Do you want to give your grandchild one big, smashing, stupendous gift for the holiday season? Here are some great ideas.

  Toddlers | Age 4 - 8 | Age 8 and up

Toddlers

Thomas Wooden Railway Roundhouse Set  -- (Learning Curve, ages 3 and up, $499.99) -- the 109-piece deluxe Roundhouse Set is made for the ultimate Thomas fan! The Roundhouse Set includes multiple vehicles, track accessories and the ever-popular Roundhouse. All pieces are stored in a wooden Thomas Box, which features a removable lid/seat cushions. 

Madeline 36" Holiday Limited Edition Ragdoll -- (Learning Curve, ages 3 and up, $99.99)   This beautiful doll is truly a gift for a special child.  Since only 5,000 will be made it's also perfect addition to any collection.  What makes this doll so special is the attention to detail.  Madeline is dressed in a gorgeous black velvet dress with a detailed lace collar.  She has black patent leather shoes (non-removable) and a beautiful matching hat. She's big - 36" tall and very soft and huggable.  Unfortunately pictures don't do her justice - she's an absolutely gorgeous doll.  Get one for your grandchild or yourself today before they are all gone!

Up and Down Roller Coaster (Step2, ages 2 and up, $99.99)
As a parent, when I saw this toy, I thought for sure it was something I'd never buy. Boy, was I wrong! This great "roller coaster" is actually a ride-on toy plus a 10-foot-long ramp with gentle hills. Kids ranging from 17 months to 4 years have tried it out, and each one has said the same thing -- "I love this!" We set it up in the front yard so all the neighborhood kids could play on it, and it has provided hours of entertainment. It may be a bit pricey, but we all think it's well worth the money!

Lifestyle Kitchen (Step2, ages 2 and up, $199.99)
When I played house as a child, I used my mom's leftover pans, old spice bottles, dandelions, mud, and a pot of water. This new kitchen is the stuff little kids dream about playing with. From the window looking out onto a farm scene to the sounds of the dishwasher, microwave, and oven, this is one great play set. If you want to introduce your grandchild to pretend play, this is the kitchen to do it with. There are cabinets to open, pots and pans to pretend with, and even a working overhead light. Assembly was easy and took about an hour, with the help of a cordless drill. You'll need a lot of AA batteries (not included) for all the electronic gadgets. If you are giving this as a gift, you'll want to set it up the night before to avoid any pressure to get it done! 

Talking Fashion Vanity: White (Little Tikes, ages 2 and up, $59.99)
Is your granddaughter a "princess"? Does she adore Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White? Our 3-year-old tester fell into that category, and she just loved this vanity. The lights flash when you turn it on, and a voice tells you, "It's time to get ready." It has two mirrors, a chair, pretend hair dryer, comb, and pretend lipsticks and nail polish. She pretends to put on make-up, paint her nails, and get dressed up. Every little princess's dream!

 Thomas Mountain Overpass Set (Learning Curve, ages 2 and up, $79.99)

This fabulous all-wood 32-piece set includes Percy the small engine, Butch the tow truck, and a gated road/rail crossing. The tunnel and bridge have triggered sound effects, which our tester absolutely loved -- instead of always "choo-chooing" himself, he was able to hear the sounds. A great gift for any Thomas fan, or to start your grandchild off! Click here to find a retailer near you. 

Thomas A Day at the Race Set (Learning Curve, ages 3 and up, $199.99)

If your grandchildren are Thomas fans, they'll already know about Thomas and Bertie's "Great Race." Let them re-create it with this amazing set. It includes a windmill, a stone tunnel, a hilltop station, trees, a hill tunnel, and the train characters Bertie, Thomas, Clarabel, and Annie. All the straight pieces have roadway track on the reverse as well! Our tester is a 4-year-old Thomas fan, so needless to say he has spent hours playing with this set. If you're looking for a "big gift" that's sure to bring smiles -- this one is it!  Click here to find a retailer near you. 

PLAN Farm House (by BRIO, ages 3 and up, $85)
This beautiful wooden toy received rave reviews from the school that received it for testing. The farm house has a removable slat roof, furniture, a ladder, tools, and more. The kids get to play with this every day, and it's one of their favorite toys. Parents who've seen it agree that it would make a great gift for a child. You'll probably want to purchase the Farmer and the Farmer's Wife at the same time. They retail for $10 each.

Age 4 - 8

 Colette 14" Germany Handcrafted Doll (Zapf Creation, ages 3 and up,
$69.99)
Tested by a 5 1/2-year-old doll lover, this doll wins the prize. At 14 inches,   she's just the right size for a little girl, yet isn't a baby doll. Colette has a gorgeous sweater, shoes, and dress. Her face is beautifully painted, and her body is durable. Her hair is nice and strong, which is good because our tester liked to do different hairstyles. Overall, she loved this doll!

Charm Bracelets - (Zoppini, $7 and up)
These add-on charm bracelets are a great way to start a cool gift tradition. For Chanukah, you could give the bracelet the first night and one or more charms on later nights. For Christmas, put the bracelet in the stocking and wrap a few charms for under the tree. Prices start at about $7 for the plain stainless steel bracelet. Charms range from $15-$35 each. Call (800) 845-8898 for a retailer near you.

Sony PlayStation 2 (by Sony Computer Entertainment, all ages , $199.99)

This is the game system every electronic home gamer wants. Our 31-year-old, 15-year-old, and 4-year-old testers all said the same thing:  "This system is cool." PlayStation 2 has by far the best choice of games, and you can play all the older PlayStation 1 games on it, too. This system also has a built-in DVD player (a feature we didn't test fully because we were busy checking out the games). If you purchase this unit, you should also consider getting the following accessories: an 8MB Memory Card  to store games, and an extra  Dual Shock 2 Controller so two people can play.  Note: The 4-year-old had a hard time using the standard controllers because her hands were so small, however we found a fabulous product (pictured left) called MicroCON by a company called MadCatz.  These controllers are much smaller then the standard controllers and seem to work really well with our 4-year-old testers little hands.  They also make the MicroCON for , XBox and GameCube.  For more information on these controllers click here.  

Age 8 and up

Polaroid Mio Instant Camera w/film  (Polaroid, ages 8 and up, $79.88)
With its contemporary, hip and stylish design, the new Polaroid Mio is a "must have" for the hip teens -- and adults -- on your gift list. The sleek, 5-inch camera delivers instant snapshots that easily fit in a wallet (so you don't need to trim photos to fit in those small compartments). The camera is ideal for parties, a night on the town, or any social occasion where an instant photo can add to the fun!

Charm Bracelets (Zoppini, $7 and up)
These add-on charm bracelets are a great way to start a cool gift tradition. For Chanukah, you could give the bracelet the first night and one or more charms on later nights. For Christmas, put the bracelet in the stocking and wrap a few charms for under the tree. Prices start at about $7 for the plain stainless steel bracelet. Charms range from $15-$35 each. Call (800) 845-8898 for a retailer near you.

Sony PlayStation 2  (by Sony Computer Entertainment, all ages, $199.99)

This is the game system every electronic home gamer wants. Our 31-year-old, 15-year-old, and 4-year-old testers all said the same thing:  "This system is cool." PlayStation 2 has by far the best choice of games, and you can play all the older PlayStation 1 games on it, too. This system also has a built-in DVD player (a feature we didn't test fully because we were busy checking out the games). If you purchase this unit, you should also consider getting the following accessories: an 8MB Memory Card  to store games, and an extra  Dual Shock 2 Controller so two people can play.  Note: The 4-year-old had a hard time using the standard controllers because her hands were so small, however we found a fabulous product (pictured left) called MicroCON by a company called MadCatz.  These controllers are much smaller then the standard controllers and seem to work really well with our 4-year-old testers little hands.  They also make the MicroCON for , XBox and GameCube.  For more information on these controllers click here. 

Xbox (by Microsoft, all ages, $199.99)

Year two of the Xbox era and it is still turning heads with it’s stellar graphics, cutting edge games and multitude of features. 

The Xbox boasts the most advanced hardware system built for gaming to date with a Pentium III processor, 64 MB of memory, 8GB hard drive and Nvidia graphics system. (See full specifications below). 

Some of the most exciting and visually stunning games are available for the Xbox. There is something for everyone in the selection of games. From “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” or “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4” for the whole family to “Unreal Championship” or “Halo” for Teens and adults. However the majority of games geared towards teens and adults. For younger kids (4-11) Nintendo’s Game Cube would be a better choice.

You can connect up to four controllers to the Xbox to share the fun with your friends or family. However, if there is no one home to play with, no problem. If you have a broadband internet connection just pick up the Xbox live starter kit ($49.99 for the kit and one year of service) and you can connect to Xbox Live and play against other gamers over the internet. Some of the games available for online play are MechAssault, NFL Fever 2003, MotoGP, NBA 2K3 and Unreal Championship.

Tired of playing games? With the optional DVD remote you can play DVD movies on your Xbox. 

Technical Specifications:

• Intel Pentium III at 733mhz 
•   Custom graphics processor at 300mhz, designed by Nvidia exclusively for Xbox 
• DVD movie playback 
• 1920x1080 maximum resolution 
• HDTV support 
• 64MB memory with 6.4GB/sec bandwidth
• 8GB Hard drive, 4 speed DVD drive
• Custom 3-D audio processor designed by Nvidia which supports: 
• 64 Hardware audio channels (256 total) 
• 3D Audio support 
• Midi/DLS2 support 
• AC3 encoding
• 100 MBPS Ethernet Port 
• Optional Modem 
• 4 game USB controller ports 
• Proprietary A/V connector 

For more information on the Xbox go to http://www.xbox.com