Forget sugarplums. Your kids have Zhu Zhu Hamsters dancing in their heads.

There are a few prerequisites for successfully marketing a toy during the holidays. First, it should be cute in a non-gender-specific way. Second, it should probably wiggle and move and make some sort of noise, like Tickle-Me-Elmo. Ideally, there should be lots of extras to buy to keep parents coming back. And there should be some sort of hooky, senseless jingle.

You can check off all of those for Zhu Zhu Hamsters. The L.A. Times wrote about these motorized hamsters, saying they are "poised to take over the holiday market," and citing Associated Press reports that the toys are selling faster than they can be restocked at Toys R Us and Wal-Mart.

The Hamsters are a cross between Hot Wheels and Furbys. On the power of just two AAA batteries, these pocket-sized pets run and squeal in a random fashion, trying to mimic a real pet. They also drive cars, ride surf- and skateboards, run on a wheel, and explore the "Hamster Funhouse," all of which you can buy separately for your kid, age four and up. And they perform in two modes -- "Loving Mode," where they chatter as you pet them, or "Explore Mode," which is when the special hamster vehicles and accessories are useful.
There are four different Zhu Zhu Hamsters -- Chunk, Pipsqueak, Squiggles, and Numnums. Each has its own color fur with different marking on the back (like a swirl or a star), and each has its own personality, according to the company Website. Chunk, for example, is a "laid-back surf hamster" and "famous for chillin' out."

Squiggles, by contrast, is "fussy and finicky" and has "been there, done that, and lived to tell about it." Which is rather mysterious for a hamster (perhaps he was a spy or an undercover cop) but there's no denying that, if you are looking for a rodent with an overwhelming sense of ennui, Squiggles is pretty much the entire market.

Then there's the jingle from the commercial, as bombastic a set of marching orders as you'll hear on Saturday morning cartoons. And it ends with this line, "You will love your Zhu Zhu Pets/Cuz they're so fun without the mess." Which can't possibly be directed at kids, most of whom would probably prefer the mess.

Has your kid already gone through a goldfish or perhaps a series of live, breathing mammals? Did it end with a ceremony over the toilet bowl or a small plot of tiny headstones in the backyard? Then Zhu Zhu Hamsters may be just the thing. The L.A. Times article pointed out that Zhu Zhu Hamsters may save real hamsters from "grabby" kids who just don't know any better.

The Times piece says the Hamsters retail between eight and ten dollars apiece, but when I checked Amazon.com, Mr. Squiggles was going for $27.29, not including shipping. Also on Amazon.com, accessories go from around ten bucks for a simple carrier to just under $80 for the Funhouse Set (which includes a Hamster). When I looked at ToysRUs.com, the prices were much lower, listing the Hamsters at $9.99 before shipping, but they were out of stock of everything.

If Zhu Zhu Hamsters fulfill their destiny and become the most sought-after holiday toy, you can expect to see those prices hiked considerably on third party sites like Ebay as nervous and exhausted parents bid up the one thing on their kid's list they can't live without. One commenter on the Times site already mentioned a Zhu-Zhu specific third-party site.

So you might want to get a jump on your shopping if your kid is already talking about Zhu Zhu Hamsters. Or start talking up the Elmo Live Encore. Or, if your kid isn't terribly observant, stick some fur on a Hot Wheels and try to throw your voice when it's in "Loving Mode." And hope your kid is in "Loving Mode," too.