It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Happy winter solstice celebration season!

I found a few fun facts and figures I’d like to share about kids and toys.

A recent Weekly Reader Research poll kids ages 5-18 how they planned to do their holiday shopping – and found that most are skipping the Internet and heading straight to the mall.

•    70 % of kids ages 5-18 say they planned to do their shopping “Mostly at Stores.”

•    Only 22 % of kids ages 5-18 say they think they will do their shopping “About equal amounts Online and at Stores.”

•    Only 9 % of kids ages 5-18 say the planned to do their shopping “Mostly Online.”

This survey had 2,866 total respondents, 1,460 of which were boys, 1,406 of which were girls. 810 of the respondents were ages 5-8, 912 of them 9-12, and 1,144 of them 13-18.

*Weekly Reader Research is a Tween-To-Teen market research organization.  Built on WRInsiders™, WRR’s large and nationally-representative panel of 5- to 18-year-olds, Weekly Reader Research brings together the power of the Internet and Weekly Reader’s legacy of commitment to kids to provide decision-makers with rich insights into youth markets.

http://www.weeklyreaderresearch.com/WeeklyReaderResearch/Home/

Here are 10 Fun Toy Facts from eToys.com

1. Although this year marks Tickle Me Elmo’s 10th anniversary, he first appeared on Sesame Street more than 20 years ago.


2. Cabbage Patch Kids were created by Xavier Roberts in 1976 and originally called ‘Little People”. They were made out of cloth and sold at craft fairs to help pay his college tuition.


3. The Rubik’s cube was invented in 1974 by Hungarian Erno Rubik. The interior mechanism of the wildly popular toy is one of the engineering marvels of 20th century toy design.


4. Trivial Pursuit was spawned because of an argument between a sports editor at the Canadian Press and a photo editor for the Montreal Gazette over who was the better game player.


5. The Barbie doll was invented in 1959 by Ruth Handler, whose own daughter was named Barbara.


6. Mr. Potato Head was the first toy to be advertised on television and in 1985, the popular spud received four write-in votes in the mayoral election in Boise, Idaho.


7. In 1943 The Slinky was accidentally invented by Richard James while he was trying to develop a meter designed to monitor horsepower on naval battleships.


8. The yo-yo is considered the second oldest toy in history, the oldest being the doll. In ancient Greece, the toy was made of wood, metal and terra cotta. The Greeks decorated the two halves of the yo-yo with pictures of their gods.


9. The original hula hoops were made from metal, bamboo, wood, grasses and vines.


10. The Etch-A-Sketch was originally marketed in France with the name L'Ecran Magique. In England it was known as the DoodleMaster Magic Screen.