Hottest Holiday Toys

With budgets tight, this year's hot holiday toy list is filled with cheap, basic fun stuff for kids. High-tech gadgetry is out, action figures, fashion dolls and fake pets are in.

See the full list of the 10 Hot Holiday Toys

Liv Doll Line, Spinmaster, $19.99

Fashion dolls are hot. Liv is a new one geared for a slightly older audience than Barbie, to those peeking a little ways ahead to their teen years. Various characters are into music, fashion, extreme sports and other endeavors.

Zhu Zhu Pets, Cepia, $22.99 to $41.99

Running white hot on Amazon, where different variations of this toddler favorite hold the top six spots on the best-selling toys list. Some users say they're finding these furry friends for as little as $8 at Wal-Mart, though keeping them in stock is an issue.

Rubiks Touch Cube, TechnoSource, $149.99

An updated electronic version of '80s classic. Instead of twisting, a player swipes a finger across the squares to reach the next sequence. Feeling stuck? The Touch Cube will even give hints for the next move.

Dino Roars Hatchlings, Playskool, $12.99

Baby dinosaur hatches and comes to life. Responds to petting by waking up, and lets out real roars.

Ni hao kai-lan, Mega Brands, $14.99

Next iteration of Dora the Explorer; Chinese-English bilingual instead of Spanish-English. Already a popular kids TV show. A 48-piece buildable room goes for $29.99, with additional pieces and accessories and DVDs available.

Bakugan, Spinmaster, Under $15

Meaning "exploding sphere" in Japanese, Bakugan--a collection of action figure fighters that pop out of a ball--is the top-selling U.S. action figure over the past year and the No. 1 show on the Cartoon Network. An upcoming promotion has them going into McDonald's Happy Meals.

Monopoly City, Hasbro, $34.99

Not just your typical attempts--colleges, different cities--to revitalize the old classic. This version includes 3-D skyscrapers and city parks. Players can even foil opponents by building nearby sewage plants and other annoyances.

See the full list of the 10 Hot Holiday Toys