For the Virnau's, toy shopping is a family affair. Freda Virnau brought her daughter Leighann along to shop for her granddaughters, because, she said, "It always helps to have mom along to tell you what they want."

And this year, what's old is new.

"Its kind of retro. We're going back to the Carebears, the Strawberry Shortcakes, a lot of the things I grew up with," said Toys R Us Store Director Brent Swanzy.

For little boys, electronics are still cool. But shoppers and also looking for classic toys like Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

And you'll have to take a trip down memory lane for the hot toys for little girls this year, too. Leighann Virnau says her daughters are fascinated by a toy she herself played with as a child.

"I played with Strawberry Shortcake when I was little, and they LOVE it. And they think she's cute, she smells good, and those are the things that I remember as well, " Virnau said.

But the popularity today of the toys of yesterday still boggles the store director, who said, "I can't explain it at all. Its really kind of funny, but a lot of fun."

Because high tech toys sometimes require too much skill, anyway.