11 toys that will top your kids’ holiday wish lists

>>> gift guide, the hottest toys of 2012 . "today" contributor stephanie oppenheim is here to help you count down to christmas. three weeks from today. i.

>> hi, willie.

>> so much to get to. a 5-year-old and 3-year-old, news i can use.

>> when you have an older baby and toddler it's really hard to find toys for them, but we recommend finding things with things to explore. this is the groove and cruise ball palooza. big name for a big toy. lots of things for babies to explore. the tripod gives a lot of stability and the parents love the fact that you can turn the sound off.

>> that's key.

>> here we go. want to try this one.

>> checking out grover .

>> check out grover , and this is another basic year for older toddlers. want to get on yours? it's really good because it steers most things in this category that we tested no longer, and sophie has grover .

>> digging grover right now.

>> we looked at all the novelty toys, looking for a pre-schooler for sophie. novelty toys are fun this time of year, and this one doesn't want to come off.

>> how old are you?

>> how old are you, sweet girl?

>> 3 i think.

>> okay. really fun and has a sense of humor.

>> reminds me of al and flies around.

>> that's gool cool.

>> bring home basic baby tools, from north american bears, a multi-ethnic collection of balls. these tend to laugh a little bit longer.

>> okay.

>> construction toys, one of the hottest categories in toyland. gabriela and kayla are playing with colorful marbles, great thing to put on the coffee table for the holidays, follow the patterns and even make their own youtube video and knock all the pieces down.

>> very cool. this is big in my house, tell you right now. if you have a pirate theme at home, this requires a very patient adult builder who likes to build.

>> i would think so.

>> but at the end of the day your child has a pretend play space.

>> built a battleship out of this lego arrangement, had to take a nap.

>> this is big news. lord of the rings from lego and lots and lots of pieces for advanced builders and a lot of adults will have that on their wish list. always look at remote controls, great fun. this is from fisher-price, thomas the tank steam engine , and he actually --

>> get any steam out of this?

>> he does has steam.

>> there you go.

>> and because you can feel it. that's real steam.

>> cold water vapor, very cool.

>> and what about the porsche here? owen is making that go. that's from silver light. very sexy. it runs on an app that you can put to your phone or tablet.

>> this is really cool, the barbie dolls here. they are here with a barbie photo cameras, and they can each take their pictures. in the pack -- camera in the back and the picture you grab is in the front and take each other's picture with it. it stores over 200 --

>> can you take a shot of each other.

>> let's see how this works.

>> store 200 pictures and play with the apps on your computer as well.

>> what do you do, upload that to the computer?

>> usb it in the back of her belt.

>> very cool.

>> traveling for the holidays and have a younger trial that wands a hand held game console but isn't ready for the big-boy toys, leapster gf, 300 games in their library. a built-in camera and a really good travel doi toy.

>> keeps them busy in the back seat of the car.

>> that's right.

>> thank you very much.

>> stephanie, thanks so much. up