Consumer market research firm BIGresearch quizzes 7,982 American consumers to find out what the kids are hankering for this coming Holiday season. Dividing the results conveniently by gender, their annual study, commissioned by the National Retail Federation, learns that dolls remain hot items for girls; Barbie naturally was the number one choice, followed by Bratz.  Young boys meanwhile can't enough of the Transformers, but video games are becoming increasingly attractive. Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360 in particular proved to be the most desired consoles with the younger male audience, with the PlayStation 3 being left out in the cold by the tykes (either that or all the young adults are buying them already).

To be fair, the younger ladies also want to get their mitts on the Wii.  Nintendo must be doing its homework when it comes to getting the word out for their latest console, but it appears Microsoft is on the right track as well.  Perhaps their recently launched Xbox 360 Arcade edition hardware/software bundle will live up to its intended goal of tapping into a "family" audience.  Nevertheless the survey results highlight how relatively far gaming continues to be from the minds of younger girls compared to boys; fewer girls get into gaming at young age, and this doesn't look to change soon.

Holiday wish list Top 10 for boys

1. Transformers
2. Video Games
3. Nintendo Wii
4. Cars (generic)
5. Spider-Man
6. LEGO
7. Thomas the Tank Engine
8. Microsoft Xbox 360
9. Elmo
10. Remote Controlled Vehicles

Holiday wish list Top 10 for girls

1. Barbie
2. Bratz
3. Dolls (generic)
4. Dora the Explorer
5. Disney Princess
6. Disney Hannah Montana
7. Nintendo Wii
8. Webkinz
9. Elmo
10. American Girl