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Buying the perfect gift for a young child and watching their eyes light up as they open it is a great feeling for any adult. Luckily there are heaps of cool toys out there for kids these days, so you won’t be starved for choice. The following are some of the most popular toys out now that any kid would be excited to see in their Christmas hamper or on their birthday.

Let’s Rock Elmo!

This new Elmo toy not only sings and plays his own instrument, but he can also tell which instrument a child is playing, and play along with them! There are six songs that can be sung with Let’s Rock Elmo, and he comes with a microphone, tambourine and drums. This toy is a lot of fun for kids that are of preschool age, and is one of the favourites this year.

LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer Tablet

This toy is best for kids that are 4-9 years of age, and is basically the kids’ version of an iPad. There are over 100 games available on the Explorer Tablet as well as a variety of digital books, videos, flash cards, and a built in camera and camcorder. This is the kind of toy that kids will take everywhere, and will provide years of enjoyment.

Discovery Kids Cardboard Colour Me Play House

This fun playhouse comes with four windows, two doors, a mailbox, a flower garden and a chimney just like a real house. The cardboard house itself is a canvas and allows children to use their imaginations to customise the features themselves by colouring, painting, and personalising the look of the house.

Crazy Forts!

Bed sheets come separately, lots of assembly required! Crazy Fort is powered entirely by a child’s imagination as they can create endless fort designs using 25 geometrically precise balls and 44 sticks that can connect in a multitude ways. Once the structure has been built, simply throw a bed sheet over top and watch their imaginations run wild. A rocket ship one day, a princess castle the next!

Animal Planet Air Swimmers R/C Flying Fish

Either in the form of a clown fish or shark, these toys are inflated with helium so that they can float through the air while being controlled via remote control. They can be moved up and down and around at a full 360 degrees. Kids will be entertained for hours as they watch the toys ‘swim’ through the air, bounce off walls and go wherever they are asked!

LEGO Ninjago Limited Edition Lightning Dragon

This toy is the latest and greatest from LEGO, and can be enjoyed by kids 8 years old and up. This creative building and adventure toy gets kids to set up and execute a rescue of the character “Sensei Wu” and find the nunchucks that were stolen while avoiding dangerous enemy helicopters and missiles. What kid wouldn’t love this toy?

Arctic Splash Water Table

The Arctic Splash Water Table will provide hours of aquatic fun as kids explore the wet and wild Glacier Mountain! Multi-level water wells, ice slides, a tunnel and a dumping bucket are just some of the awesome and fun features of this water table. The set also includes polar bear, walrus and penguin squirt toys for added fun, and the raised design helps keep feet clean and dry.