Zhu Zhu Pets Mania!

I don't have any freakin' kids, and I wouldn't know a Tickle Me Elmo from a Bratz doll. I don't have to wait in line four hours at a "Toys R Us" to buy the must-have toy of the season for a little brat who will get bored with playing with it after four minutes.

I understand that the most popular toy this Christmas season is the Zhu Zhu hamster. Clueless moms are spending a small fortune on eBay buyiing Zhu Zhu pets for their children.

"The quintet of electronic hamsters has been the runaway hit of the recession-hobbled holiday season so far. The furry little, wheeled critters scoot around a Habitrail-like track, spin in a hamster wheel, and drive little hamster sports cars. The battery-powered pets coo and squeak and have a little artificial intelligence-knowing to make teeth-brushing sounds when they enter their little bathrooms, for example. "They're so real-without the mess," chirps a television commercial."

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/nov2009/db20091120_238724.htm

I have no desire to play with a Bratz doll that looks like a hooker, or tickle a furry puppet who has a little bit of sugar in his tank. But I wouldn't mind playing with a robot hamster, they are cute and they don't make much noise.

Zhu Zhu pets have a little artificial intelligence, they must have a higher IQ than the women who fight over the last remaining toy robot on the store shelf.

Of course the Zhu Zhu hamsters have dozens of accessories, like a little hamster sports car. I can't afford to buy a new vehicle for myself, I sure as hell ain't gonna buy an auto for a toy hamster.

If I had a kid I would trade it in for a Zhu Zhu pet, they are cute and adorable, and they don't leave a mess.

I wish my readers a happy holiday season, may there be plenty of Zhu Zhu pets under your Christmas tree.

Follow Robert Paul Reyes on Twitter: http://twitter.com/robertpaulreyes