Cheap Toys Under $10 for Christmas 2008

The Toy Wars are on! Walmart, KB Toys, Target, Toys "R" Us, and Amazon are all competing for their share of the Christmas toy dollar this year. They know wallets are tight this year and that people are going to go where the prices are the lowest. That's good news for you, the consumer. After slogging through the massive amounts of great deals on toys this holiday season, I have come up with strategies for shopping for cheap toys for Christmas, plus where to find popular toys under $10. All prices are subject to change and availability.

Toy Shopping Strategies

1. Stick to a Budget

Decide how much you want to spend on each child (your own, relatives, or friends' kids) and then stick to it! To help you stick to your budget, check what's on sale in your area through SundaySaver.com or SalesCircular.com. Shop at discount or club-type stores, clearance sales, and even thrift stores to find cheap toys. For more information on budget-making, see my article "Ten Tips for Surviving the Holidays During a Recession".

One word of warning on dollar stores: most of the toys I've checked on in dollar-type stores were made in China. (Remember the lead scare?) You can, however, get great deals on crayons, coloring books, and storybooks for just a buck in dollar stores. Now those are some cheap toys!

2. Comparison shopping

Do some comparison shopping. There are sites devoted to just that, such as Pricegrabber, Nextag, and Bizrate. Pricegrabber.com lists over 150,000 cheap toys under $10.

3. Use coupons

If you find coupons locally, great! Use them. But you will get a much better range of coupons online when looking for cheap toys. Check out AC Content Producer's Crystal Ray's article on coupons. For even more info on coupons, check the wealth of knowledge here to help you save money on cheap toys for Christmas.

4. Buy everything at once

If you buy your cheap toys online, this strategy saves you shipping costs (instead of buying a toy here and a toy there). Some e-stores do not charge for shipping at all if you spend over a certain amount of money. If you buy in your town, you will save gas money by buying all the cheap toys you can find in one shopping trip.

5. Shop the Big Five

Most of the major online toy sellers have a category for toys under $25. I went one better and found some toy sellers with cheap toys under $10.

1. Toys "R" Us claims to have the biggest selection of cheap toys (under $10) on the planet. They have almost 900 clearance toys for under $10, not to mention the deals you can find among non-clearance items. Check out their Big Toy Book for some really great extra savings on cheap toys for Christmas.

2. Walmart has over 500 cheap toys under $10 for all ages.

3. KBToys.com is currently running a 60% off sale (until Black Friday), but if you miss that, they are always running some sort of deal on cheap toys. New KBtoys.com newsletter subscribers get a coupon for $5 off one online order of $40 or more.

4. Amazon.com is one of the best sites overall for cheap toys for Christmas. The only drawback with shopping at Amazon is that they deal with a number of different suppliers, and you aren't always guaranteed good service. It is wise to check the customer reviews on an item before ordering it.

5. eToys.com has so many ways of saving money on already cheap toys it's impossible to list them all here. They offer free toys (conditional offers), as much as 70% discounts, and clearance sales. Right now they will give you $15 back on an order of $30 or more for using their "Bill me later" option.

Now that you know where and how to shop for cheap toys for Christmas, let's look at specific toys you can buy this year under $10.

Toys Under $10

1. Bakugan Toys and Books

The extremely popular Bakugan line of toys has a starter pack for just $10 at Walmart. I've seen similar items listed elsewhere for over $40. Tremendously popular. Amazon.com lists this as the #1 toy. Examples of Bakugan cheap toys are:

Deka Bakugan (giant form of a Bakugan marble) at $10.99. (OK, so that's not under $10, but it's close.)

Bakugan Booster Pack for $10.67

Bakugan 5 Piece Card Booster Pack for $6.57

Bakugan book for $7.99 or a Bakugan DVD for $8.99

2. Star Wars Toys

The ever-popular Star Wars has dozens and dozens of cheap toys for Christmas at Walmart.com, a lot under $15. Almost 100 Star Wars toys are under $10.

3. High School Musical

High School Musical is wildly popular, especially with tween girls. At Toys "R" Us I found dozens of cheap toys under $10, some as low as $3.48.

4. Hannah Montana

At Toys "R" Us I found almost 20 Hannah Montana cheap toysunder $10.

5. Webkinz

Talk about a lot of bang for your buck! Kids spend hours online playing with the virtual counterpart to their Webkinz toy. Many cost below $10 - look for specials. The Webkinz Pet Store is packed full of Webkinz-related toys and has a number of Li'l Kinz for under $10.00. Also, PostalSweets.com has nearly 60 Webkinz under $10. Those are some pretty cheap toys!

6. Games and Puzzles

Board and other games are always a good idea for cheap toys for Christmas. Cranium is a hot game right now, and I found it for just $9.99. There are other versions of Cranium, such as Cranium Cadoo, so check those out as well. Though not exactly a game, Mr. Potato Heads are always great cheap toys for Christmas (under $10). Also, if you look, you can find PC and video games under $10 as well. Puzzles occupy kids (and adults) for hours at a time. Right now Amazon has a colorful 48-piece floor puzzle for only $7.49 (down from $11.99).

7. Books and Movies

Look for books and movies about the things your child is into, such as High School Musical 3, Hannah Montana, Bakugan, or Star Wars Clone Troopers. Also, books and movies about Christmas are always popular cheap toys. Try the Christmas Toy Movie for just $8.99. Barnes and Noble has over 38,000 books under $10. Top of the list is a Harry Potter book. I bet you can find something for every child you know here!

8. Action Toys under $10

Some examples of cheap toys in the action category are below:

KB Toys has nearly 600 action toys under $10.

Hulk Smash Hands $10.00 from Amazon. Get the Hulk Punching Bag with it for an additional $3.99.

K'Nex Dueling Racers Set from Walmart for $10.

9. Science Toys

You can get cheap toys for Christmas in the science category for under $10 from AeToy.com. They have cheap toys about dinosaurs, bugs, birds, experiments, butterflies, and so on. You can find an appropriate gift for any child here.

10. Wild, Funny Toys

X-Treme Geek has some wild, funny, and amazing cheap toys, all for under $10. How about an air gun that shoots marshmallows? Worth a look!

So there you have it. Finding cheap toys for Christmas need not be tiring and frustrating. There are literally hundreds of thousands of cheap toys to choose from - so have a very happy holiday!