WAITING ON line at 3 a.m.
Calling all over town to find the very last one.
Poring over Internet sites to find a black market version for five times the price.
If you can relate to any of the above, you are in the midst of the annual holiday toy-finding frenzy.
In the weeks preceding Christmas, Kwaanza and Hanukkah, parents get crazed, spending small fortunes to get their hands on the year's hottest toys for their little darlings.
And every year, what's hot changes -- just to keep parents on their toes.
Last year, retro toys from the ''70s and '80s were back, including the beloved Cabbage Patch Kids, Shrinky Dinks and View-Masters. This year's toy trends are mostly linked to new release movies and television shows, from Pixar 's "Cars" to dolls and stagesfrom "American Idol.
" One super-hot television toy, the new $40 Elmo TMX, celebrating the fuzzy red Muppet's 10th anniversary, has been almost impossible to find in local stores and is now fetching $179 and up on the Internet.
Toy stores say almost any Dora the Explorer-related toy is flying off shelves this year, even though she's been around for years on Nickelodeon. What's that about?
The recent addition of a new show starring Dora's rain forest-exploring cousin Diego has turned her into a favorite of boys as well as girls.Though mainstays like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! are still popular with boys, toys like "Cars" racetracks and Roboraptors, lifelike moving dinosaurs ranging from $12.
99 to $199, are really hot this year.
Another winner again this season is Barbie and her movie franchise, which released its sixth animated feature, "Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses," in September. They provided plenty of time for girls to become familiar with the 12 princesses and view the toy advertising a billion times.
To help parents make those all-important choices, we took some of the hottest toys of the season to the Russell Byers Charter School, 19th and Arch streets, to be road-tested by experts - students ages 4 to 11.
Based on their endorsements, we've rated the toys on a scale of one to five, with one being "lame" and five "terrific."
Fun factor: 2.
What it does: This is a basic Barbie in a new movie costume. But press a button on her leg and her dress lights up and spins around her waist. Unfortunately for us, the model we picked up at Toys 'R Us was a dud and didn't work.
The girls were still enthralled.
What kids said: "I love it because I love sparkles," said pint-sized Josey Rossman, 4, who wouldn't put Genevieve down. "I love her dress.
"
Fun factor: 4.
What it does: The walking, futuristic dinosaur can change moods and chomp his jaws. Larger models (ranging in price up to $199) can respond to commands.
What the kids said: "I love this because I am so much into dinosaurs," said second-grader Demetrius Beard. "I would love a huge one."
What it does: Toy stores say Bratz are huge right now with young girls, and this toy was no exception.
The sassily dressed doll stands by herself, microphone in hand, and dances to music while kids use their own microphone to sing the songs from the "Bratz Big Babyz" DVD.
What the kids said: The girls took turns prying the microphone out of one another's hands. "I think it's so cool," said fourth-grader Darya Nemati.
"Her clothes are cooler than Barbie's, and you can do her hair in lots of different styles."
What it does: This may be the season's ultimate stocking stuffer. The art kit comes with six markers and a book that looks as if it simply has black glossy pages, until kids use the markers to "erase" the black and reveal rainbows and pictures underneath.
Other similar kits we did not test in the series include the Crayola Color Explosion Sun Catchers and Crayola Color Explosion Magic Sparkle Wand.
What kids said: Kids loved the books so much, they took them back to class. "It's really cool," said third-grader Emily Phou.
"If you color with the marker on anything else, it's like water. But when you put it on the paper it works."
Fun factor: 5.
What it does: This ingenious little interactive computer features a tiny 2-D animated character that kids can guide through shopping trips, lunch and even bedtime on 3-D backgrounds, just by pushing command buttons that tell her what to do.
What kids said: Girls at the charter school are so into this one, they bring them to school in their bookbags. "It's fun, it's girlie stuff, shopping, getting dressed," said sixth-grader Neena Meeker.
Fun factor: 1.
What it does: The Power Ranger ship is built to transform its shape, and comes with two action figures.
What kids said: Three boys couldn't figure out how to get the action figures into the vehicle, or how to transform its shape.
Nathaneal Wilson was one of them: "I think it [transforms into] two different lion faces, but I don't know."
Fun factor: 5.
What it does: It's the return of the traditional Barbie hair-styling head, complete with ribbons, barrettes and lip gloss, but in a "Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses" box.
A Toys 'R Us employee said this was just one of the Barbie toys selling like hotcakes.
What kids said: Girls ages 5 to 7 were really into this one, and spent nearly an hour braiding the hair and clipping on accessories. "I think it's pretty and whoever gets this toy is going to like it," vowed second-grader Mahkaya Lane-Lewis.
And why do girls love Barbie so much?
"Girls like the movies because when they grow up, they want to be dancers or singers..
. or movie producers," Mahkaya said.
On that note, parents, happy shopping, you might try convincing yourself this holiday toy season that your empty wallet could actually be an investment in your child's future.
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