I spent this Thanksgiving in Cody, Wyoming, on my in-laws ranch. In addition to providing the opportunity for a great change of pace, spending Thanksgiving in Cody also provides another unforeseen benefit: access to a Walmart that rarely runs out of stock.

Yes, you heard it here first: last year, we were able to find not just the Fisher Price digital camera, but also TMX Elmo, in ample quantities on the shelves on December 15th. It may seem impossible to believe, but I assure you, it’s true. So it’s something to keep in mind if you really need to have “the” toy of the season — the Walmart in Cody probably has you covered. All you need to do is drop a grand on a plane ticket, survive the landing of a little prop plane in 40 mph winds, and brave the sub-zero temperatures of the mountains of Wyoming in the winter.

Or you can check out eBay, of course. Personally, I don’t have the energy to be an eBay seller, but thankfully for lazy old me there are many who do. I would imagine Cody is not a rarity in small-town Walmarts with disproportionate supplies in hot toys, and probably supply many-an-eBayer with a nice chunk of change just in time for Christmas. The trouble is you have to know what the hot toys are.

And I didn’t while in Cody. And I still don’t. Which brings me to the topic of this post: what are they going to be?

According to Toy Wishes Magazine’s early November predictions, the 12 hot holiday toys for 2007, in alphabetical order, were supposed to be:

1. American Idol Talent Challenge. At about $50 a pop for ages 8 and up, this little machine lets you croon like an Idol star — complete with critique from Randy, Paula and Simon. For me? No. Thank. You.

2. Aqua Dots Super Studio. Way to go, Spin Master. You would’ve hit the ball out of the park on this one if you could’ve managed to avoid putting the date rape drug in your product. Doh!

3. Barbie Girls. This is a “two-part concept” (sounds complicated) involving an MP3 player, an online community (yay!), fashion accessories packs and decoration packs. I can’t exactly figure out how this all fits together, but that might be because I’m not 6. The MP3 player is about $60; the accessories packs $10.

4. EyeClops. This is a high-powered electronic magnifying glass that plugs into the TV that shows what things look like up to 200x magnification. Seems pretty cool… this may actually be a cool gift for the husband-types. $49.99 for ages 6 and up.

5. Guitar Hero III. Satisfy your inner Gene Simmons by plugging this thing into your PlayStation, Xbox or Wii and rocking out. What’s interesting is that the songs it comes with include Heart and Kiss. Aren’t these musicians a little old for “kids”? Makes me wonder if this isn’t really a device for the stoner set. Anyway, for $100, it’s yours, duuuuude.

6. Hannah Montana Singing Doll and Pop Star Stage. With the oldest of my girls being almost 2 1/2, I haven’t yet personally become familiar with this wildly popular Disney Channel star. (Can one of you in comment land enlighten me to her appeal?) For $80 total for a doll and a stage, you get a mini concert that hooks up to any music player. Interesting.

7. Nerf N-Strike Disc Shot. Forget the kiddos — this thing is perfect for anyone who works in a cube farm. This thing has a disc launcher which is wirelessly operated that launches discs into the air to be shot with a dart blaster. The hours and hours of wasted productivity this could bring are almost enough to make me want to return to corporate America. Allegedly retailing for $49.99, these things are selling for $90 on Amazon. Looks like we have the real deal here, folks.

8. Rubiks Revolution. Everything must go electronic, and the Rubiks cube is no-exception. $20 for ages 5 and up.

9. Fisher-Price Smart Cycle. This one is personally interesting to me, given the aforementioned toddler. It’s a stationary bike that connects to the TV, and coordinates with a child-friendly video game. I will admit that I’m tempted… helps me feel better about combating the couch-potato factor. (Of course, we could go outside and actually let her ride her tricycle, but that would require her to put on clothes. - sigh - ) At $100, I don’t want to buy one blindly, so if any of you have reviews of this product, I’d love to hear them!

10. Spotz. This looks pretty cool. Definitely for the tween girl set, it allows you to translate a picture into a cool collectible button. I can see the trades happening now. Of course, it may be a little contrived for the truly cool preteens — I guess we’ll see. $30 for ages 6 and up.

11. Swypeout Online Battle Racing. Wow, I must be getting old. This is a scanner that plugs into the computer that allows kids to “swipe” collectible trading cards which allows them to have online races. I don’t get it. $20 for ages 8 to somewhere less than 35, or perhaps it’s just me.

12. Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee. This one is good as gold. Supposedly retailing for $90, it’s going for $140 on Amazon. A small price to pay for a half Camaro, half robot.

Do you know of others that should make the “sold out” list? Let’s hear your predictions… and if you’re right, perhaps I can help you secure one with my Cody connection!

Posted by mctex.