The Dream Dozen toys for boys for Christmas 2009 have just been released by the Toy Retailers Association. If you want to avoid a gift disaster this holiday season, you are well advised to stick with one of these highly recommended products. They all cost less than £50 and here is a quick mini guide to tell you a little bit about my favourite six.

• Nerf Raider Rapid Fire CS-35: Nerf is always popular with boys and this air powered blaster that can rapidly fire all of its 35 darts over 80 feet down your garden, is not going to let you down. It has a pump action that is easy to fire and never seems to jam.
• Star Wars Clone Wars Ultimate Blaster: Star Wars toys never seem to become less popular and this three in one blaster gun is another great addition to the range. It is a build-your-own kit style set where you have lots of bits and pieces to fit together to make either a pistol, short rifle or long rifle.
• Battle Strikers Starter Set: Battle Strikers are a new version of spinning tops. They are a long way removed from the original wooden spinning tops in that they use innovative magnetic technology to rev the Strikers up to high speeds and to control them whilst in battle. There are many different Strikers to collect and they are all customisable so players can make their own super Striker.
• Transformers Deluxe: The Deluxe class of action figures accompanying the Transformers 2 movie are the best of the offerings. They the middle of the range in terms of size and price and are well made and realistic to the movie characters. They have great articulation in robot mode and offer a challenging 15+ movements to transform from and to vehicle mode.
• Bakugan Battle Pack: Bakugan are the small marbles that pop open when rolled onto magnetic cards to display the warrior action figures hidden inside. However, they are more than just figures as they form part of a game of skill and strategy. The Battle Pack includes 6 Bakugan and metallic cards to get your child started in this very popular game accompanying the anime series.
• Transformers Voyager: The Voyager action figures from the new Transformers 2 movie offer a large scale replica of your child's favourite characters. The robots are well articulated although the transformation process is quite tricky. There is a small bonus feature of an 'attack mode' in addition to the robot and vehicle forms.