Phew. Can we all sit down now? The wrapping paper has been sorted through and thrown away. We've installed batteries and clipped twist ties and the children are playing with all their new treats. I'm watching what my kids are into and I'd like to hear your experience.

• Did your child settle in and play with that one must-have toy for as many hours as you spent looking for it?
• Did something else make its way under the tree and become a sleeper hit?
• Will you be returning any toys this year? Which ones and why?

I hope your holiday was happy! Now put your feet up!

I think we can chalk up a win in the multicultural education department because my 4-year-old son just told Santa he wants a dreidel for Christmas. Santa didn't flinch, as if his elves fulfill millions of dreidel (Compare Prices) requests every Christmas, but it's posing a challenge for me. You see, our visit to the jolly one took place on December 23, leaving little time for Santa to manufacture and deliver our dreidel, so I'm going to try to help him out.

My sister helpfully suggested, "Make it out of clay!" but again, the last-minute nature of the request does not allow for clay's required drying time. I think she's enjoying this. She's definitely enjoying this.

If I was in my own community (rather than visiting my parents for Christmas) I could post my dreidel wish on my Facebook page and countless friends would come to my rescue. I'd ignore their chuckles and smirks and accept their bottom-of-the-Hanukkah-box dreidel without hesitation, but alas I am a stranger in a strange land this week.

I'm planning to fling open the doors of the nearest Target at 8:00 am, head straight for the dollar section and score a post-Hanukkah dreidel deal. Please cross your fingers for me. Someday we'll tell our grandchildren about this and I'll be laughing, too.

What last-minute wishes are you hoping to fulfill today?

As we get closer to the big day, don't forget to download the content you need to run those new high-tech toys! For example, the LeapFrog Tag Reading System (Compare Prices) requires a grownup to plug the USB cable into a computer and download the books before they can be read. While this technology works pretty well, it's best to allow extra time in case you run into hiccups.

To avoid disappointment on Christmas morning, parents should also pay attention to Christmas toys' compatibility with your home technology. For example, the cool, new Dora Links doll (Compare Prices) is a high-tech toy with an online component, but it doesn't work with Macs.

I have a close friend who grew up in the UK and speaks the Queen's English. Her two daughters were born in the US, but because both she and her husband speak with a UK accent, the girls do too! She treasures toys that allow her girls to hear voices from her homeland, so she cleverly downloaded several Tag books from LeapFrog's UK site for her daughter's Tag Reading System.

Parents can also program many LeapFrog toys to greet the child by name, so that's another good thing to do in advance.

We think maybe Santa will bring Tag books for our sons, so I put the Tag Reader and the USB cable in my suitcase when we traveled to my parents' for Christmas. Hey, sometimes even Santa needs a hand in the technology department!

At this point we're all overwhelmed with the last-minute holiday shopping, but I may have a solution. If you have a car lover over the age of 3 and happen to need a tank of gas, pop into your local Hess or Hess Express station and pick up their annual Hess vehicle!

Each Christmas since 1964 Hess has released a vehicle and collectors never miss one. This year's vehicle is a very cool race car with a smaller race car hidden inside. Both have flashing lights and the larger car has several cool sound effects. The smaller car has a smooth and quiet pull-back motor that makes it go really, really fast.

The Hess Race Car and Racer sells for $24.99.

Photo © Hess

Do you collect Hess vehicles?

The CPSC has recalled a toy dart gun set manufactured by OKK Trading Inc. The CPSC said the recalled ACTION TEAM play set "...has a toy gun with three soft rubber darts, a S.W.A.T. watch, a baton, walkie-talkie, a whistle, and a badge with a clip and an identification card. The soft, pliable orange plastic darts have a nearly 2 ½ inch long shaft and an approximately ¾ inch diameter suction cup. The toy gun is black with an orange nose and trigger and red spring release mechanism. "Made in China" is printed on one side of the barrel."

Sadly, the death of an 8-year-old boy in Texas prompted this recall. The child choked on one of the darts in the set. If this toy is in your home, please remove it immediately. For more information on this recall, visit the CPSC website.

Today I schlepped six boxes of baby clothes and toys to my local consignment shop. It felt liberating and I felt lighter...that is, until I was I heard the LeapFrog Learn and Groove Musical Table singing in the back of my car. I bought the table for my first son in 2005 and he played with it for about two years. (First on the floor, then we put the legs on when he started pulling up.)

Its trombone lick and recorded female voice scatting away became part of the soundtrack of my home. When son number two arrived we dusted off the table for him, and my husband and I both laughed when we heard the familiar music again. It was symbolic as we welcomed a new baby.

Now the boys are bigger and it's gone. I suggested that the store provide Kleenex and counseling services to customers who break down at the counter as the reality of "no more babies in my house" sets in. I'll be OK, though. Some other sweet baby will enjoy it the same way my sons did, and in the process some other mother will hum along to its catchy tunes just like I did.

Photo © LeapFrog

What toy will you be sad to give up?

For some reason both of my children completely lose their marbles at 5pm. Tonight I put a halt to 500 laps around the kitchen-to-living-room circle by busting out a couple of classics. Now I have both small boys completely captivated by some really old-school holiday classics.

I bought the 1969 version of Frosty the Snowman and 1964's Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer several years ago for my husband and me to watch together. Another favorite, The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974) is the one with the hilarious brothers, Heat Miser and Snow Miser. I've been known to sing along to that one! Now our kids are enjoying them as much as we do.

Rudolph's abominable snow monster scared my 4-year-old son until I pointed out that it is so clearly a stuffed animal. Now he laughs when he sees it. I tried not to cringe when Donner and Rudolph decided it was time to get the women back to the cave. The bucks were probably just hungry.

Even if they're old fashioned and a bit dated, those movies are always fun.

What's your favorite classic Christmas movie?

I've made it clear that I'm no fan of the Zhu Zhu Pets, but I admit that I feel a little bit sorry for cute little Mr. Squiggles today. A recent report by GoodGuide alerted the public to high levels of a chemical called antimony in the must-have hamster toys. The organization tested many of the hot, new toys for Christmas and found that (shocker!) they're not all that "green".

Today GoodGuide has published another article to clarify that its testing methodology is not the same as the government's testing methodology.

The GoodGuide site says, "While GoodGuide considers the presence of any antimony on the surface of a toy to be a concern, we want to clarify that we used a testing methodology to evaluate the toys that is different from the testing methodology incorporated into the federal standards."

Cepia LLC, the toy manufacturer issued a statement that said, "All Zhu Zhu Pets toys are safe and compliant with all U.S. and European standards for consumer health and safety in toys." and "Good Guide used an inferior testing methodology."

It's confusing when people in white lab coats tell us one thing, then the toy companies contradict it, but I had a bad taste in my mouth about this story when the news first came out. Parents aren't dumb. We know that most of the hot new Christmas toys aren't handmade from sustainable hardwoods by craftsmen in Vermont. They're made from plastic in Chinese factories. Then they're shipped to big-box stores where we line up for them because our children are begging for them. Besides, in the original report, GoodGuide misspelled the word "hamster." (It had a 'p' in it.)

Parents have a responsibility to make informed choices and we must read beyond the gasp-inducing headlines and evening-news teasers to determine if the toy is a good purchase. It's no coincidence that this story came out right before Christmas and focused on the one hot toy for this year. Now the organization's name is all over the news. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a certain hamster had his people file a lawsuit to protect his good name.

Will you still buy Zhu Zhu Pets?

Photo © Cepia LLC

The results are in! According to the Toy Industry Association's Trend Specialist Reyne Rice, the Black Friday turnout was big and there were lots of online transactions on Cyber Monday, but shoppers spent less this year.

According to Rice, the Black Friday deals started earlier this year and may not have been as substantial as in the past, with some stores stocking as few as five units of the special, hot deals.

The National Retail Federation said shoppers spent about $500 apiece during this period last year and only $400 this year.

Technology is affecting many of the shopping trends this season. According to Rice:

• Shoppers used mobile price-comparison technology to comparison shop right in the aisles.
• Many skipped the lines and shopped online on Black Friday.
• Many stores' websites honored Black Friday prices from the comfort of home.

How will your toy spending compare with last year's?

From time to time a frantic friend calls me from the toy aisle asking for help choosing a birthday present or a baby gift. Fortunately, because I'm not going to post my mobile number here, (I like you, but every good relationship has boundaries) we have a handy mobile version of Toys.About.com that you can access from any smart phone any time. Just click the "+" sign to add a button to your home screen.

There you'll find comprehensive toy reviews including:

• Hot, new Christmas toys for every age group
• Top 10 favorite new toys
• Great cheap toys
• The best stocking stuffers

Simply click on the "Compare Prices" links to comparison shop and order on the spot.

Just in time for Black Friday, the respected Parents' Choice Awards Foundation has developed a handy Gift Finder Application.

Enter the child's age and select from a long pull-down list of "Things With Which Children Become Obsessed." (OK, that's my term, not the foundation's.) The list includes everything from animals to astronomy. Enter a budget limit and click "Find It!" and the tool identifies all the Parents' Choice Award-winning toys in that category.

It's a cool idea that works well but it's not available in the iTunes App Store. Rather it's a free website you can access from your browser.

Happy toy shopping!