Peek 'N Play Discovery Dome (Playskool)  Ages 3 months+, $39.99
"My 7-month old absolutely loves this toy, as do the other kids in her play group," reports our mom-tester. "She loves to open and close the door and crawl in and out of the tent. I like how easy it was to assemble, the directions were clear and easy, and it folds easily for quick and convenient storage. The colors of this tent are vivid and eye-catching. It comes with several toy pieces that attach to the play dome. Both the inside and outside of the tent have fun and engaging activities that encourage your child to experiment and practice both fine and gross motor skills. This toy is a hit at our house!"

Best Toddler Toy:

Little People Time-To-Learn Preschool (Fisher-Price) Ages 2-5, $33.00
"This toy is great for 2-year-olds and older kids,” reports our mom-tester. “It features a preschool setting with multiple learning and activity areas. It teaches numbers, colors, pictures, shapes, and colors. The 10 Little People figures are our favorite. My son loves carrying them around the house. I’m very impressed with the figures; they have varied backgrounds, coloring, and sexes. Each figure holds a different number (1-10) too. The set also includes a teeter totter, swing, and slide, as well as a piano.

“The play mat is great. When my son presses on the question mark, it asks a question like ‘Where are the 9 bubbles?’ The child then needs to respond by pressing on the correct spot. This teaches numbers and shapes as well as keeping a toddler entertained.

“I would definitely recommend buying this toy. It’s fun, and the figures that accompany the preschool will keep my son occupied and entertained for a long time to come."

Best Educational Toys (infant/toddler)

Little Leaps Grow-With-Me Learning System (LeapFrog) Ages: Baby mode, 9 months+, Toddler mode, 24 months+; $39.99
"I was hesitant to try this system with my infant because I've always stayed away from electronics until they were older, but this Little Leaps system is great,” reports our mother of four. “The station features big buttons in primary colors and standard shapes that the baby can tap. I like the fact that it also has different textures on the buttons. My infant and I enjoyed playing and she liked seeing the animals and moving to the music. I really like the fact that you could switch over the controllers to a joy stick later. It makes it much more versatile. My older kids enjoy their Leapster—a product that I love, so why not let the baby have fun too!" Product includes: 2-in-1 Wireless Activity Controller, Interactive Learning Disc with 3 Learning Games, Storage Case, Setup Guide, Learning Activities Guide.

Best Educational Toy (4-8)

V.Smile Jammin' Gym Class (VTech) Ages 4+, $29.99
V.Smile Art Studio (VTech) Ages 5+, $29.99
Our testers really love the Vtech V.Smile  system, and when we gave them the V.Smile Jammin' Gym Class and V.Smile Art Studio  to try out, they were thrilled. "The V.Smile Jammin' Gym Class is just the best," reports our mom-tester. "Not only do the kids play it constantly, but all their friends want to play too. The kids comment to me that it's great because they get hot and sweaty! I just love the fact that it makes them move. The activity mat plugs directly into the V.Smile TV Learning System, and the kids play a bunch of games that have them running in place, jumping, and bouncing. The V.Smile Art Studio is great because it has a bunch of activities including animation, free draw, coloring, and more. Both these additions to the already great V.Smile system make inside time fun and educational. They also make AWESOME rainy/snowy day activities."

Vtech V.Smile (VTech) Ages 3-7 years $59.99
"This was a winner the minute it was plugged in," reports our mom tester. A mother of two, she explained that she's often discouraged by the lack of educational play in her family’s PlayStation system and was thrilled that the V.Smile had the "game" feel, but "educational" properties. Her daughter, age 6, commented that many of the games were "too hard" but she was "working on them." Her youngest child at 4 had difficulty, but is persisting. The system has great controllers with large buttons and a large joystick, and you can even switch the positioning if you're left-handed. The games are on "Smartridge” game cartridges and are based on popular characters. Skills include language, math, problem-solving, and much more! "This is one gift both the parent and child will be thrilled to receive," reports our tester.

Best Building Toy (tie)

City Airport (Lego) Ages 5+, $79.99
Our 7-year-old tester reports that the Lego City Airport is GREAT! His mother said that for a child who really likes imaginative play, it's a perfect toy. What makes this set stand out above the rest? According to our tester, "Lego has made assembly much easier. They have numbered the bags, and the instruction booklet follows the numbers—which makes locating the correct pieces much easier. Also nice is that the set includes not only the airport, but also the vehicles, airplane, and figures." This particular set includes a control tower, security check, baggage claim, viewers' platform, airplane, and luggage truck as well as five airport personnel mini-figures. The set also features a revolving door and baggage claim carousel that really spins. 700 pieces.

Best Game

Gobblet Jr. (Blue Orange Toys) Ages 5+, $19.99
"This is a terrific game!” reports our mom-tester. “Not only is it durable (heavy wooden pieces on a sturdy board) but it adds a twist to the classic game of Tic Tac Toe. You have to try and get three in a row, but you can gobble up your opponent's pegs before he gobbles up yours. It involves more strategy and memory skills and held my son's attention for almost an hour. He is also able to play it with friends, his older cousin, and his dad! Gobblet Jr. is a great game to add to your collection that will be played over and over again through the years."

Best Doll
Barbie & The Twelve Dancing Princesses (Mattel) Ages 3+; dolls, $24.99 each; horse and carriage, $32.99
Barbie's Princess Genevieve is complete with a beautiful dance ensemble and bendable arms so she can dance gracefully with the help of your child. Our mom-tester reports, "This Barbie, and her 11 friends, are the Barbie's to buy this season. My daughters were very excited to get this, and they want to get a few of her friends so they can have a ‘dance school.’ I am so happy to see them pretend play that I will be sure to add a few dancing princesses to the holiday shopping list!" The doll is based on the new Barbie DVD movie Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses.

Best Craft Kit (girl/boy)

Stained Glass Window Art (Creativity For Kids) Ages 7-97, $15.99
Our mom-tester did this project with a 7-year-old girl and an 11-year-old girl and all had a fun time. "We got to choose from five different shaped sun catchers and were able to draw any picture we wanted free-style with squeezable paints. The only bummer was that you have to wait at least half an hour after drawing your outline to fill in with the translucent paints, but the finished products were so pretty! We immediately put them up on the window and wished we could make more."

FOAM struction (As Seen On TV) Ages 4+, $19.95
"This is a terrific craft kit that is fun, creative and totally not messy (which makes it a great thing to do at grandma's house without worrying about too much clean-up),” reports our 5-year-old tester’s mom. “The kit comes with lots of different colored foam pieces, a small sponge, a safety knife and an idea book." Our tester created his own idea, though, and in no time produced a beautiful turtle. "Even more fun, the foam pieces are completely biodegradable, which means our tester could bring his turtle into the bathtub that night and watch it dissolve! Very fun. These are so easy to use that the smallest and youngest of hands can use them. A great rainy day project. This is one of the 'As Seen On TV' products that really works!"

Best Electronic Gadget
 

Treasure Hunter (Wild Planet) Ages 4-10,  $24.95
Our testers, boys and girls aged 4 through 9, had a blast playing with this toy, an advanced game of hide and seek. Hide the treasure, and use the map to find it. The treasure chest breaks into two parts. The bottom part—the treasure—emits an electronic signal that beeps up to 40 feet away. The top part—the map—beeps and flashes red as you get closer to the treasure. Our testers had so much fun with this toy that it occupied them for hours, reported our mom-tester. They played with it outside as "pirates," and inside for just plain fun. Requires 6 AAA batteries.

Best DVD 

Cars (Disney/Pixar) Rated G, $29.99
Cars shines brighter then the wax applied to its characters' NASCAR counterparts! Many of our kid reviewers saw this in the movie theaters and loved it. Now that it's out on DVD, it's an at-home treat that kids can watch again and again. The kids just think it's funny: From Lightning McQueen's snowboarder moves to the tractor-tipping in the fields, everything about this movie makes them crack up. The parents enjoy the little subtleties that the kids just don't get — like the fact that one of the racecar sponsors is htB (hostile takeover bank), and the appearance by "Click and Clack" from "Car Talk." It's these little things that make this movie a treat for all.

The storyline is fairly simple. Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is the over-confident rookie who thinks he's won the Piston Cup only to find it's a three-way tie. To McQueen's shock, the winner is to be determined at a tie-breaker race in California. On the way to California, he gets stranded in Radiator Springs, a sleepy town on the old Route 66. There he meets Sally Carrera, a hot Porsche (Bonnie Hunt); Mater, a tow truck (Larry the Cable Guy); and Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), and finds everything he's been missing. The movie features great music by Rascal Flatts, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, James Taylor, and more. The DVD has some fun extras, too, including deleted scenes, sneak peeks, and a couple of shorts.

The DVD has some fun extras too, including, the necessary deleted scenes, sneak peeks, and a couple of shorts. 

Best Travel Toy 

8 Track Raceway Magnetic Travel Game (eeBoo ) Ages 5+, $12.95
This is terrific travel game from eeBoo. Our tester’s family already has eeBoo's Travel Slides & Ladders, and it has saved them from boredom on many a trip. She reports, "The magnetic raceway is no different. It comes with easy-to-follow instructions, a convenient travel bag with handle, and small magnetic pieces (that won't get lost between airplane seats). It’s light enough to bring in your carry-on bag. You can also vary the game to suit the attention span of the children playing, a bonus when traveling with children of varying ages. I would also highly recommend these games for when you have to go to a restaurant, or even long car trips."