It's already a week after Halloween - time to start your Christmas-shopping engines.
But are you thinking of buying Amazing Ally, Lincoln Logs or Rock and Roll Elmo for your child this Christmas?
Think again. They're just soooo last season.
Set your sights instead on scooters, Tinkertoys, robotic dogs, Let's Pretend Elmo and, of course, PlayStation 2. These are just a few of the must-haves listed recently by the nation's biggest retailers at the PlayDate 2000 trade show.
But the real toy story of the year may be Harry Potter. Expected to be wildly popular this year is the Harry Potter Trivia Game, a kind of 700-question Trivial Pursuit that will hit toy stores in time for the holiday. J.K. Rowling's phenomenally successful books also will spawn trading cards and collectible figures.
But the most talked about item, of course, is Sony's PlayStation 2. The new game consoles hit stores at the end of last month, and demand, it's estimated, could outstrip supply by 4-to-1.
"This is one item that parents may find difficult to get," said Greg Ahearn, vice president of marketing for toysrus.com.
It brings to mind Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie "Jingle All the Way," in which he and throngs of shoppers tussle over a toy called Turboman.
The sales of many other products are also expected to be brisk. With retail sales topping $23.5 billion in 1999 - the best year in a decade - retailers say they are confident of another banner season.
And what of Pokemon, the major toy obsession of the past few years? The Japanese import is still alive and kicking but is being overshadowed by the hoopla surrounding all the new video games and techie toys in general.
"It's tough to keep something at the hysteria level," conceded Greg Ahearn, vice president of marketing for toysrus.com.
