MAT Mattel Inc

Mattel offers tips to de-stress and save-time with great toys, their Holiday Helper and www.mattel.ca to make holiday shopping a breeze TORONTO, Oct. 25, 2011 /CNW/ - The holidays are once again upon us and with so much going on during the busy season, Mattel is stepping in to help families prepare by launching www.mattel.ca - an easy-to-use, informative and fun holiday website for Canadian parents and kids. Starting today, gift buyers can get a jump on holiday shopping by visiting www.mattel.ca to find the perfect gift for every girl and boy on their list, including must-have toys like the Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn™ Dance & Play Puppy, Barbie™ Princess Charm School dolls and the Hot Wheels® Video Racer™. Today, Mattel also introduces their own Holiday Helper, Tarra Stubbins of Take It Easy Personal Concierge Inc., who will help families stay on track during the busy holiday season and give advice to gift-givers across the country about how to stay organized. "Every year people get overwhelmed during the holidays, so this year Mattel wants to remind Canadians about the fun and joy that comes with gift-giving," says Donna Polimac, Senior Marketing Manager, Mattel Canada. "Mattel.ca and our Holiday Helper are the perfect go-to resources for Canadians who want tips to stay on top of shopping and planning during the busiest season of the year." Mattel.ca Mattel will be giving the gift of gift-giving relief with the launch of Mattel.ca. The site includes Mattel's virtual Toy catalogue where Canadians can browse Mattel's huge selection of this year's hottest toys. The Toy Store includes great gift ideas and the latest kid-approved favorites, such as the newest products from Fisher Price, Hot Wheels® and Barbie™. Mattel.ca also features a social media-integrated wish list-making function so kids can share their top choices with the whole family, making gift-giving easier for everyone. The site also features a "Gift Finder" tool to help parents sort through this year's hottest toys by age and gender. Shoppers can also view detailed information about individual toys, including where they are available for purchase, helping to avoid any unnecessary trips to crowded malls. Designed to showcase the newest, most trend-setting and innovative gift ideas, Mattel.ca is the place to find gifts for all the kids on your holiday list. Mattel's Canadian Facebook page will also be hosting holiday content about the latest toy trends and tips from Stubbins for staying organized this holiday season. Mattel's Hot Toys For 2011, Mattel has some fantastic new "hot toys" for all different ages and at all the right price points. This year, interactive toys, re-imagined classics and tech-y gadgets for little ones are on must-have lists across the country. With its fully functional video camera, the Hot Wheels® Video Racer™ Micro Camera Car will be a hit with boys this year. The 1:64 track-compatible car can race down any Hot Wheels track set or be attached to bikes, helmets, skateboards—or anything that moves—to capture every moment of action-packed adventure. Videos can also be edited using special Hot Wheels® Video Racer™ software, to create your own chase scenes, just like the movies. Girls will love some of the magical new friends Mattel offers this holiday season. The new Barbie™ Designable Hair Doll and Extension Pack are all about hair expression! It's a completely new way for girls to customize and create fun, fashionable hair extensions for Barbie™ or to wear themselves. There's also a whole new kind of friend this year! Why not make a new friend this holiday with Fijit, a girl's interactive best friend. Fijit Friends™ are the only robotic friends who perform lifelike dance moves: girls can poke, squeeze or play their own music to turn Fijit into a dancing machine. Fijit Friends™ perform different moves depending on the type of song and can recognize the girl's voice and tell funny jokes. They're full of surprises and totally unpredictable! For little ones, the Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn™ Dance & Play Puppy is a new friend that will encourage them to move, dance and sing along! The Laugh & Learn™ Dance & Play Puppy has two modes: Learning and Play.  With over 25 sing songs and phrases, baby will learn about ABCs and letters, counting and numbers, parts of the body, actions, manners, greetings and first words! Baby will love dancing, clapping and singing along and learning so many new things with their Dance & Play Puppy! Mattel's Holiday Helper For 2011, Mattel has partnered with Tarra Stubbins of Take It Easy Personal Concierge Inc., to be Canada's Holiday Helper and assist busy Canadians with their holiday stresses. Stubbins will be giving advice to gift-givers across the country about how to stay organized during this stressful season and help families stay on track during the busy holidays. Holiday Helper Tarra Stubbins is a seasoned organizational virtuoso and personal services provider, who has helped everyone from Hollywood stars to families across Canada get organized. Mattel's partnership with Stubbins gives consumers access to expert shopping and organizational advice this holiday season on a series of YTV vignettes and on Mattel's Facebook page. Mattel's Holiday Helper will give families everywhere tips for Holiday travel with the kids, efficient shopping strategy and advice for gift-giving. "For more than 10 years I've been helping families get organized, and I'm thrilled to be working with Mattel to share my expertise with parents across Canada this holiday season," says Stubbins. "Being prepared is key to getting things done during the holidays, so starting early and doing some research online can really help avoid mall-madness this time of year. Mattel.ca and Mattel's Facebook page are great resources to figure out which gifts they'll want this year." For more information on some of this year's hottest holiday toys visit www.mattel.ca About Mattel Mattel, Inc., (mattel.com) is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of toys and family products. The Mattel family is comprised of such best-selling brands as Barbie® the most popular fashion doll ever introduced, Hot Wheels®, Matchbox®, American Girl®, Radica® and Tyco® R/C, as well as Fisher-Price® brands, including Little People®, Power Wheels® and a wide array of entertainment-inspired toy lines. In 2010, Mattel was named as one of FORTUNE Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" for the third year in a row, and was ranked among Corporate Responsibility Magazine's "100 Best Corporate Citizens." Mattel also is recognized among the "World's Most Ethical Companies." With worldwide headquarters in El Segundo, California, Mattel employs approximately 27,000 people in 43 countries and territories and sells products in more than 150 nations. Mattel Canada, Inc. CONTACT: To speak to a Mattel representative or Holiday Helper TarraStubbinsabout organizational tips or this holiday's top toy trends, pleasecontact:Amanda DiPasquale at GCI Group: amanda.dipasquale@gcicanada.com or416-486-5902Kiel Hume at GCI Group: kiel.hume@gcicanada.com or 416-486-7231Jennifer Choy at GCI Group: Jennifer.choy@gcicanada.com or 416-486-5921

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