By MICHAEL BOYLAN
Weekend Editor

Most likely you have already finished the Christmas shopping for your little ones.

The best sales at the toy store occur on the day after Thanksgiving. That is also the best day to see what the popular toys are — whereever the mob is, get into it and grab all you can. If you still haven't made your trip to the toy store, or an on-line toy store, and have no idea what you are going to get the child in your life, here are some ideas.

For infants and toddlers, the suggestion is anything stuffed. There are stuffed animals, stuffed trucks, stuffed airplanes and stuffed wrestlers. The more popular stuffed toys this Christmas are Teletubbies, with some dolls that talk and others that sing, stuffed Pokemon, with shiny, cool and soft exteriors, and dolls from the film “Toy Story 2.” The film has saturated the market with merchandise this time around, with toys that are designed to appeal to every age group.

For the elementary school crowd, look into the action figures section. There are nearly hundreds of different types of action figures for boys and girls, and it would be important to make sure the figure is from a television program, movie or book series that the child likes. Popular action figures this year are the figures from “Star Wars,” “Pokemon,” professional wrestling, “Toy Story 2” and the annual favorite, Barbie.

Barbie is actually a huge collector's item and the popular dolls this year are the Millennium Barbie, though she's a year off, Tour Guide Barbie, from that hit film juggernaut “Toy Story 2,” and the always cherished Dr. Barbie. Barbie also has an extended group of family and friends dolls to choose from. If the child you are purchasing gifts for is a Barbie fan, then any pink box that has “the name” in big letters, will score points.

As the kids get a little older, there are fewer and fewer things that will interest them in the toy store, or so they would have you believe. There are actually dozens of ideas that will just hit you in the face once you enter the store. For instance, board games will always be a classic gift idea. This year, there are several versions of Monopoly, including Star Wars and Pokemon, a new Trivial Pursuit, a new form of Operation, Risk, Battleship and Stratego.

They are even marketing Ouija again, with new packaging and advertisements.

Board games may not be as cool as they once were. Half of the games mentioned can now be played on a gaming system or computer, which is the next part of the store to visit. The first rule is to make sure what gaming system or computer requirements are necessary. Does the child you are shopping for have a Nintendo 64, a Sony Playstation or a Sega Dreamcast? If they have a computer, do they have Windows 98? Is it PC compatible? If you have no idea, and don't want to throw suspicion your way by calling and asking, purchase a gift certificate or take a lucky guess. The games can always be returned and swapped out.

Here are some suggestions about each system.

For the Sony Playstation, any of the EA Sports sports games will please the fan you are shopping for. They cover every sport from soccer to football. Last year's versions will be less expensive and easier to play. Other recommended titles are Crash Team Racing, any of the games in the Tomb Raider series, WWF Attitude, and any of the Disney games. The Disney games, based on the popular Disney movie of the year, feature the best in graphics and game play.

For the Nintendo 64, the Donkey Kong series has grown immensely popular, adding several games over the past few years. Other fun titles are old time arcade classics that have been redone for the new generation. If you had Pac Man Fever or loved playing Missile Command, then you can pass on that love to kids who only know Sonic the Hedgehog. Goldeneye also is a great title on the Nintendo, but can be violent. Just look for titles that include the old Nintendo characters and you won't be sorry.

As for the Sega Dreamcast, the system itself is more expensive than the Playstation or the N64 and there aren't as many games as there are for the other two systems. The graphics look incredible on all of the games.

NFL2K achieves arcade type quality on a home system and the new Sonic looks incredible. Ready 2 Rumble Boxing is another popular title for the Dreamcast. Before purchasing the system, remember that both Nintendo and Sony are releasing new systems in 2000 that will compete with Dreamcast.

Playstation 2, which will be released in the fall, will have the ability to play all of the old Playstation games, all of the new games with incredible quality, and it will be a DVD player.

Before you begin to feel overwhelmed, just head into the toy store. Nothing has changed that much. There is still a huge section of the store devoted to Lego. You will still see aisles of Playskool and Fisher Price toys. The spirit will engage you and you will know what you would like to play with and what would be the appropriate gift.

As an important last tip, visualize the child's expression as she opens the gift on Christmas morning and remember how you felt receiving toys at Christmas. It is much easier to choose that way

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