A Holiday Gift Guide Full of Classics, With a Modern Twist

Though the recovery is still locked in neutral, the lingering economic gloom doesn't seem to be dissuading holiday shoppers from spending this year.

"We all deserve a break from the humbug of the past few months," said shopper Lisa Genardi outside the Douglaston Plaza Toys-R-Us on Tuesday. "We should go out and buy, buy, buy."

Genardi's free-spending attitude seemed to be catching this holiday season, with many of the year's most popular toys flying off store shelves — including a fast-selling Dance Star Mickey, according to Toys-R-Us employees.

And this electronic mambo-making Mickey isn't the only item that might be hard to find in time for Christmas.

Just ask Todd Phillips of Great Neck, who walked out of Toys-R-Us empty-handed after a fruitless search for a Scrabble Flash, a modern update to the classic board game allowing wordsmiths to slide, swap and shuffle tiles to create as many three, four or five-letter words as possible in 60 seconds.

"This is the second store I've been to tonight," Phillips said. "I'm going to go home now and check online to see if it's on Amazon or eBay."

Another gift item featuring a modern twist to a classic pastime is the ever-expanding list of eReaders including Amazon's Kindle, available at  in Little Neck at prices starting at $139.

If high-tech items are not your thing, there's always the decidedly low-tech holiday standard bearer going back decades, the Lego.

"I'm going to get my son the Harry Potter Lego set — then I'm done for the year," said Springfield Gardens resident Carol Winders. "He absolutely loves the movies, and Legos, so it's a safe bet."

However, for shoppers looking for a gift that's a little less commercial and more from the heart, homemade holiday crafts are a good bet.

"Every year I make a different ornament to give to my mom for Christmas," said Lexi Keller, outside specialty retailer Michaels in Manhasset.

Once in the store, Keller chose from a selection of blank ceramic bulbs and Christmas tree stars.

"They're nice because you can paint them, apply gold leaf or maybe a nativity scene and then finish them off with a glossy glittery glaze," Keller said.

And if the hottest toy, latest high-tech gadget and homemade craft item fails to please, one can never go wrong with some holiday chocolate.

Whatever shoppers choose this season, one piece of advice: move fast, because like Christmas, many of the items described here will be gone before you know it.