Christmas Gift Guide 2009: Top Ten Gifts For Boys(Aged 3 to 18)

You'd better watch out, you'd better not cry… Yup the Christmas rush is starting. Predictions for the top gifts of 2009 are flying round the internet and over the next few weeks I'll be showing you what you should be buying for various different loved ones. This week it's toys for the boys…

Unlike girls there tends to be a little more flexibility with boys and age groups. But just for ease I'll be splitting this top ten into four sections again.

Little Boys

Age range- from 3 to 8.

Transformers Bumblebee Helmet

So this year saw the release of another Transformers movie, thus cementing the cooler, Megan Fox filled version as infinitely better than the cheesy 80s TV series. Well, so they say- I still like the original animated version better! Anyway, now little boys (and their brothers/ fathers/ uncles) can run around and talk like Bumblebee with this voice changer helmet. Transformers- Roll Out!

[product#237]
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Kota the Triceratops

Kota was a top sell out toy in 2009, and by all accounts is set to top the lists again in 2009. It's a life sized baby dinosaur ride on toy which is cute as a button and much less likely to maul the child as a real dinosaur would've done back in BC whatever. It's animatronic and responds to both voice and touch with its expressive features. And looks so much like my boyfriend in a sulk that it's uncanny…

[product#103]
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Transforming WALL.E

Exactly what it says on the tin. Anyone who saw 'Wall.E' when it wad released will know that when he goes to sleep, or needs to hide, this lovable robot curls up into a cube. Ditto for the toy. It pops between cube and fully poseable robot in seconds and even has a flip down front to reveal what 'rubbish' Wall.E has picked up that day. Aww…

[product#238]
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Preteens

Age range- from 9 to 12

Lego Minotaurus

Now God knows what a Minotaurus is- the legend was always just Minotaur in my school days- but this game from Lego is topping a good number of charts this Christmas. It's easy to see why actually. The concept is simple: be the first to the temple without encountering the Minotaur. But you opponents can get sneaky and rebuild the board to really snooker you. Will definitely cause tears before bedtime!

[product#239]
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Ben 10 Deluxe Omnitrix

This is an update of a similar product, and its popularity has sky rocketed for Christmas 2009. It's essentially a watch-cum-portable game, where you need to choose the right alien to defeat the bad guy in the quickest time possible. Great for the thousands of Ben 10 obsessed boys out there.

[product#36]
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Bakugan Starter Pack

Bare with me while I feel old. I have no clue what Bakugan is, although I'm vagually aware it's an anime. The toys look pretty cool though. Three balls which instantly transform into action figures when rolled over Gate Cards, all through the cunning use of magnets. It sounds like the new version of Pokémon as you battle to save the world…

[product#240]
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Young Teens

Age range- from 13 to 15

Rubiks 360

I promised you that I'd tell you when this was for sale when the prototype was released ages ago. Well never say I flake on my promises because the Rubiks 360 is here and ready to baffle it's way to the top of the must have list. Watch in amusement as a new generation try to solve the puzzle in a whole new, significantly more spherical way. Get the balls in the right nodule? Simple! Oh yea of little faith…

[product#241]
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NERF N-Strike Raider Rapid Fire CS-35

Christmas isn't Christmas without some kind of toy that promotes violence and 2009 is no exception. The NERF N-Strike Raider Rapid Fire CS-35 hols up to 35 darts, is pump auctioned and can fire single fire or slam fire (which I assume means lots at a time!). Expect to find yourself hunted around the kitchen as you baste the turkey by a mini commando in Christmas pyjamas.

[product#242]
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Older Teens

Age range- from 16 to 18

Star Wars Force Trainer

Now this has to be my favourite gadget of 2009. Remember the scenes in the first Star Wars movie where Luke is training to use the Force? (Yes ok, technically the fourth movie but I refuse to acknowledge there are more than three). Now you too can learn to use the force to move a small ball in a tube and progress through fifteen levels of training to become a Jedi master. Well, actually it uses the power of your brainwaves via cutting edge EEG sensor technology. Which is still bloody impressive!

[product#243]
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Nintendo DSi

There's always a constant on the Christmas lists. For girls it the iPod. For boys (and pretty much everyone else actually) it's the Nintendo DS, this time in the newest incarnation, the DSi. Apart from an extra letter it also has a camera, sound recorder and built in WiFi connector. But you probably didn't need me to tell you that again did you?

[product#244]
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Check back later for gift for men aged 18 plus…