toys

Holiday sales may be up this year, but some retailers have still managed to find the cloud in the silver lining: unlike years past when hot commodities like Tickle Me Elmo or Zhu Zhu Pets pushed parents into buying frenzies, no single toy has broken away from the pack as a runaway hit.

According to a Harris Interactive survey of adults planning to buy children’s presents this holiday season, the most popular kid’s gift items — more popular than video games, board games and dolls — are books.

Somewhere in the world, there must be an island inhabited by life-size LEGO people living in a massive LEGO world. How else would you explain one of these guys washing up on our shores?