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If current sales returns are anything to go by then Zhu Zhu pets could well be the hot selling toy in the run up to Christmas 2009. These are a gang of five motorized hamsters which interact both with each other and the kids.

The five different Zhu Zhu hamsters – Mr. Squiggles, Pipsqueak, Chunk, Num Nums and Patches – all have their own individual personalities and little 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 more than forty different noises shared across the five hamsters.

In exploring mode the hamsters will run around – either free ranging on the floor or within their specially designed hamster habitats. The habitats can be built and rebuilt by the children in a variety of different combinations and include tubes, tracks, toys and even a car.

There are a wide variety of different accessories available. Take your pick from a hamster skateboard, hamster wheel and tunnel (of course), hamster garage, adventure ball, surfboard, sleep dome, hamster carrier and blanket etc. It’s a good selection of toys.

Children seem to love these little furballs. They are small and cute, they interact and the act of designing and building the hamster environments in various different forms will stimulate their imagination and ensure that they don’t get bored.

One of the marketing slogans for Zhu Zhu hamsters is “pets without the mess” – and that’s a definite bonus for many parents. There’s no need to feed them, no need to keep filling up their water bowl and no need to clean out the hamster cage. Replacing a couple of AAA batteries every now and again is all the maintenance you’ll need to perform.

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 can think of a child who might enjoy receiving one of these at Christmas then you would be best to get your order in well in advance.

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