer at Amazon.Com.

These are general selections of toys. You can browse for something much more specific on Amazon’s Hot Toy List. We will also be posting some more specific Christmas toy lists for different types of age ranges soon.

Hot Christmas Toys 2009

Baby Einstein Takealong Tunes

Price: $9.99

By introducing your young one to baby-friendly versions of timeless classics by Mozart, Rossini, Chopin and Vivialdi, you promote auditory development and musical appreciation in your child. Baby Einstein takealong Tunes allows your child to toggle through seven enjoyable and classical melodies upon pressing a large, friendly button. Colorful lights the literally dance across the screen to heighten the melodic experience and promote visual perception. Consider Baby Einstein takealong Tunes a baby's version of an MP3 player.

Razor A Kick Scooter

Price: $41.39

This is the original model of kick scooter and the perfect gift for kids and teens. While the Razor A scooter will never be a replacement for the internal combustion engine, it sure beats walking. The scooter will get your kid from point A to point B in a few short scoots of their shoe. This tidy number is a blast to use as kids who have tried it will attest.

Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker (The Ice Cream Ball)

Price: $29.95

Make your own ice cream at picnics, barbecues and on camping trips with the innovative Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker. Just add rock salt, and ice in one end and you'll have ice cream at the other. You don't even need electricity and the ice cream tastes great! Once prepared you can roll it around and pass it between friends. The ice cream will last around 10-15 minutes. The Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker accomodates plain ice cream or a wide selecton of flavors that you can mix up with the recipe list included. You can even create your own concoctions in this portable, durable, lightweight, polycarbonate Ice cream ball.

Melissa & Doug 60-Piece Standard Unit Blocks

Price: $59.99

There is a place for at least one wooden block set in the toy collection of toddlers and young children and such a gift will engage your child's imagination for hours The Melissa & Doug Standard Unit Blocks are 60 standard-shaped, solid wood blocks of precision cut and design. Featuring smooth, rounded edges, the blocks can be stored in a sturdy, convenient storage crate. The Melissa & Doug Standard Unit Blocks are designed for ages three and up.

Bakugan 7 in 1 Maxus Dragonoid

Price: $39.99

Maxus is one of the largest and most mighty Bakugan yet and will have your opponents tremoring in fear. This set contains six traps and a single Bakugan warrior, that when transformed, can be pieced together to form one colossal robot dragon. As is essential for any Bakugan player or collector, each piece of this seven piece set is one of a kind and cannot be found elsewhere.

Razor Rip-Rider 360 Drifting Ride-On

Price: $129.99

Razor have taken the classic three wheeler of the 70s and reinvented it with the Rip Rider 360. The Rip Rider features inclined caster wheels in place of the large black wheels, for resistance-free spinning and drifting action. The Freewheel system makes of breath-taking coasting speeds. Onlookers will get dizzy as you spin out in your super-cool, steel framed vehicle. The Rip Rider is designed to support 160 pounds, measures 38 by 24 by 24 inches and is for riders five years and over. Some assembly is required.

LEGO Ultimate Building Set - 405 Pieces (6166)

Price: $29.99

The Lego Ultimate Building Set is the ideal graduation gift for your toddler after graduating from the Duplo stage and with an impressive 405 pieces contained in this see-through, durable, plastic box the set is the perfect way for children to practice their creativity and engineering skills. Designed for children aged four and older, the Lego Ultimate Building set contains enough pieces to keep kids occupied for hours and will allow them to build almost anything!

Connect 4 x 4

Price: $24.99

You have heard of the orginal, well Connect 4x4 is similar except that you can now play with up to four people at a time with a double sided grid for added complexity and greater opportunity to win. Designed for kids or even adults from eight years and over, Connect 4x4 may have added far more of a challenge and ability for more people to enjoy the game, however the scoring and essential fun of the game have not changed. Get 4 in a row and you win!

Night Vision Infared Stealth Goggles V2

Price: $69.99

Barbie 2009 Holiday Doll

Price: $44.99

Barbie lovers will adore the 2009 Holiday Barbie which is a great toy and an ideal collectors item. What you may not know and is exciting Barbie tremendously is the celibration of the 50th year of the Barbie doll. This makes the 2009 Holiday Barbie a special collectible in particular. Wearing a gorgeous multilayered pink gown the bejeweled 2009 Holiday barby can be propped up on her doll stand for all to admire or shown to friends.

IlluStory Make Your Own Story Kit

Price: $19.95

The award winning, Illustory Make Your Own Book Kit allows you to publish your very own book! The kit allows you to practice your skills by allowing you to draw illustrations and write your very own story and who knows, you may just be a future author in the making. Once your work is complete you can send your work to the publisher and receive a professionally typed hard-bound book a few weeks later. This innovative kit nurtures creativity and enthusiasm for drawing, reading and writing and is suitable for ages five and up.

Snap Circuits SC-300

Price: $59.99

This award winning toy is suitable for kids eight years or older and perfect for budding engineers and scientists. The Electronic Snap Circuits by Elenco includes an incredible 60 parts that can be used in over 300 exciting projects. You will learn numerous amounts about basic electronics as you link up lights, motors sounds and more to create exciting, beeping games.

You Might Also Want To…

View Our Top 10 Christmas Toys 2009 List
View Our Top 10 Christmas Toys For Boys 2009 List
View Our Top 10 Christmas Toys For Girls 2009 List

A Final Message

While we tend to go a little crazy around Christmas time, frantically finding the best toys for Christmas for the sake of our children, it can help to remember that Christmas time is not just about opening presents and stuffing yourself full of food. Christmas is about having fun and enjoying time spent with family.

Christmas is about sitting around the table together in front of the fire, while watching snow fall outside, or playing a game of Monopoly, Ludo or Snakes and Ladders. While the snow may descent peacefully outside, drifting slowly and silently down to its final resting place, the same cannot be said for the happy household, the sounds of joy and happiness emanating from the inside.

Have a wonderful Christmas day.