Top Christmas gifts for 2009

Movies: The 2009 year had a great box-office, with many hits that kids would love to own. "Transformers 2," "Twilight," "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" are just a few titles to get you thinking. "Up," "Hannah Montana: The Movie," and "The Race to Witch Mountain" also had rave reviews. Movies are a great family gift, since all children in a family will enjoy it. It can be very economical to give a movie to a family rather than individual gifts!

Books: In this technologically-driven age, books are a rare gift. Kids still love to read, but chances are, they don't own very many books. While libraries are great for supplying books to kids, giving them a book encourages them to read and pursue an academic life. Not sure where to start with books? The Newberry Award winners are typically great reads, as are ALA notable books. The New York Times also puts out a list of top-selling Young Adult and Junior Fiction books. Your library should have these lists on hand to guide you.

Transformers: The Transformer toys are back and more creative than ever. Some Transformers can change into many different things. The most popular ones right now are Optimus Prime and BumbleBee. Both Transformer movies have been hits, so the kids don't have them yet, chances are they might want to own them.

American Girl Dolls: The American Girl series is still very popular among young girls. The repertoire of American Girl items has increased to include movies, like "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl," which came out last year before Christmas. Girls can get American Girl dolls that are created to look just like them, or choose from the selection of American Girl Dolls from the series. Girls love to get Christmas dresses for their doll, and American Girl even offers matching Christmas dresses for the girls to wear themselves. You can sign up for the American Girl catalog online, which girls love to look through and can help you get an idea for what your little American girl might want!

Dress up clothes: Dress up clothes are great for both boys and girls! Boys aren't interested in the princess costumes like girls are, but they enjoy dressing up like firefighters, lions, and ninjas. Dress up clothes encourage imagination and creative play, and are one of those toys that don't get "old." Many home-school organizations use dress ups to teach about other cultures and for free play time. Girls love to wear princess costumes, and dance around. If you decide to get dress up clothes as a Christmas gift, don't forget the accessories! Girls need feather boas for their princess costumes and boys need toy guns for their cowboy costumes!

Bicycles: These two-wheeled classics are still around and begging for attention. These are one of those semi-responsible gifts, since many children use a bicycle as a means of transportation to school and around town. Besides, what child isn't excited to find a bike under the tree on Christmas morning?!

Wii: The Wii and accompanying Wii games are still top hits this Christmas. With Karaoke, the Wii Fit, Hannah Montana, and sword fighting, Wii has something for everyone. Rockband is also very popular with the teenage crowd, since it allows them to follow their love for music in a game they can play with their friends.

Shelby is the mother of 2 girls and 1 boy and lives in Orem, Utah. She also runs a home-based business called My Cute Dressups at http://www.mycutedressups.com that sells Princess dress up clothes and other fun pretend play items for kids, toddlers, and even teenagers and adult princess costumes. She also has an eBay store and a local store run by the same name. She has seen a noticeable difference in her kids after encouraging dress up play.