When it comes to toys, Barbie and video games haven’t lost any appeal with American children, but they do have some strong competition from a few notable newcomers. According to NRF’s 2010 Top Toys survey, conducted by BIGresearch, popular holiday toys this year will include Dora the Explorer, which jumped three spots to number three on girls’ lists, and Disney’s Toy Story characters, which made the top 10 boys’ list for the first time in the survey’s history at number four. Barbie once again tops little girls’ wish list (24.3%) and video games (11.2%) top boys’ lists, which is identical to 2009.

“It’s never easy to anticipate the top toys every holiday season, so retailers make sure to stock their shelves with both traditional and trendy gift ideas,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “With many retailers already discounting popular toys, parents should make sure to start their shopping sooner rather than later as ‘hot’ merchandise is hard to keep around.”

For boys and girls, traditional toys like LEGOs, cars and trucks, and dolls remain top choices, but pop culture seems to have influenced some children’s wishes as well. For example, Iron Man landed the number nine spot on boys’ lists and Disney’s Hannah Montana came in at number nine on girls’ lists. Additionally, Zhu Zhu Pets jumped a few spots to number six this year, after they became immensely popular during the 2009 holiday season.

“While it’s always interesting to see how pop culture drives hot girls and boys toys each year, it’s just as exciting to witness the staying power of the more traditional toys, like Barbie and LEGO” said Pam Goodfellow, Senior Analyst, BIGresearch. “Gift givers who aren’t quite sure what to get the children on their shopping lists should consider these types of toys ‘best bets.’”

According to NRF’s holiday survey, released this week, 41.9 percent of consumers plan to buy toys this holiday season.