"Overstock" is a bad word in the retail business. Because of the fear of overstocked items due to a sluggish economy, stores all over ordered fewer items for the holiday season, including hot toys.

The result?

Toy shortages!

By the time this article is published, many of the hottest toys kids want most will be gone from store shelves. Fear not — Many popular online retailers have them in stock and are just a mouse click away!

So which toys are kids clamoring for this Christmas?

Barbie Fashionistas

Barbie, fashion icon and toy goddess, still manages to be a hot ticket item, especially the new Barbie Fashionistas doll.

So what's so special about the Barbie Fashionistas anyway? First of all, these dolls come with very trendy outfits to allow girls to channel their inner fashionista. These dolls each have their own personality and their outfits reflect that. These dolls are also extremely posable and are a little edgier than the classic Barbie. Match your little fashionista with a doll to suit her personality and you will make her very happy, and isn't that part of what Christmas is all about?

Are you an artistic kind of girl? Then the Barbie Fashionista Artsty Doll is for you. Barbie Fashionista Artsty Doll is ready to stroll through SoHo with her kicky, mod dress, slouch boots and hobo bag. She also comes with rad shades, hip hugging belt and cool necklace.

Or maybe you're more of a girly girl, in which case the Barbie Fashionistas Girly Doll is for you. This doll channels Elle Woods, right down to her pink designer shoes and tiny Maltese Dog purse. Her beautiful flowing hair cascades to her waist and she sports a gorgeous sparkly bracelet and necklace, and a lovely pink frock with ruffles and lace that say "I'm a girl through and through".

Ok, maybe girly girls make you go "What's up with that?", in which case the Barbie Fashionistas Sassy Doll might better express your free-spiritedness. This doll appears to have done something to her hair, like maybe dyed it a little bit, or at least put highlights in it. Whoa. She also wears a cute little striped tee (showing a wee bit of bare skin) that says "Miss Sassy", big hoop earrings, and a little ruched mini skirt with a black tulle underskirt, pink belt and quasi-combat boots, all of which say "I'm sassy and tough but still very much a girl and don't you forget it". Or something like that.

Hmm. Maybe you're just a little bit wild, in which case Barbie Fashionistas Wild Doll is for you. Her outfit has a Gypsy feel to it with its pink & black sparkly print that could be a floral print or a leopard print - it's hard to tell which. She also wears a cute pink heart necklace and pink platform shoes with little silver bows, and carries a tiny pink clutch.

Finally, Barbie Fashionistas Cutie Doll and Barbie Fashionistas Glam Doll complete the collection. Your Cutie doll comes with a very trendy bag and lace-up boots, two hot fashion must-haves this season. Barbie Fashionistas Glam Doll is ready for a glamorous night on the town in her sparkly evening dress, satin clutch and designer shoes.

Surprise your little fashionista by putting one of these adorable dolls under your Christmas tree.

TelekeWHATsis?

Those innovative designers at Mattel have really outdone themselves this season with their new Mindflex game, which uses the power of your mind to move an object — In this case, one of four little Nerf-style balls.

NO way!

Way.

This stunning game comes with a helmet, which the player puts on to allow the unit to measure their brain waves. Through the power of concentration, players raise and lower the ball. An air cushion keeps the ball in the air, but your own brain waves raise and lower the ball. Once you have mastered telekinesis, you can guide your ball through the included obstacle course, which players can arrange to their own specifications. From a technological standpoint alone, this game is a winner.

Cover me — I'm goin' in!

Nerf toys also manage to hold onto their desirability these days, and the new Nerf-N-Strike collection of toys is in demand this hChristmas season.

First there's the basic Nerf-N-Strike unit, which comes with three Nerf blasters, all of which let your little commando fire foam missle darts from close range to fifty feet!

Next is the Nerf N-Strike Switch Shot EX-3, which fires foam darts that whistle, and that can shoot distances of 35 feet! It also hooks up to your Nintendo Wii gaming system, becoming a controller which you can use with assorted Wii games.

FORMIDABLE. That's how I would describe the Hasbro Nerf N-Strike Maverick. This Nerf blaster is equipped with six foam darts and has pull-back action and a flip-open, automatically advancing barrel that would make your kid the bad boy (or girl) of the playground when they send the other little kids ducking for cover.

For machine-gun fun, how about the Nerf N-Strike Raider Rapid Fire CS-35 Dart Blaster? When I was a little kid playing cops and robbers with my brothers, we used our hands poised like guns and went *pitchoo-pitchoo*, which was kind of lame. We would have totally amped-up our fun with one of these nifty toys! This cool blue Nerf blaster is equipped with a real magazine that holds 35 Nerf darts. Oh boy.

So cute there oughta be a law...

The last toys on our "Most Wanted" list for Christmas are the fabulous interactive Zhu Zhu Pet hamsters, which are flying off the shelves as fast as they put them out there.

Zhu Zhu Pet accessories are already in very short supply. In fact, many shoppers are going away empty-handed when they go looking for cool accessories like the Zhu Zhu Pets Hamstermobile, Funhouse, Hamster Wheel, and Adventure Ball, to name just a few accessories available for these adorable, fun toys.

Even the Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster House Starter Set is getting scarce.

To read more about the Zhu Zhu Pets and to see all of the hamsters and their personalitiies, click the following link to cosette's hub re: 

Zhu-Zhu Pets and other furry electronic toys.