As the holiday season approaches and you begin to consider the best Christmas gifts for 2009, you want to be sure that what you give will be a happy experience for those who receive them. This means looking beyond simple Christmas cards, gift certificates, and a rushed trip to the mall. Nothing beats the look of excitement and joy when others open your gift and offer their warm thanks, reminding you that it’s the thought behind the gift that really counts!

Expect to see those smiles again this year with this list of the best-selling gifts of 2009, compiled from research conducted with major online retailers.

1. Wild Planet Hyper Dash from Wild Planet

This product won the Top Toy of the Year 2009 issued by Creative Child Magazine. Not only is it a fun game, it’s exceptional at developing math and athletic skills. It also challenges skill, speed, coordination, teamwork, and memory. 7-12 years.

2. Fundex Games Hot Potato

Also among the best gifts of 2009 is an electronic hot potato and fries and requires family members to frantically throw the hot potato and not be surprised when the music stops. Good for 2-6 players.

3. American Girl 300 Wishes – Mattel Board Game

Included are 300 wish cards, five journals and five wish keys. “Wish Cards” aimed at players describe fun experiences, careers, and personal achievements that they dream of having. The goal is to match the wishes of the players with the cards they receive. 8+ years

4. Scooby-Doo! A haunted house set from Pressman Toys

Similar to the Cartoon Network TV series, this 3D plastic game is packed with action as players move through the haunted house and try to reach the top level while avoiding booby traps and ghosts. Fits 2-5 players.

5. Educational Insights Math Wizard

Provides hundreds of fun math facts and challenges kids to add, divide, subtract, and multiply. It can also work as a calculator. There are eight skill levels and an easy-to-read display, as well as sound and light effects that greet the answers given. 6+ years.

6. Hasbro Games Electronic Hyperslide

Three different games that allow fun and competition both individually and as a team on the table, with sounds, voice commands and electronic lights. “Guess” a sequence of colors before the buzzer signals that your time is up.

7. Bananagrams by Bananagrams

A word game with 144 letter tiles that are placed face down while players select their tiles. Ideal for family fun on the go as it is lightweight, portable and easy to set up. No pencil or paper required.

8. Blokus Classic by Educational Insights

A strategy board game that is the most awarded game of the century, so far (more than 20 awards). Suitable for up to four players, it employs a 400-piece game board and 84 colored game pieces. Players try to place all of their pieces on the board, touching at least one corner of their previous pieces and not adjacent to another player’s pieces. The winner is the first to get rid of his pieces.

9. LeapFrog Matchmaking!

A fun game to improve memory and reasoning skills. Pressing a button provides a clue that must be matched with options including rhyming words, animal sounds, and opposites. Three levels of play allow children to progress at their own pace. Suits solo play or with a friend.

10. Math Mat Challenge Game

The final selection of the best Christmas gifts 2009 is a clever and exciting math game that includes an interactive talking mat. There are four different games and two skill levels that help develop skills in numbers, addition, counting, and subtraction. The children step on the tatami when they have the answer. The game gets faster as the scores increase.