The hottest thing to hit neighborhood playgrounds since Cabbage Patch Kids and My Little Pony has arrived at Coach House Gifts.  Meet Webkinz, the hot toy tailored for the “wired generation”.

What are Webkinz, you ask?  Webkinz are the unassuming, lovable plush toy is an entirely new species of toy: a cross between the collector Beanie Babies of the past and Tamagotchi digital pets, with a twist of an online virtual world.  Each of the Webkinz comes with an access code to Webkinz.com, a site whose virtual world lets kids interact with their pets’ online personality, answer Webkinz trivia, shop for them at virtual stores with KinzCash and play games with other site users.

The website: Webkinz.com is safe for young users, generally 6 years and up, because users do not share personal information.  The chat room called KinzChat allows users to chat with their friends by offering more than 900 preset phrases, but not allowing users to type their own responses.

The line features more than 40 toys, from frogs to dogs and bears to bunnies, and more than 20 Lil’ Kinz, the younger brothers and sisters to the Webkinz pets.  The line has also introduced Webkinz accessories like purses and knapsacks.