Giving Junior His Best Holiday Ever

Ask any parent combing stores for the elusive electronic hamster known as a Zhu Zhu Pet: Finding this year’s hot holiday toys requires serious legwork.

In an ironic twist, less expensive price points for popular toys put them on more parents’ shopping lists -- even as predictions of sluggish sales led retailers to downsize holiday inventory orders. “Retailers know people are cutting back their holiday spending,” says Kathy Grannis, a spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation, an industry group. The average shopper is expected to spend $683 -- 3% less than last year and 16% below 2007. Stores would rather be cautious and sell out than have extra to mark down later, she says.

At the same time, many manufacturers altered holiday lineups to increase appeal, says Gerrick Johnson, a senior research analyst for BMO Capital Markets who tracks the toy industry. Many sent toys back to the drawing board, reworking designs to eliminate electronic bells and whistles and bring prices down. Others shelved higher-priced toys until the economy improves. As a result, most of this year’s hot toys carry price tags under $35, and a few less than $20.

The result is a perfect storm that accounts for your difficulties finding a Zhu Zhu Pet and its accessories.“No one ordered them,” Johnson says. Not many retailers were willing to take a risk on the new, low-priced toy. (The hamster itself sells for about $10; accessories start at $12.) And although Zhu Zhu Pet's popularity is now well-established, it’s too late in the season for many more to be produced and shipped.

So how do you find a Zhu Zhu Pet – or any hot holiday toy, for that matter? Sign up for retailers’ online notifications to be alerted when an item is back in stock, and regularly call bricks-and-mortar stores to see when they expect another shipment, says independent toy analyst Jim Silver. Hang onto competitors’ sales circulars, so you can request price matching and snag an item, even if it’s on shelves for full price. “Most items are selling out within an hour or two,” he says. “It’s tough to get a bargain on something that’s not on the shelf.”

Consumers also have opportunities in unexpected locations this year, says Kim Picciola, a senior analyst for Morningstar who covers retail stores, including Wal-Mart and Target. After KB Toys filed for bankruptcy and liquidated its inventory last year, other stores are eager to claim its share of the mall holiday toy market, she says. Sears (SHLD) has created toy departments in select stores, and Toys-R-Us is opening pop-up mall locations for the holiday season.

Zhu Zhu Pets are just one of 16 toys on trade publication Time to Play’s Most Wanted list, which assesses trends and reviews thousands of toys to predict which will fly off shelves fastest. Here are the ones to be on the lookout for -- and where to snap them up for less, if possible:

(Mattel, ages 3 and up)
Suggested Price: $11.99
Best Deal: $9.99, Toys R Us 
Savings: 17%

(Wild Planet, ages 3 and up)
Suggested Price: $9.99 and up
Not available for less than retail price online.

(Mattel, ages 3 and up)
Suggested Price: $59.99
Best Deal: $49.92 at QVC.com 
Savings: 17%

(Hasbro, ages 4 and up)
Suggested Price: $29.99
Best Deal: $21.88 at Amazon.com 
Savings: 27%

(Cepia, ages 4 and up)
Suggested Price: $7.99 and up
Not available for less than retail price online.