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It's the holidays again, and for parents, that means spending money.
A parent may pay $31.52 for a Holiday Barbie, $230.28 for a Power Wheels X-treme Machine, or $19.44 for an "I Love You" Barney.
The estimated amount spent per child per year on toys in the United States is $350.
The estimated retail size of the U.S. toy industry is $22.58 billion, according to the Toy Manufacturers of America.
Video games account for $4.276 billion of the toy industry. Dolls account for $2.078 billion and action figures account for $1.055 billion.
Larry Wells, store manager for Warsaw Wal-Mart, said the holiday buying season started as early as October, when people began their layaways. He said Wal-Mart has already noticed great sales in the toy department.
"The hottest toy in the market this year is Furby," Wells said.
He said people are having a difficult time finding the toy because there is a short supply of them. Wells said very few were manufactured.
Furby winks, talks, purrs, giggles and learns tricks. He interacts with the child and other Furbics. He smiles, sneezes and sings and responds to light, sound and motion.
TMA said the top five selling toys introduced in 1998 were Talking Teletubbies assortment, Holiday Barbie '98, Teletubbies plush assortment, Bounce Around Tigger and Power Wheels X-treme Machine.
On the Toys R Us 1998 Hot Toy list, there are several interactive toys: ActiMates Interactive Barney, ActiMates Interactive Arthur and ActiMates Interactive D.W. All three are from Microsoft.
Marisa Gordon, communications manager for TMA, said the TMA list was compiled by tracking sales through the mass market. The current list of top selling toys is based on sales through September and will be updated in the next couple of weeks.
"What's not accounted for is there are toys sold at specialty stores," Gordon said.
Gordon said that specialty stores may sell toys like Beanie Babies but they aren't on the list because they are sold only at specialty stores, and those stores are usually members of the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association.
One toy that is on the TMA list almost annually is Barbie.
"If I could think of one (toy that's on the list every year), it would be Barbie," Gordon said.
She said Barbie is on the list annually because there's a new holiday Barbie every year. Also, Barbie is a collector's item for many adults, Gordon said.
The hottest selling doll, Wells agreed, was Barbie.
"Barbie remains the doll of the season every season. She's a collectible," he said.
As for video games, Wells said, "We're selling all video games. There's not just one hot video game."
Toys R Us put the Nintendo 64 System on its hot toy list. Other video games and video game equipment on their list include N64 with Extreme Green Controller, Lap Top Computer from V-Tech and Zelda, "the most anticipated video game ever!"
The Barbie dolls named on the Toys R Us list include Happy Holidays Barbie and Harley Davidson Barbie. Harley Davidson Barbie is dressed in faux leather attire, a motorcycle cap, sunglasses and helmet, a backpack, boots and more. It is a limited edition.
Whether parents buy Barbie or Furby, video games or board games, Wells said the stores were anticipating a good year.
"I think it'll be an above average year. It won't be a record breaker, but it will be above average," he said.
TMA information said a child's prime toy purchasing years are birth to 10 years. Among the key consumers, boys have historically accounted for a larger percentage than girls when it came to purchases. However, the influence of girls in the toy marketplace is gaining, TMA information said.
Founded in 1916, TMA is the trade association for U.S. producers and importers of toys and holiday decorations. There are more than 300 members, which include manufacturers and importers who account for nearly 85 percent of total domestic sales. Other members include design firms, professional inventors and toy testing laboratories.
