We at Toy Shop are working on a massive holiday gift guide column that will run on our Web site. And while it will encompass a massive amount of toys, we’re also going to include a lot of typical gift items and some not-so-typical stuff, such as goggles that help you find your golf balls in the rough.

But while Eric Resnick has been working his tail off in gathering product and writing descriptions, he has also been lamenting the fact that many toys these days involve batteries, need to be plugged in or are made specifically for MP3 and iPod players. He wants to know, “What happen to real toys?”

While I might add that batteries have been a big part of toys since the 1950s, I see his point. I was amazed at the number of technological toys at Toy Fair last winter.

So ask you collectors this – when you are shopping for others (namely kids), what type of toys do you buy? Are they the types of toys you grew up with, or do you bow down to the wishes of the technological whizzes known as today’s kids?

On a side not, be sure to check out Karen O’Brien’s blog to see updates from the National Farm Toy Show being held this weekend. She be blogging live from the event.