Buying daze

Who better to shed some twinkling Christmas light on this year's holiday retail situation than the moms who are doing the shopping? In a recent survey, Funosophy asked more than 600 moms of boys and girls ages 3 to 12 to share their holiday shopping lists, spending limits, and more.

What are moms buying?

Good news for the industry—toys top mom's holiday list, whether she's got sons or daughters.

We asked: “Which one of these will you be giving to your child the most this holiday season?”

Moms of older kids will be shopping for more electronics than moms of younger kids, and this is especially true of moms of boys. In fact, 60 percent of moms with boys ages 9-12 will be giving their sons mostly electronic gifts. Older girls will receive more electronics, too, with about 35 percent of moms with girls ages 9-12 shopping for mostly electronic gifts for their daughters this holiday season.

“Which one of these will you be giving to your child the most this holiday season?”

Types of toys

Moms of both boys and girls will be shopping for board games, trading cards, and hand-held electronic games this year. Toy vehicles, building toys and sports equipment will also be found in the baskets of moms of boys, while moms of girls will have carts full of dolls and arts & crafts kits.

“Do you plan on buying your child any of these as gifts this holiday season?”

How do moms know what to buy?

Kids are telling their parents which gifts they want to receive this holiday season and parents are listening. More than half of moms also report that their kids are pointing out things at the store, showing her TV commercials, writing wish lists and circling items in catalogs. More than 80 percent of moms report buying their kids the gifts they've asked for most frequently versus the gift they've asked for most recently.