mySimon Toys Shopping Picks

What's hot for kids this holiday season and doesn't cost much money? One word: Bakugan (pronounced "bah-koo-gahn"). Bakugan is an anime series on the Cartoon Network, and the toys are the hottest things since Pokemon. Our friends' 9 year-old son and 6 year-old daughter are obsessed with them. Each toy is the size of a golf ball or large marble when closed. Inside is a magnet, so when you touch the Bakugan to metal, it springs open into an action figure, sort of like a Transformer (but with a lot less work). The toys are used with magnetized cards, which somehow help you keep score in a game understandable only to kids. The best part is, if you accidentally give kids Bakugan they already own, they can trade them with their friends for different characters or colors. More holiday gifts for kids.

Last week, our coworkers' parents (both of whom are reserved, academic types) were awakened at 4am by a flying squirrel in their bedroom. The mental image of them trying to rid their house of a flying squirrel had us laughing all day. (They eventually trapped it in a bathroom and had someone come rescue it.) So, for Christmas, our coworker is giving her parents this flying squirrel plush toy. It just arrived today. It's 9" long, extra soft and snuggly, with magnets in both hands and feet so you can put it on the refrigerator. Sounds a bit twisted, but years after our coworker hit a moose on a NH highway, her parents are still giving her moose-related gifts. Ah, family.

What's even better than a 1980s Homecoming Queen costume for Halloween? Prom Date Ken. The costume comes with a powder blue tuxedo jacket (the pocket square has "Ken" printed on it), matching cummerbund, white ruffle dickie with attached bowtie, Ken doll arm tag, and - the best part - a yellow plastic wig. Get your wife/girlfriend to dress up as Barbie (or else tell other people at the party that you're looking for her). More Halloween costume ideas.

You know, as far as political masks go, this one of John McCain isn't half bad (compared to the Palin one, which looks like it bypassed the QA department entirely). Sometimes these masks are so bad you can't even tell who they're supposed to be. Anyway, if you're looking for the easiest, cheapest way out of a Halloween costume this year, you can go with a political mask (we've also got Obama masks), but don't expect to be the only McCain/Obama at the Halloween party. More Halloween costume ideas.

We knew it wouldn't take long for them to make Sarah Palin products. For $35 you can order this life-sized poster of Sarah Palin dressed in a republican-red suit. We're guessing it's a bit larger than life, since it's nearly 6 feet tall. (How tall is the governor, anyway?). Mounted on heavy cardboard, you can either hang her on a wall or a door, or use the easel to display her in the middle of the room and freak out your guests. Democrats might prefer the Obama version.

Hey Heroes fans, did you know Mezco makes Heroes action figures? The first series includes 7" articulated versions of Hiro Nakamura, Peter Petrelli, Claire Bennett, Sylar, and Mohinder Suresh, all with plot-appropriate accessories (Claire comes with an alternate damaged head and alternate damaged arm). If the show continues to win Emmy awards, we're thinking these figures could be worth something someday. Then again, we thought the same thing about our Spice Girls action figures. Speaking of action figures, we found a site where you can have one made of yourself for just $160.

We just found out about this Barack Obama action figure. It doesn't talk, but it does have 8 points of articulation so you can "pose him presidentially." We'd like to see a companion Michelle Obama figure, so we could pose them together doing the "terrorist fist jab." (Speaking of which, check out the latest New Yorker cover.) If you're a McCain supporter, sit tight: The McCain action figure hits stores next month.

We saw this Vespa ride-on toy last weekend at the Conran store in New York. If the weight limit wasn't 75 pounds we would have ridden it around the store. The scooter looks exactly like a modern Vespa, complete with rear storage box and glove box, and it goes up to 5mph, thanks to the rechargeable 12-volt battery and foot pedal accelerator. It runs on dirt, grass, sidewalks, and maybe even wall-to-wall carpet. And if you put 2 AA batteries in it, you can turn on the headlight and hazard light and even honk the horn.

Check out the latest LeapFrog invention: The LeapFrog Tag. Designed for kids ages 4-8, the Tag is a touch-and-talk learning toy that develops kids' reading comprehension, vocabulary, spelling, word recognition, and other important skills. That thing that looks like a pen is part camera and part speaker. Not sure what that word is? Touch the word and the "pen" will tell you. The Tag ships next week but is available for preorder now. There will eventually be more than 20 Tag books and games to choose from.

Frankly we're more excited about this Indiana Jones Mr. Potato Head than we are about the new movie. The Taters of the Lost Ark toy comes with a jacket, whip, hat, teeth, and other accessories. Press his hat once to hear a short segment of the Indiana Jones theme song, or hold it down to hear the whole song. And when you get tired of that, watch the first 3 Indiana Jones movies on DVD.

A super dad should have a Superman stapler to remind him while working just how awesome his kids think he is. Granted, the target audience for this product is probably grade school kids, but we've got Father's Day on the brain and not a whole lot in the bank. And unlike a Superman action figure, this stapler is actually useful.

Bring the (mini) noise into your home with these 9" Public Enemy action figures by Mezco. Chuck D comes with a hat a microphone, while Flavor Flav comes with a Viking helmet, baseball hat, sunglasses, clock, and microphone. Mezco also makes some great Family Guy action figures.

Part skateboard and part snowboard, the Ripstik caster board recently won the Toy Industry Association's Outdoor Toy of the Year award. Designed for kids ages 8 and up, the board has 360-degree inclined casters and a pivoting deck, so all you have to do is twist to make it move - even uphill. The concave deck and traction plates provide increased foot control, and the ride is amazingly smooth. But you should still wear a helmet and pads for safety. See all Toy of the Year award winners.

Happy Birthday, Barbie! We hear you turned 49 over the weekend. You haven't aged a bit. The latest Barbie product to hit store shelves is Barbie Mariposa, a Barbie movie about a butterfly fairy who lives in Flutterfield, where the Queen has been poisoned by an evil fairy. It might not surprise you that there is also a new line of Barbie Mariposa toys, including the Magic Wings Mariposa doll shown here. (Mariposa is the Spanish word for butterfly.)

Guitar Hero is tons of fun, but it won't actually teach you how to play guitar. For that you'll need lessons, or a Power Tour electric guitar. Designed for kids ages 10 and up (way up), the Power Tour is a small electric guitar toy that has sensors instead of strings. When the sensors light up, you strum along, learning "Wild Thing," "Smoke on the Water," and other rock classics almost in spite of yourself. You can connect the guitar to your MP3 player and play along to your own music, adjusting a tone knob for a metal, punk, rock, or indie sound. The guitar comes with a strap, cable, and instructional DVD.

Happy Birthday to the LEGO brick, which turns 50 years old this month. The word "Lego" comes from the Danish "leg godt," which means "play well." It's the company's name and also its motto. We're happy to hear LEGOs are still selling well, despite the popularity of electronic and virtual toys. With LEGOs you can create almost anything. We particularly love the LEGO videos that act out Eddie Izzard skits.

New Year's Resolution #56: Save money. This money jar will help. Unlike that glass jar overflowing with pennies in the corner of your bedroom, this money jar tells you how much money it's holding. It recognizes the value of each (American) coin you put in, and provides a running total on its LCD display, thus encouraging kids (and adults) to save money. One happy user says "I bought this for myself, and I love it. You don't have to be a kid to save some spare change here and there." More piggy banks.

We think this year's Holiday Barbie looks like a young Miss Claus going to the Oscars. Standing 13.25" tall, Barbie's wearing a voluminous red velvet gown with black lace and white faux fur trim, opera length gloves, and a more feminine version of Santa's belt. A perfect gift for girls ages 6 and up. Speaking of Barbie, they just came out with Titanic Rose Barbie. We hope that means they're also making a Barbie Cruise Ship bathtub toy. More Barbie shopping.

Get campy this Christmas with a stocking that looks like the lamp that looks like a woman's leg, as seen in the classic movie A Christmas Story. Measuring 18" long, 9" across at the top, and 3" at the skinniest part of the leg, the stocking has a fun fishnet and patent shoe design, with the Christmas Story logo at the top. We've also got leg-shaped lamps based on the movie.