The season is upon us. We know this by the appearance of the "Big Book" from Toys R us in our paper last Sunday morning. The scurry to find the right gifts for the right price has begun. As the children get older, the toys become more intense. What we all need is a checklist by age that we can wade through and figure out what works for our children's personality. Now that my son is 8, I thought that Star Wars was a thing of the past. Boy was I wrong. He found two items that looked interesting.

First, the Dual Action Lightsaber caught his eye. This item comes with two attachments for double dueling action and both will attach together. Also, the Wii game for Stars Wars Clone Wars is on his list. We do watch the Clone Wars every week and after doing some research, the game is supposed to follow along with the show pretty well.

Now this is year it is not "all" about Star Wars. Other items caught my 8 year old's eye and here is his final list:

The Nerf Dart Tag Hyperfire Blaster Set. This set includes vision gear, blasters, scoring vests and the darts. Sadly as boys, all they want is to shoot things at people and run around. My husband is excited about this one as well.

The Razor Ground Force Go Kart. It's motorized with speeds up to 12 miles per hour and sits low to the ground as any go kart should. Enough said.

Lego Rockband for Wii or PS3. This is Rockband with a twist. Children get to personalize all members of the band, the groupies and more with Lego people and then rock out with these creations.

DSi gaming system. This is a regular DS with more bells and whistles. Games can be downloaded, pictures can be taken and it costs more than a regular DS (of course this is the one he wants).

The Spin Master Havoc Turbo Blast. A remote controlled helicopter with a night flying light and forward propulsion.

We are all over the place this year. We have gaming, outside play and a few electronics. With boys this age they are trying to figure out what interests them but also leaving behind the toys that might seem babyish. So here is the eclectic lists that is sure to please any 8 year old boy.

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