Must-Have Holiday Gifts of 2010: Toys for Girls

Looking for hot toy ideas for the holiday season for your daughter, niece or granddaughter? Choose from these top picks, and shop early before the best ones are gone.

Must-Have Holiday Gifts of 2010: Toys for Girls

Interactive Dolls

Dolls that talk, walk, eat and engage in other bodily functions are popular toys for girls under 5. For imaginative play also consider doctor's kits or vet's kits that come with a puppy.

Fashion Dolls

Move up to fashion dolls after that. There are always homes, cars and more clothes for the fashion doll set, which is perfect for girls up to age 7 or 8.

Electronic Toys They Can Name

There is a new batch of electronic toys out that move and can be built into little families or colonies. Girls from 5 to 8 like the toys they can name, take with them and use to play with their friends. From fuzzy hamsters to electronic bugs, expect to pay between $5 and $20.

Active Video Game Systems

There are now two active video games systems on the market. Both strive to provide an active form of indoor fun for families. Girls from preschool to high school will enjoy these systems. Retail price is $100 to $200, plus the extra costs for controllers, games and accessories. Price out package deals, buy them as joint gifts or ask extended family members to buy the games when they ask for your girl's holiday gift list.

Educational Toys

Electronic toys that teach letter recognition, phonics and reading are hot gifts for girl and boy preschoolers and kindergarten students. Electronic read-along systems with books are also a good pick this year for grades one through three. The newest must-have hand-held toys that suit girls (as well as boys) are educational, can be used for games or e-books and retail for about $70.

Build It, Bake It, Make It

Sometimes classic toys are classics for a reason. Toys that encourage girls to build or make (or even bake something) never go out of style. Treat baby girls and toddlers to building blogs and log sets, even if they seem to be marketed to boys. Girls like to build stuff, too. For girls age 6 to 10, consider arts and crafts sets, including jewelry making, which incorporate creativity and problem-solving skills. Hot creative toys this year include a flip-flop design kit. There is also the combination baking and jewelry-making set that retails for about $20.

Big Girl Toys

Tweens and teens are not as interested in toys as they are in having unlimited texting packages on the latest cell phone, which also plays music. Get a good deal and you can upgrade to a free cell phone or add a line and a phone to your existing plan.

A portable music player and a gift card to an online music store are also hot gifts for tween and teen girls. Upgrade their current MP3 player, or buy the extras, inlcuding a cute carrying case and extra ear bud headphones.

Laptops for High Schoolers

It's nearly impossible for a high school girl to share a computer with her little brother or sister, especially when she has a big project and her sibling's waited until the last minute to do his or her homework. An inexpensive laptop in the $500 range that has a built-in modem is a practical gift for high school girls.