Based upon the current level of sales, it looks as if Zhu Zhu Pets are a hot tip for this year's top selling Christmas toy. Zhu Zhu pets are a collection of five motorized hamsters which interact with each other, their environment and the children playing with them.
The five different Zhu Zhu hamsters - Mr. Squiggles, Chunk, Pipsqueak, Num Nums and Patches - all have their own separate personalities and individual character traits. They operate in two modes "nurturing" and "exploring". The first four are all available individually, but Patches can only be bought as part of the "Hamster Starter Set".
In nurturing mode the hamsters respond to petting by emitting cute little noises. Each hamster has its own signature sound. There are a total of over forty different sounds spread across the five hamsters.
When they are in exploring mode the hamsters like to run around - either inside their special "hamster habitats" or on any hard floor. The habitats can be disassembled and rearranged in a variety of different combinations. These include tracks, toys, tubes and even a little hamster car.
There are a wide variety of different accessories available. There's a hamster funhouse, hamster wheel and tunnel (of course), hamster garage, adventure ball, surfboard, skateboard, sleep dome, hamster carrier and blanket etc. It's a long list of toys.
Children seem to love these little furballs. They are cute, they interact and the process of designing and building the hamster habitats in various different forms will stimulate their imagination and make sure that they don't become bored.
The marketing slogan for Zhu Zhu hamsters is "pets without the mess". That's a big bonus for many parents. There is no need to keep their water bowl topped up or to feed them - and you don't need to clean out their cage either. All that you need to do is change a couple of AAA batteries every now and again.
Because they are motorized and contain small parts, the Zhu Zhu Pets are not ideal for very small children. The target age group is from four to ten years of age.
These toys are going to be the next big thing (for a while at least). The manufacturer has released them at an ideal time, just enough time to build up a following before Christmas but not enough time for them to become yesterday's news before the Yuletide gift season. If you know a child who would like one of these for Christmas then you would probably be well advised to get your order in well in advance.
Find out more about Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters. Check out the full range of hamsters and toys.
Posted under Toys
