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American Morning

What Kids Want

Aired December 10, 2002 - 07:48   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It's that time of the year, attention holiday shoppers, 15 days left, a little more than two weeks on the calendar.
If you are still not sure of what to get the little ones this year, not to worry, they do not call Chris Byrne the "toy guy" for nothing. And he is our guest this morning, a contributor to "Toy Wishes" magazine. He recently stopped by to give us a holiday show- and-tell on the best-selling and the hardest-to-find holiday gifts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER (on camera): It's that time of year again, is it not?

CHRISTOPHER BYRNE, "THE TOY GUY": Absolutely.

HEMMER: Good to see you again, Chris.

BYRNE: Nice to be with you.

HEMMER: Typically across the country, an American family spends how much on toys for a child in a holiday season?

BYRNE: In the U.S., it's about $300 per kid per year, and a lot of that's in the fourth quarter for the holidays.

HEMMER: Well, so, we're under budget then, huh? Because there's nothing here...

BYRNE: You can buy a lot of toys for that, essentially what we brought along today.

HEMMER: Gotcha. Everything here is under $300, that's the point, right?

BYRNE: No question.

HEMMER: Take us to -- a Furreal is what then?

BYRNE: Furreal Friends were introduced by Hasbro earlier this year. It's a real robotic cat, and it actually behaves like a friend for kids. And now, they've got a little kitten, the Furreal Kitties, and they're just adorable -- about $34.99 for the cat, about $34.99 for the kitten.

HEMMER: A kids likes it for the reaction it gets, and... BYRNE: They love to pretend that they've got their own pet. They love to be able -- and you can pick it up, drag it around the house and it's a great product.

HEMMER: That's nice. What's next here?

BYRNE: Musini. This is from a company by the name of Neurosmith, and this actually turns any room into a musical playground. Lights, sound and motion sensors in it, as kids move around, jump around, they're actually creating music, and doing it.

HEMMER: Oh, really?

BYRNE: It's great. It's about $60 to $70 from Neurosmith. I love this item....

HEMMER: Because they get a response and a reaction to the sounds.

BYRNE: ... because it keeps kids active. Absolutely, they love doing the music.

Matchbox Across America, 50 years -- 52 years. In 1952, they introduced Matchbox. Now, they've done one for each state in the union. We've got the little Beetle from Delaware, my home state here.

HEMMER: Nice.

BYRNE: Just great -- about $1.99 apiece, really, really...

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: Mostly boys, or do girls have an interest in that?

BYRNE: It's mostly boys, but girls like them a little bit. They like collecting their particular state.

HEMMER: Price?

BYRNE: About $1.99.

HEMMER: OK. Next up here.

BYRNE: OK, I love this little girl. This is Baby Annabel from Zapf Creations. What's wonderful about her is as technological dolls have gotten more sophisticated, the technology becomes transparent. She's a little fussy right now, so we're going to giver her her milk, and you can see...

HEMMER: Her eyes closed.

BYRNE: ... her eyes closed, and she starts to suck on the bottle. And hopefully when she's done, she'll give me a little burp. But she's about 49.99 from Zapf Creations, but maybe she's just -- yes, there she goes.

HEMMER: That's a real belch.

BYRNE: She's had enough milk...

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: Thank you, Annabel. What else do you have there?

BYRNE: Video games, they're really hot. Tony Hawk probably the hottest video game out there. It's for all platforms -- X-Box, Playstation 2, Game Cube and Game Boy Advanced. A wonderful way to go through, pretend your Tony Hawk, do lots of tricks, awesome music, totally awesome music on this game.

HEMMER: Really? Are the graphics good, too?

BYRNE: The graphics are great, but the music really is what makes it.

HEMMER: Probably the best-known skateboarder on the world today, huh?

BYRNE: Absolutely, really, really popular with kids, the love this.

We've also got a little silly guy here.

HEMMER: Yes, he's back.

BYRNE: This is Chicken Dance Elmo from Fisher Price. He's about 24.99. He's Elmo, classic character, dressed as a chicken. He does the chicken dance. That's the dance I always run from at weddings, but he'll actually do the whole thing for you.

HEMMER: I find it interesting that they're repackaging Elmo essentially. They're using the popularity of, what, was it four years ago?

BYRNE: Oh, four years ago, but Elmo is still the most popular of the Sesame Street muppets.

HEMMER: Really?

BYRNE: And kids love him. They really relate to him. He's really a 2-year-old. They love dressing up and being silly. So, it's a great way for them to do that.

HEMMER: What's over here?

BYRNE: This is the Harry Potter Slime Chamber from Mattel, about 15.99. Of course, Harry is going to battle the snake, and of course, what happens is he's going to get slimed.

HEMMER: Oh, my!

(CROSSTALK) BYRNE: Now, in the movie, he doesn't stand still for this kind of stuff, but it's great. It's classic play. Kids love this slime play, and of course, they love getting it all over the action figures and each other.

We've also got -- this is one of the coolest Barbie products I've ever seen. This is the Barbie Wireless Video Cam from Kid Designs. It's $129, but you actually can be on Barbie Cam. So, for let's put on a show play or perhaps you want to put on a newscast, kids can play with this. This is great. It works up to about 30 feet away. It connects to the VCR. It creates your own tapes.

HEMMER: It's going to cost?

BYRNE: A great item -- about $129.

HEMMER: Not bad.

BYRNE: Not bad at all.

HEMMER: And you know what else, the videotape...

BYRNE: I love it.

HEMMER: ... it's pink.

BYRNE: It's a pink videocassette.

HEMMER: Hey, listen, when parents are going out every year and they're fighting for really the items that are most coveted, I remember Elmo from a few years ago.

BYRNE: Right.

HEMMER: People literally running in the stores...

BYRNE: Right.

HEMMER: ... and sleeping out the night before. Best strategy for acquiring is what?

BYRNE: No. 1, if you see it when you're out shopping, buy it then. It's not going to be there, so buy it. Don't make yourself crazy. The other thing we're finding is that eBay has a lot of great new toys with buy-it now prices. You can get right on there, and when we found places sold out, Chicken Dance Elmo for example, they're almost 300 of them online at eBay.

HEMMER: My gosh.

BYRNE: So, you know, it takes a little strategy, but you can do it.

HEMMER: A good way to shop. Christopher Byrne, happy holidays to you.

BYRNE: Happy holidays to you.

HEMMER: Great to see you again.

BYRNE: Thank you.

HEMMER: We'll see you next year.

BYRNE: I hope so.

HEMMER: All right, thanks again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: And as we mentioned, 15 shopping days left, so get it done if you haven't already.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired December 10, 2002 - 07:48   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It's that time of the year, attention holiday shoppers, 15 days left, a little more than two weeks on the calendar.
If you are still not sure of what to get the little ones this year, not to worry, they do not call Chris Byrne the "toy guy" for nothing. And he is our guest this morning, a contributor to "Toy Wishes" magazine. He recently stopped by to give us a holiday show- and-tell on the best-selling and the hardest-to-find holiday gifts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER (on camera): It's that time of year again, is it not?

CHRISTOPHER BYRNE, "THE TOY GUY": Absolutely.

HEMMER: Good to see you again, Chris.

BYRNE: Nice to be with you.

HEMMER: Typically across the country, an American family spends how much on toys for a child in a holiday season?

BYRNE: In the U.S., it's about $300 per kid per year, and a lot of that's in the fourth quarter for the holidays.

HEMMER: Well, so, we're under budget then, huh? Because there's nothing here...

BYRNE: You can buy a lot of toys for that, essentially what we brought along today.

HEMMER: Gotcha. Everything here is under $300, that's the point, right?

BYRNE: No question.

HEMMER: Take us to -- a Furreal is what then?

BYRNE: Furreal Friends were introduced by Hasbro earlier this year. It's a real robotic cat, and it actually behaves like a friend for kids. And now, they've got a little kitten, the Furreal Kitties, and they're just adorable -- about $34.99 for the cat, about $34.99 for the kitten.

HEMMER: A kids likes it for the reaction it gets, and... BYRNE: They love to pretend that they've got their own pet. They love to be able -- and you can pick it up, drag it around the house and it's a great product.

HEMMER: That's nice. What's next here?

BYRNE: Musini. This is from a company by the name of Neurosmith, and this actually turns any room into a musical playground. Lights, sound and motion sensors in it, as kids move around, jump around, they're actually creating music, and doing it.

HEMMER: Oh, really?

BYRNE: It's great. It's about $60 to $70 from Neurosmith. I love this item....

HEMMER: Because they get a response and a reaction to the sounds.

BYRNE: ... because it keeps kids active. Absolutely, they love doing the music.

Matchbox Across America, 50 years -- 52 years. In 1952, they introduced Matchbox. Now, they've done one for each state in the union. We've got the little Beetle from Delaware, my home state here.

HEMMER: Nice.

BYRNE: Just great -- about $1.99 apiece, really, really...

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: Mostly boys, or do girls have an interest in that?

BYRNE: It's mostly boys, but girls like them a little bit. They like collecting their particular state.

HEMMER: Price?

BYRNE: About $1.99.

HEMMER: OK. Next up here.

BYRNE: OK, I love this little girl. This is Baby Annabel from Zapf Creations. What's wonderful about her is as technological dolls have gotten more sophisticated, the technology becomes transparent. She's a little fussy right now, so we're going to giver her her milk, and you can see...

HEMMER: Her eyes closed.

BYRNE: ... her eyes closed, and she starts to suck on the bottle. And hopefully when she's done, she'll give me a little burp. But she's about 49.99 from Zapf Creations, but maybe she's just -- yes, there she goes.

HEMMER: That's a real belch.

BYRNE: She's had enough milk...

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: Thank you, Annabel. What else do you have there?

BYRNE: Video games, they're really hot. Tony Hawk probably the hottest video game out there. It's for all platforms -- X-Box, Playstation 2, Game Cube and Game Boy Advanced. A wonderful way to go through, pretend your Tony Hawk, do lots of tricks, awesome music, totally awesome music on this game.

HEMMER: Really? Are the graphics good, too?

BYRNE: The graphics are great, but the music really is what makes it.

HEMMER: Probably the best-known skateboarder on the world today, huh?

BYRNE: Absolutely, really, really popular with kids, the love this.

We've also got a little silly guy here.

HEMMER: Yes, he's back.

BYRNE: This is Chicken Dance Elmo from Fisher Price. He's about 24.99. He's Elmo, classic character, dressed as a chicken. He does the chicken dance. That's the dance I always run from at weddings, but he'll actually do the whole thing for you.

HEMMER: I find it interesting that they're repackaging Elmo essentially. They're using the popularity of, what, was it four years ago?

BYRNE: Oh, four years ago, but Elmo is still the most popular of the Sesame Street muppets.

HEMMER: Really?

BYRNE: And kids love him. They really relate to him. He's really a 2-year-old. They love dressing up and being silly. So, it's a great way for them to do that.

HEMMER: What's over here?

BYRNE: This is the Harry Potter Slime Chamber from Mattel, about 15.99. Of course, Harry is going to battle the snake, and of course, what happens is he's going to get slimed.

HEMMER: Oh, my!

(CROSSTALK) BYRNE: Now, in the movie, he doesn't stand still for this kind of stuff, but it's great. It's classic play. Kids love this slime play, and of course, they love getting it all over the action figures and each other.

We've also got -- this is one of the coolest Barbie products I've ever seen. This is the Barbie Wireless Video Cam from Kid Designs. It's $129, but you actually can be on Barbie Cam. So, for let's put on a show play or perhaps you want to put on a newscast, kids can play with this. This is great. It works up to about 30 feet away. It connects to the VCR. It creates your own tapes.

HEMMER: It's going to cost?

BYRNE: A great item -- about $129.

HEMMER: Not bad.

BYRNE: Not bad at all.

HEMMER: And you know what else, the videotape...

BYRNE: I love it.

HEMMER: ... it's pink.

BYRNE: It's a pink videocassette.

HEMMER: Hey, listen, when parents are going out every year and they're fighting for really the items that are most coveted, I remember Elmo from a few years ago.

BYRNE: Right.

HEMMER: People literally running in the stores...

BYRNE: Right.

HEMMER: ... and sleeping out the night before. Best strategy for acquiring is what?

BYRNE: No. 1, if you see it when you're out shopping, buy it then. It's not going to be there, so buy it. Don't make yourself crazy. The other thing we're finding is that eBay has a lot of great new toys with buy-it now prices. You can get right on there, and when we found places sold out, Chicken Dance Elmo for example, they're almost 300 of them online at eBay.

HEMMER: My gosh.

BYRNE: So, you know, it takes a little strategy, but you can do it.

HEMMER: A good way to shop. Christopher Byrne, happy holidays to you.

BYRNE: Happy holidays to you.

HEMMER: Great to see you again.

BYRNE: Thank you.

HEMMER: We'll see you next year.

BYRNE: I hope so.

HEMMER: All right, thanks again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: And as we mentioned, 15 shopping days left, so get it done if you haven't already.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.