What in the World Are Zhu Zhu Pets? By Maria Zavala

Zhu Zhu Pets are certain to be a hit with your child because they are an interactive and fun toy that is new. Realistic hamsters are expected to be this year's hottest new toy.

Artificial intelligence and separate personalities are qualities of these hamsters. Two modes of play for your child to enjoy. On explore mode, your child's hamster will be able to move about in its hamster habitat or across the floor. This is when they crave love and attention. Your child will be able to pet and cuddle their hamster, while it chatters and squeaks in response.

There are four Zhu Zhu Pet hamsters, each with their own name and personality. Chunk is a nice, easy going, lovable hamster who loves to surf. My little hamster is full of fun and energy. This hamster enjoys going exploring. Numnums, the hamster, loves to eat. These unique personalities, meant to mirror those of real hamsters, allow children to pick the hamster with their favorite personality or they can choose to collect all four. You could buy single hamsters, two at a time, or four at a time.

The Zhu Zhu Pet hamsters are like real hamsters, they need a place to live and a play area. So there are a variety of play sets that can be purchased for hours of fun for your child's hamster. There are many expansion sets available for you including a carrier, an adventure ball, a car and garage, a funhouse, a wheel and tunnel, a bed and blanket, a spiral slide and ramp, a skateboard and u-turn ramp and a surfboard and sleep dome. Several of these sets can be bought in a group set along with the hamsters.

It is the perfect toy for younger kids who may not be ready for the responsibility of a living pet. These cute toy hamster do not make messes and require no clean up! In addition, Zhu Zhu Pet hamsters are fun, delightful, and just plain cute.

The Zhu Zhu Pet is an amazing life-like hamster that loves to play and will keep your kids busy with hours of entertainment! Unfortunately due to demand, Zhu Zhu Pets they are becoming harder to find so make sure you get your Zhu Zhu Pets today!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Maria_Zavala

Finding one of those Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters: holiday craziness

Tuesday, 10 November 2009 09:52 | Written by dscriber daily |

DSCRIBER INVESTIGATES

The holiday season is shaping up to be sparse for families who don't know anyone on Wall Street who is getting one of those enormous bonuses for all the hard work they've been doing to keep America No. 1. As such, low-budget -- okay, kinda cheap -- plastic gifts for children are back in. One huge craze that's hitting early is the fantic search for hamster toys that advertise they're all the fun with none of the mess of a real hamster. Indeed, the Zhu Zhu, starting in the $10 range depending on where you shop, can be cheaper than a real hamster. And, as every parent knows, real hamsters are destined for some kind of tragic end, such as getting hanged by the neck from a string of Christmas lights, followed by a tearful shoebox funeral (or a simple flush if that is your custom).

An in-depth investigation by dscriber has learned the nefarious Zhu Zhu toy is sure to cozy it's interactive "fun-loving" mechanical self right up to your icy Scrooge heart this season. But be warned: A Zhu Zhu could easily become a long-term investment.

Only a brute of a parent, after all, would deny their child the Hamster Starter Set, a "funhouse" for a Zhu Zhu that has clear plastic tubes just like a real hamster home, according to Cepia Inc., which manufactures the electronic rodents. There's also a hamster car and garage, a must-have for any would-be yuppie child who seeks to escape the doldrums of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression in style. And what's a hamster without a Cepia Inc.-manufactured wheel?

There's even a sort of Snuggie for the hamsters to lounge in. Classy.

We're not sure if a Zhu Zhu will be able to demand these amenities on it's own. We are certain, however, children everywhere are still able to loudly utter the phrases, "Daddy, please!" or "Mommy, please!" while stomping wildly in public.

Whatever you pay, it's a toy and one day it will be forgotten. If so, it can easily be recycled into a fantastically agile cat toy. That is until it gets too battered to move. Heck, go ahead and buy one for the cat just to see what happens.

Anyway... you're probably reading this wondering where to get one. Okay, we'll tell you even though we cringe at becoming your milestone to something that could be a gateway to the day robots take over the Earth and enslave humanity. We've seen a few Zhu Zhu hamsters at major retailers like Walmart, Toys R Us -- even on Amazon. But they're reportedly going quick.

And if you have trouble finding one, put on one of those new Mattel Mindflex helmets that are supposedly able to measure brain activity. Then ask yourself this, "What is the true meaning of the season?" Listen to the bleeps and bloops until the answer comes.

Limited inventories make some toys scarce

Economy » Stores nationally report shortages, but Utah retailer stocks up.

Staff And News Services

Updated: 11/09/2009 07:57:06 PM MST

Instead of a throwback to great buying binges of the past, the empty shelves are just another sign of challenging times for some retailers. The shortages come from stores nationwide that are terrified of ordering too much and are keeping their inventories thin to avoid the glut of merchandise of last holiday season.

Yet Yamil Castillo, owner of The Red Balloon toy store locally, is decidedly upbeat when talking about his three Wasatch Front locations.

"I've kept up my stock, even though there's a risk factor, because if I don't have it, I won't sell it," he said. "If I have to, I can always buy less next year."

What customers are looking for are promotions and deals, he added, though he noted that board games are popular as recession-weary families opt to stay home more often than in the past.

Shoppers nationally are spending a little more these days that earlier this year, but they aren't going on buying sprees. Many store operators, remembering how Americans snapped their wallets shut last holiday season, didn't order big piles of merchandise in the first place.

"I guess if you see it, you should get it," said Martha Frey, who was surprised when she couldn't find a specific style of boots in a popular size for her 17-year-old daughter recently at a Top Shop in Manhattan's SoHo district.

The result, with seven weeks to go before Christmas, is that some popular toys in a few parts of the country are already hard to find.

In fact, the holiday season's early hit -- the Zhu Zhu Pets hamster, an interactive mechanical rodent by Cepia Inc. that sells for $9.99 and is being compared to Furby a decade ago -- is almost impossible to nab.

Other toys that are already becoming hard to find include Mattel's Mindflex, which measures brain activity through a helmet, a Nerf dart thrower called Nerf N-Strike from Hasbro Inc. and Barbie Fashionista, who can twist her hips and strike other poses.

"Stores [generally] just underordered," said Jim Silver, an analyst at Timetoplaymag.com, who predicted shortages of the top 100 toys by early December. In a typical year, only the top 15 are in short supply that early.

In recent weeks toymakers have dispatched executives to China to make sure they get enough products to keep shelves full, Silver said. But production times can be long, and chances look slim that people who put off buying a coveted toy until Thanksgiving will be able to get one by Christmas.

The barren shelves in some areas are in stark contrast to last year, when stores ordered too much and had to slap big discounts on merchandise as soon as it hit the floor. Holiday sales posted their biggest decline in at least three decades, and the results cascaded into poor profits and even the closings of prominent stores such as Circuit City.

This year, inventory generally is 8 percent to 13 percent smaller for mid-price clothing, and 10 percent to 15 percent smaller for home furnishings, said Antony Karabus, CEO of Karabus Management, a retail advisory firm.

Hot Christmas Toys 2009 - Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters

By Dee Power

Does your child want a pet but you don't have the time for it? Well Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters to the rescue. These cuddly creatures are popular among children because these are the world's first interactive plush toy hamsters. When you were a kid you probably owned a hamster. Remember the fuss? Cleaning out the cage? Forgetting to feed him or her? Or the biting because you hadn't petted your pet hamster for a couple of months? All that can be avoided with Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters. These critters are interactive so they respond to your child who will just love their playfulness.

These adorable stuffed little guys and girls are the perfect presents for children who are not allowed to have real live pets. They are also for children who are too young to have their own real live pets. Real hamsters may be less expensive than Zhu Zhu Hamster Pets but by giving your child his or her own interactive toy plush pet, he or she will learn responsibility at a young age and you'll have granted the wish for a pet.

Not only do these plush pets interact with children but they also interact with the accessories that are found in their hamster Funhouse. Take for example, the Zhu Zhu mobile. The furry rodents scamper through it. They even make talking sounds. When they are in the bathroom, they make toilet flushing sounds.

These Hamster Pets operate on loving mode. They let their masters pet them, love them, and scold them even. They also squeak and chatter back. Another mode for the soft stuffed toys is the explore mode. They scamper, boogie, and bump as well as scoot across the floor to be familiar with their Hamster Habitat.

And there's not just one Zhu Zhu pet hamster, there are four. Pipsqueek is cuddly yellow guy (or girl) with a white swirl on his/her back. Mr. Squiggles is light brown with a lighter brown swirl. Num Nums is grey and Chunk is white. These guys can be bought singly or in a double pack of two.

There are carrying cases, four different colors of blankies and beds, an adventure ball the pets can play inside, a car, a runner wheel just like live hamsters and more.

The toy is graded for age four years and up. But you must still remember that the code reader of the Hamster Pets must be handled with care. It is the code reader that makes the Zhu zhu Hamster Pets respond. They work really well on solid and hard surfaces. They are not familiar with carpet so they may not function as well they would on something that is really flat.

Dee Power is the author of several nonfiction books and the novel, Over Time. Her hobbies include easy gardening care, cooking healthy dinner recipes, and writing.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dee_Power