I’m excited because a good chunk of the Toys ‘R Us Hotlist features toys for boys, or toys than can work for both boys and girls. I often feel like everyone, from toy manufacturers to clothing designers, focus more on the little girl demographic. I wonder if moms of little girls feel it’s the opposite? I just know that when I go looking for something really cute for Jake to wear in his holiday pictures, there are like 100 dresses and two outfits for boys.
Hot Toys For Boys
LEGO Ninjago Limited Edition Set #2521 Lightning Dragon Battle
Contains a whopping 645 pieces, of which you are guaranteed to lose 100 and find at least 10 embedded in your feet (at least that’s how it works in my house). Jake loves the Lego Ninjago sets and has been begging for everything related to them. While I’m not sure I want to spring for this one, Santa will maybe add on some smaller sets to his collection. The list price is $79.99. This is a TRU Exclusive.
Moshi Monsters– All of the Moshi Monsters toys and games are on the Toys ‘R Us Hotlist, including the Moshi Monsters Moshling Zoo DS Game pictured above. These toys are based on the online game where kids can adopt and care for their own little Monster. I haven’t heard of these before, but I’m sure Jake will love it so I’ll have to look into it more. The little monsters are pretty darn cute! The majority of the toys and games are Toys ‘R Us Exclusives.
My Keepon- Dancing Robot– This one is another TRU Exclusive, and my goodness he’s a cutie! He’s a little dancing robot that moves to any music. He has a little microphone in his nose that listens for the beat and matches it. He’ll even dance along as your child sings. I want him for myself! My Keepon would be great fora boy or a girl.
Air Swimmer Flying Radio Controlled Clown Fish and Shark– At first I looked at the $50 price tag and thought “who would pay $50 what is essentially a helium balloon?” But these things are huge! Like 57 inches long and 36 inches high huge! I’m only 62 inches, these fish are nearly as tall as me. That’s pretty insane. I could never have one of these because my dogs would freak out and pop it, but I have to admit, they are definitely one of the coolest toys for boys on the list.
LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet 
– We got one of these as part of a Mom Select party, so I’ll be writing more about it later. It’s basically an iPad for kids. It is compatible with LeapFrog Explorer games and has its own little app store featuring tons of different learning games. It also has a camera that takes still shots and video, and a microphone to record sound with the video. Jake has had a lot of the LeapFrog toys over the years and I really don’t think you can go wrong with them.
Skylander’s Spyro’s Adventure Starter Pack
– Even though it’s $70, this is one I think I will spring for. Jake and I just finished Spyro’s Dawn of the Dragon and we really enjoyed it. The Starer Pack comes with the game, figures, trading cards, the Portal of Power peripheral for the Wii, a poster, web codes, and batteries. It releases on October 16th.
Nerf Vortex Vigilon
– Nerf seems to get something on the hot toys for boys list every year, and this year is no different. This one shoots long-range discs with high-powered blasting technology. It retails for $21.99, but Amazon has it for $15.88. It only comes with four discs, so you may want to stock up on those as well. We always lose all the random projectiles that come with Nerf shooting toys.
Air Hogs Hyperactives Pro Aero GX 
– I have to be honest here, I’ve never had good luck with Air Hogs. Jake has had three of them so far and they never work quite like we expect. Maybe I’m doing something wrong. Obviously they’re hot toys, since they keep making them and people keep buying them. You can race these indoors or out and switch the tires for maximum performance. They look awesome in concept, but I’m a little leery of spending $50 on one when the less expensive models didn’t quite perform for us. I’m only adding them to the list because I imagine others have managed to get them to work and I’m assuming we’re just not doing it right.
