Washington, November 15, 2007 – For more than five years in a row, Barbie, America’s favorite fashion icon, will top the holiday wish list for girls, but there is a bit of a shake-up on the lists for boys. This year, boys are trading in last year’s favorite, TMX Elmo, for Transformers, which top the list. Other hot items for girls this year include dolls, with Bratz and Dora the Explorer following Barbie’s lead. Boys still prefer video game systems, with this year’s favorite system being the hard-to-find Nintendo Wii. Cars, Spider-Man and LEGOs also top boys’ wish lists.

Of the consumers surveyed for the National Retail Federation by BIGresearch, 43 percent of shoppers plan to buy toys this year.

“It’s always a race for parents to find the year’s sought after toys,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “The best advice for parents is to shop smart and shop early to make sure the items on your kids’ list don’t sell out before you make it to the store.”

Top Toys for Girls, 2007

Name                    Rank
Barbie                  1

Bratz                   2

Dolls (generic)         3

Dora the Explorer       4

Disney Princess         5

Disney Hannah Montana   6

Nintendo Wii            7

Webkinz                 8

Elmo                    9

American Girl           10

Top Toys for Boys, 2007

Name                    Rank
Transformers            1

Video Games             2

Nintendo Wii            3

Cars (generic)          4

Spider-Man              5

LEGOs                   6

Thomas the Tank Engine  7

Xbox 360                8

Elmo                    9

Remote Controlled       10

 Vehicles

The NRF 2007 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the winter holidays. The survey, which polled 7,982 consumers, was conducted for NRF by BIGresearch from October 31–November 7, 2007. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.

BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm that provides unique consumer insights that are gathered online utilizing very large sample sizes. BIGresearch’s syndicated Consumer Intentions and Actions survey monitors the pulse of more than 7,000 consumers each month to empower its clients with unique insights for identifying opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace. www.bigresearch.com

The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.6 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 24 million employees - about one in five American workers - and 2006 sales of $4.7 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com .