Kids Tell Santa They Want Game Boy Advance and Barbie For Christmas

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 1, 2003--Game Boy Advance and Barbie of Swan Lake will be filling Santa's sack this holiday season as they are among the most requested toys children asked for when they visited the Jolly Old Elf at shopping centers across the country over Thanksgiving weekend, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Jones Lang LaSalle's "Santa Survey." More than 3,000 children participated in the survey, which was conducted over the Thanksgiving weekend (Friday through Sunday) at 20 Jones Lang LaSalle centers. The survey asked children ages three through 11, as they waited on line to visit Santa, what they wanted most this year.

The top five toys boys asked Santa for were:

• 1. Game Boy Advance (Nintendo)

• 2. Hot Wheels T-Wrecks (Mattel)

• 3. GI Joe Products (Hasbro)

• 4. Transformers (Hasbro)

• 5. Lego's Orient Expedition - Dragon Fortress (Lego)>

While the girls told Santa they wanted:

• 1. Barbie of Swan Lake (Mattel)

• 2. Barbie Mix & Magic: Real Food Kitchen (Mattel)

• 3. The Bratz (MGA Entertainment)

• 4. Care Bear Sing-A-Long Friends (Play Along)

• 5. Easy Bake Real Meal Oven (Hasbro)

As for Santa, he and his reindeer will be rewarded for their generosity on Christmas Eve as 76.9 percent of the children said they would leave cookies and milk out for Santa and 10.3 percent said they will leave out carrots for his reindeer. When asked who their favorite reindeer was, Rudolph led the pack (70.7%) with Comet coming in second (4.7%).

Though most children believe that Santa's mode of transportation is via reindeer, how Santa gets their presents in their homes is under debate, with 53.3 percent of children saying it is through their chimney. Children also believe that Santa uses the door (18.0%), followed by magic (11.1%), a "Santa Key" (7.0%), and the window (3.3%) to get into their homes, while 4.9 percent were unsure how exactly Santa gets into their homes.

Wondering what the best part of Christmas is for children? It is about getting presents, of course, (61.8%), followed by being with family (20.6%), no school (12.1%), and eating yummy food (5.5%).

The survey was conducted by Jones Lang LaSalle, on behalf of ICSC, at 20 of their centers over the Thanksgiving weekend, November 28 - 30, 2003. The survey, containing seven questions, featured questions relating to what they left out for Santa, how Santa got into their homes, what their favorite part of Christmas is, and who is their favorite reindeer. In conducting this survey, Jones Lang LaSalle utilized a state-of-the-art handheld surveying tool available at most of its centers under management. This research device not only enables the management teams to conduct surveys such as the "Santa Survey," on a real time basis, but also to gather and analyze invaluable leasing data for clients and property owners. Other uses include measuring the success of promotions, forecasting sales, and predicting shopping habits and retail trends, among others.