Top 30 Toys and Stuff for Kids (Like You?) in 2008 H1

This playful post features our 30 most popular toys and stuff for kids in 2008. 

Having said that, I’m not sure if you’re going to buy your kid a $20,000 scrabble board, so some of the items on this list are more geared towards the kid in you.

On that same note, I wouldn’t recommend that any Trend Hunters place their little ones in barbed wire cribs.

My favs: ‘Disco with Your Baby’ and the Velcro baby jacked (which looks completely unsafe).

This is one of many features in our new FREE Micro Trend Reports section.

Top 30 toys and stuff for kids

1. Kid Drawings Made Realistic - The Monster Engine (GALLERY)

The Monster Engine harnesses the purest creativity found in children and transforms their scribbles and art work into more professional looking paintings.

Instead of just seeking inspiration from, or… [More]

2. Green Children’s Toys - SEE Toys Charge by Crank (GALLERY)

Last fall, ZenDesign Group launched the toy collection SEE (safety, ecology, economy) which are electric toys that don’t need batteries. Instead, the toys are powered by the energy created by moving… [More]

3. Urban Coloring Books - Street Photos You Colour for Fun (GALLERY)

Despite what you may have been told, colouring books are not just for kids. Just look at this urban colouring book and sticker kit from Sanithna Phansavanh! It integrates black and white photographs of… [More]

4. Fashion Designer Dolls - Kimora Lee Simmons Barbie

Do you have a little fashionista in the making? The Kimora Lee Simmons Barbie Doll is something special for both young girls getting into fashion, and women who appreciate branded pop culture items.

The… [More]

5. Child Drawings Turned Real Toys - Stuffed Lego Robot

After being inspired by a drawing from his son, a designer for Lego created a stuffed toy based on the doodles.

Moko isn’t the first designer to seek inspiration from the creative designs of children,… [More]

6. Velcro Jacket - Takkiainen (GALLERY)

While the Takkiainen was designed to bring together lonely people who might happen to brush up against each other in a busy city, the most fantastic implication of the Velcro jackets is their possibility… [More]

7. Top 33 LEGO Creations - Innovating Retro Toys (SUPER GALLERY)

You didn’t think LEGO died with the rise of video games and the internet, did you?

Until the last of us who played with LEGO as kids die off, the fascination with the little plastic blocks will continue.… [More]

8. Amphibious Scooter - Skidscooter (GALLERY)

This amphibious scooter could be used on land like a normal scooter, and as a propeller for swimming thanks to its two hub motors. Super fun for the kids. The Skidscooter is designed by Yong Jieyu and… [More]

9. Way Cool Bunk Beds - Gudiksen Beds (GALLERY)

Ankle biters know what’s hip, so you could just ask them about these. If you show kids ordinary bunk beds, they’ll tell you how cool they are. If you show them the Gudiksen Bunk Beds, they will tell you… [More]

10. Barbed Wired Crib - Baby Furniture by John Greg Ball

This crib is not really designed with barbed wire. It just looks like it. The design is supposed to mimic and make light of the physical restraints and many spatial limitations that human beings create… [More]

11. Celebrity Dolls - Amy Winehouse Barbie

We’ve seen celebrity dolls used as narcisstic promotional tools, but it’s not often we see memorabilia that accentuates a star’s less appealing attributes. This Amy Winehouse Barbie has a lot of similarity… [More]

12. Pay To Play - UBFunkeys

They’re called UBFunkeys and they are little toy creatures that you plug into your computer. There are 24 of them in all (8 tribes of 3 members each). OK, so what do they do? They are actually keys to… [More]

13. $2 Million Prize To Solve Puzzle Game - Eternity II

This game may cost a little on the high side as far as board games go but, unlike others, there may be a return on investment.

The creator of Eternity II, Christopher Monckton, is offering $2 million… [More]

14. Graphic Plays on Words - Scrabble Ads (GALLERY)

These ads for Scrabble are quite clever, going to show how different people’s minds can create very different results from the same possibilities.

The first image shows the letter G, D and O and depicts… [More]

15. Fashion for all Ages - American Eagle Launches 77KIDS

American Eagle, umbrella company to American Eagle Outfitters, Martin & Osa as well as intimates chain Aerie has added a new addition to their retail family; 77kids.  American Eagle is entering the coveted… [More]

16. Virtual Fence for Kids - Kiddo Kidkeeper

Surely you’ve heard of virtual fences for pets. Now they have them for kids, and they work just about the same way.

Smart Target created the easy-to-use child proximity alarm locater which allows parents… [More]

17. Next Gen Harry Potter? - The Eyes of a King by Catherine Banner

A 19 year old girl is being heralded as “the next J.K. Rowling,” an admirable title for anyone, but the fact that Catherine Banner wrote the book when she was only 14 makes it even more incredible.

The… [More]

18. Playgrounds from Hell - Slavic Nighmare Parks (GALLERY)

Playgrounds are made for kids to have fun and enjoy their years of innocence. That’s the general thought in most parts of the world, but in some Soviet countries, playgrounds house evil-looking, nightmarish… [More]

19. Glow in the Dark Spray Paint Games - Virtual Park

Pierre Haulot and Nike teamed up to create Virtual Park. This is a glow in the dark spray paint to create boundaries, lines, a ball that glows in the night, etc that allows a pick up game of basketball… [More]

20. DIY Children’s Books - Tikatok (VIDEO)

Tikatok is a social network that lets your kids design their own books, insert their stories, share and treasure with friends and family online.

What an awesome, awesome, awesome idea. There are a lot… [More]

21. Disco With Your Baby - Clubs Cater to Mothers with Babies (VIDEO)

Baby Loves Disco started in the US, by dancer Heather Murphy, and has now landed in the UK (when I am based) and I love it. It is the ultimate in a child friendly night out – a disco with your baby!… [More]

22. Social Network for Kids - Moshi Monsters

London-based gaming agency Mind Candy have developed a new social-networking sites for kids called Moshi Monsters. 

Instead of creating their own user profiles, kids can adopt their own monster.

Users… [More]

23. Convertible Travel Buddies – Zoobies (VIDEO)

The day the cardboard box arrived in the mail, I couldn’t have been more excited. I scanned over the sender label and was thrilled to see that my first Zoobie had arrived in the mail!

Zoobies, for those… [More]

24. TV Show Inspired Mobile Games - Grey’s Anatomy

If you missed your fix of Grey Anatomy this week, Gameloft has the solution for you.  With a bunch of mini-games, this mobile game has 6 story lines that evolve based on the character you choose to play.… [More]

25. Magnetic Puzzles With Infinite Solutions - The NeoCube (VIDEO)

Ever figure out a puzzle, like a Rubik’s Cube for example, and get bored with it? No, I haven’t either. But if you’re one of those lucky few who have, the NeoCube may be the ideal puzzle for you. The puzzle… [More]

26. Disney Night Club - Night Kingdom For Adults

Mickey Mouse is going night clubbing. To build on Disney World as an adult destination, Disney will launch the Night Kingdom in October 2011. It’s a niche park because it’s only open from 4 pm to midnight… [More]

27. Robotic Toys - Inud the Robo-Dog (VIDEO)

Did you ever want a dog that doesn’t pee on the rug? Inud the Robo-Dog by Segatoy is for you. He responds to human touch, voice commands, and movement, and will even let you shake its paw.

At $270,… [More]

28. Bracelets for Lost Children - Dcontinuum Link Child Locator (GALLERY)

The basic concept behind the Link Child Locater device, designed by Dcontinuum, is that a parent, guardian or babysitter can use it to locate or keep track of children in crowded locations. The device… [More]

29. Mini Uggs - Aussie Footwear For Babies & Kids (GALLERY)

Even though they look like loaves of bread, any woman who has slipped a pair of these cushy boots on her feet knows the Aussie footwear is undeniably comfortable.

After being seen on the feet of countless… [More]

30. $20,000 Game Board - Diamond Scrabble

The Diamond Scrabble board is absolutely gorgeous, and is more likely to go up on a wall (behind a glass case) than on a table top for family game’s night.

The Hasbro designed board, shown at the American… [More]