Top 10 Gifts for Children Ages 8 and Up 

Best dolls (and Play Set)

Formal Funk Runway Disco (MGA Entertainment)  If you want to be the "cool" grandparent this holiday season - get your grandchild a Bratz doll!  Ask any girl between the ages of say 5 and 12 what they want and I'll be shocked if they don't say Bratz dolls.  These dolls are hip, fun and most of all the thing to have this holiday season!  This play set is a disco with real working lights, motorized runway and more! $99.99, Ages 5 and up.  Find everything in the Bratz Store  
 

Best games

Dread Pirate (Front Porch Classics) If you think Pirates of the Caribbean was big, wait until your grandchild gets a hold of this game!  It was already rated by FamilyFun magazine as the overall winner for children ages 10-12 in it's 2003 Toy of the Year Awards (T.O.Y.) and was the number four toy overall in this year’s list of top 10 toys of the year! The set is amazing to look at, before you even begin to play.  There is a treasure chest, map, "gold coins & jewels", the pieces are heavy metal ships, there are wooden die and more!  The game seems simple at first, collect every type of treasure and win, they there is the possibility of disasters such as mutiny! It's a strategic and inventive game! Ages 8+, $99.99  

Best craft kit (tie)

Tie Dye Kit (Francis Family Toys) Without a doubt this is the most fun we have had with a craft kit.  My husband pulled out every white shirt he could find, plus we went to target and bought more for the kids.  Then he set it up in the back yard.  This is definitely a parent/child activity - but oh the reactions!  My kids had such a blast making their tie dyes and they were so proud when they wore them to school.  This is a messy project - but it is wonderful!  We can't wait to do it again!  Kits includes enough dye for 15 adult shirts. For all ages with adult supervision. $20.00  Click here to purchase.

B-Stylin' Button Designer (Bandai America)  Our 11-year-old tester had a blast creating  buttons for herself and her friends.  She loved the fact that she could choose the design from pre-made ones, or make her own.  Her mom loved the fact that it was an independent project that didn't create a huge mess or require batteries!  The kid includes enough supplies for 20 buttons, but you can buy refills!  A tween hit!

Best educational toy 

iQuest (LeapFrog) According to our tester, "the IQuest is great!"  Her mother loved that when her daughter is finished with her homework she wants to "play " with the iQuest. She also said that it is very easy for her daughter to navigate. She felt that the Math section is a great reinforcement for the skills that she needs help with and liked the fact that information is presented in such a way that she thinks it is a game -- constantly trying to get a better score. According to her mother, "if she had to do things over and over for school, she would view it as a chore.  However with the iQuest it's fun!"   Much of the information is in keeping with what she is learning at school. According to her mother "we absolutely love it and would definitely recommend it to others!" Ages 10 - 13, $59.99

Best Travel Toy

Bratz Stylin' Portable CD Player: White (MGA Entertainment) If you are going on long trips and you don't want arguing this is a great bet.  Our testers two sisters listened to music in the car while their mom drove.  Bonus - she got to listen to her own music!  According to her mom, it's a bit pricey at $59.99, but it has everything you'd expect from a portable CD player, including earphones, anti-skip and more.  It also is rhinestone studded for your fashion conscious kid!  The biggest bonus is the 3 headphone jacks which allows 3 to listen at the same time!

Best Electronic Toy

Game Boy Advance SP - Cobalt (Nintendo) Although we didn't get to test this, my niece -- and all her friends own them.  She never travels without it.  It goes to restaurants for the wait, long car rides and she plays with it in the evening when her homework is done.  It's her #1 toy! Game Boy Accessories

Best Building Toy 

Musical Ferris Wheel (K'nex) Our 10-year-old tester loved the K'nex roller coaster that came out last year. Now, with this new addition, he's turned his room into an amusement park. The ferris wheel stands three feet tall and truly looks like the real thing, complete with people in the seats. A motor turns the wheel, and a separate sound module plays either a short or long version of a classic carnival tune, depending on how you press the button. The wheel went together fairly easily, though it needed some tinkering and rearrangement of the riders to make the motion smooth and continuous. All of this was an easy matter for our tester, who's experienced with K'nex and other building toys and not afraid to experiment, though an amateur might need a little help from a parent. When he gets tired of the wheel, he can reassemble the pieces to make either a spin ride or a boom ride, both included in the instructions. The motor requires two AA batteries; the sound module comes with three button cell batteries already installed. Ages 8 and up. $49.99

Best Play Sets 

 Dragons Man O' War (Mega Bloks) Our testers ages 9 and 10 really enjoyed the Mega Bloks Dragon's Man-o-war set. Their family treated its construction similarly to how you would a jigsaw puzzle. It was a family affair, but one we all enjoyed. A more mature, diehard "lego" fan may have been able to construct it all by themselves, but their crew was eager for its completion and they enjoyed putting it together this way. Once finished the ship was very impressive. It had lots of detail, almost like a boy's version of a girl's fancy dollhouse. Some parts of it were a little fragile, but because it's made of blocks anything messed up could be easily set right again. It had dragons with movable parts, and parts that lit up, and some very cool weaponry that was removable for battles on the run. These, along with the fabulous details, were very appealing to our testers. 

Also tested by this same family was  Mega Bloks Dragons Fire Mountain. On the positive side, the toy offered a lot of immediate gratification.  This is the kind of toy that could be opened amongst a jumble of birthday gifts and would have major portions ready to go, unlike a lot of what's on the market, in a very short period of time.  The batteries are in place and the set up is easy.  The boys were able to very quickly construct the dragon with the glowing eyes and the light up and rumbling volcano.  These are the 2 major components of the set.  The boys thought them very unique and were delighted with their workings. 

Note: The Dragons series is a set of 5.  If you only get one piece it's somewhat limiting. The play value of the toy definitely benefits from the addition of  other sets.