Zhu Zhu Pets are going to one most popular kids toys to buy for Christmas 2009. This is pretty much guaranteed. They are cute, fun and kids love them. Right now just about the only place to find then is to buy online. Their popularity has seen them selling out at toy stores across the country.

Zhu Zhu’s Winning Ways

Why are they so loved? Well, they are intelligent little creatures that children can interact with in a similar way to real hamsters but without the mess. They are almost irresistibly cuddly and have a lot of different behaviors from scampering around in explore mode to purring and chirruping in pet mode. It’s hard for kids to get bored with them.

The most popular characters are Mr Sqiggles, Numnums, Chunk and Pipsqueak. Mr Squiggles is probably the most popular of the range perhaps because he is so active and runs around the most. He also complains the most in a whiney (but cute) way that children like.

How do Zhu Zhu Pets Work?

Each Zhu Zhu pet has its own electronic brain and artificial intelligence. There is a card reader in each Zhu Zhu’s nose which allows it be programmed to perform certain behaviors. There are also sensitive areas on the Zhu that will make it react in different ways.

Touch Reactions

If you stroke the Zhu Zhu behind the ears it will go into loving mode. This means it will chatter and purr or chirrup as it is played with or cuddled. Each Zhu Zhu is very individual in its reactions with different expressions and personalities.

There is an area on the back that will send the pet into explore mode when touched. It will then scamper around, exploring the world or its play house, sniffing and reacting to the various objects in surprising ways. In the play house the Zhu Zhu will explore every room and behave differently in each. In the bathroom, for example, it might make a sound like a toilet flushing or someone brushing their teeth.

One useful feature is that they are hard to lose. Even if they get stuck under a sofa you can find them from the sounds they make.

The Card Reader

When you buy a new accessory you can feed in the information about the accessory. The Zhu Zhu then knows its way around and will react to whatever is in the environment in a fun way. The reader is in the toy's nose and it is easy to point the nose at the card to load up the new program.

The Batteries

There are 2 on 2-AAA batteries supplied which are easy to change . Rechargeable batteries might be a good buy as these toys are going to be played with a lot.

Mr Squiggles

Mr Squiggles is active, colorful and extremely talkative. These things seem to appeal to young kids and he is the most popular of all the Zhu Zhu pet hamsters.

Num Nums

She is more careful than the other Zhu Zhus and even a little dignified which makes her somehow even more cute.

Pipsqueak

One of the two cute girl characters. She is bright outgoing and a little cheeky.

Chunk

The softest and cuddliest of all the Zhu Zhu pets, Chunk likes to cuddle and be cuddled.

Some people might think Chunk needs a haircut. Other people just love plush.

One of the most popular buys on Amazon is the Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster House Starter Set.

• It includes one of the most popular Zhu Zhu's- Patches
• There is a figure of eight house layout that allows for fun action from Patches as he chatters and scatters around.
• The set includes portholes for connecting to other play sets and accessories
• The set is over 18 inches long and includes a one a half inch diameter wobble ball that Patches enjoys pushing around, whether he is inside or outside the playset

Other popular accessories are the Fun House, the Hamster Wheel and the blanket set.