Christmas toys: in living color

Ebony, Nov, 1998

On the night before Christmas and all through your place, there will be ribbons and boxes and tape by the case. Although the stockings will be hung by your chimney with care, you'll want some Black heritage toys to go in there.

There's quite a selection this year, so you won't go berserk. You'll find dolls and soldiers and games galore, with figures of baseball players to tell you the score. There's a G.I. Joe and a general, too, and they all come in the most delightful brown hue. Shopping this year won't be a chore with so many cultural toys that you can't ignore. The children's Christmas wish you'll fulfill; there's only one problem for parents -- when when you get the bill.

Choosing the right Christmas toy for your brown girl or boy is not just child's play. It's also big business -- nearly $23 billion to be exact. That was the sales figure from Christmas 1997 in the United States alone. And toy retailers hope that figure increases this year. The growing Black consumer market has shown it's willing to spend big bucks on toys and games for tiny tykes. And the toy industry is listening. Black-owned toy companies, which unfortunately seem to be fewer this year than last year, key toy manufacturers and major retail chain stores such as Toy `R' Us are offering a bonanza of books and toys aimed at African-American children.

Beautiful brown dolls, once rare and relegated to foreign imports, are plentiful today. Mattel's popular Happy Holidays Barbie is in its 11th anniversary edition and is offered in in African-American version. For the first time this year, the company is also offering a WNBA Barbie doll, dressed in a brightly colored WNBA logo basketball uniform. The WNBA Barbie has got game and comes prepared for practice, accompanied by a doll-sized WNBA basketball, hoop and net. The doll is also offered in an African-American version. Kenwood, Calif-based Global Friends company features two brown dolls, Briana and Camina, among its multi-cultural doll catalogue. Both dolls have soft-cover adventure books, such as Briana's book, Rescue in Kenya. The My Twinn doll company is fast becoming well known for its one-of-a-kind dolls, personalized to look like the children who receive them. The Englewood, Colo.-based company recently introduced a My Twinn Boys, My Twinn Poseables and a bean-bag doll line.

Brown baby dolls also remain popular gift items Mattel's popular Cabbage Patch Dolls feature two brown versions this year, Holiday Baby and Babblin' Fun Baby. Hasbro offers two new fun babies for little girls ages 3 and up: Dial-A-Doctor Baby that comes with a pretend cellular phone to call the doctor for the "sick baby doll and Breakfast Lovin' baby, who magically "eats" her cereal again and again before your eyes. African-American versions are available for both dolls.

Two perennial favorites for little girls are making a come-back this year. Hasbro's classic Easy-Bake Oven is celebrating its 35th anniversary of introducing children to the joys of baking. Now shaped more like a microwave than a traditional oven, the Easy-Bake Oven and Snack Center features traditional and new bake mixes. Also by Hasbro, the My Little Pony small doll was first introduced in 1982 and is being reintroduced this year with an updated look.

If boys and their toys rule the roost, your sons, nephews and even significant other mill find a plentiful supply of action toys. Omega Man, a Black superhero, fights crime and drugs, and is the first African-American action figure produced by an African-American comic book company. The Kansas City, Kan.-based Omega 7 comics also produces Original Man, Darkforce, The Mighty Ace and Original Woman superheroes to promote self-esteem and positive images.

Hasbro Inc. features the classic G.I. Joe action figure in an African-American version as well as a new figure of Colin Powell, the youth from the Bronx who grew up to lead America's armed forces. Sports figures aren't slighted either with Army vs. Navy football players in the Military Sport-Assortment. Hasbro's new Starting Lineup 12-inch figurines feature Black baseball and football stars like Ken Griffey Jr. and Deion Sanders.

After all the sports activities, your favorite little boys probably would love to head to outer space. This year, young African-Americans can fight the battle to take over the planet with the predicted hot toy for boys, the Transformers Optimal Optimus, that has four conversion modes -- beast, ground assault, cruiser and robot. There are 22 other new beasts in two new Beast Wars Transformers segments, Transmetals and Fuzors, all offered by Hasbro. The company also offers a galaxy of new ways to experience Star Wars fun with more than 100 new Star Wars toys. including action figures, collectible figurines, vehicles, and bean-bag plush toys.

After the intergalactic wars, it's time come down to Earth with a good book, game or video. And African-American parents seeking diverse toys for their good little brown girls and boys won't be disappointed.