Barbie is inviolate. Girls since the beginning of time (let's be clear: time didn't start, toywise, until the Barbie) have begged for Barbies, and no more time more loudly and earnestly than at Christmas. Even my four-year-old, mud-puddle-jumping, super-hero-adoring son wants a Barbie.

That was. Until Bratz came along. For the past few years Mattel, Inc. (NYSE:MAT) has been fighting tooth and nail to keep up with the overly-madeup, hiphop bad girls with the big heads. Where Barbie is too curvaceous, Bratz are too too -- too street, too saucy. If Barbie represents the unrealistic dimensions of a Vogue model, Bratz represent the unwanted idealization of a girl who hangs out at a strip mall when she should be in government class, spends her allowance on collagen lip injections, and dates a rapper twice her age.

Barbie sales have been falling in the past several years thanks to the formidably mispelled bad girls of the fashion doll world. They attempted to combat closely-held MGA Entertainment, Inc., who manufactures the Bratz dolls, in the marketplace by positioning its My Scene dolls to compete directly (although MGA sued Mattel last year, claiming that Mattel had changed the My Scene dolls to imitate Bratz too closely). When that didn't work so well, they brought out the big guns: an IP lawsuit.

Looking for toy and game bargains come this Friday, aka Black Friday? You've got it with some of the below choices, with many popular toys -- and even some games -- selling for less than $20 this Friday (and most likely Saturday as well). With the recent launch of the Sony Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii gaming consoles, console specials and associated games probably won't be featured heavily (if at all) in Black Friday deals with the launches having happened so recently. So, for less-expensive tastes, how about the below goodies:

Wal-Mart
Candyland Dora the Explorer Edition -- $9
Bratz sleepover doll -- $10
Disney princess director's chair -- $10
Playstation 2 three-game pack assortment -- $10
Cabbage Patch Kids Snuggle Beans assortment -- $10
Hot Wheels 20-car assortment -- $10

Target
Bratz doll -- $10
Cabbage Patch Kids cry and drink baby dolls -- $15
Bratz Babyz bride and groom set -- $15
Barbie mini-kingdom carriage and dolls -- $15
Star Wars transformer -- $15
Yahtzee turbo board game -- $15

Toys R Us
Dave Mirra freestyle BMX (Playstation 2) -- $5
Monster House DVD -- $8
Trivial Pursuit Star Wars Saga edition -- $10
Crayola super coloring kit -- $10
Leapfrog Books rainbow fish book -- $10
Magnetix 100-piece tube game set -- $15

Got gaming on your list? Target will be selling the Nintendo DS Lite for $129.99. Currently, it is listed for $224.99. There will definitely be more high-tech toy specials going round the ads this Friday, so keep your eagle eye out like I know you will. One word -- leave the kids at home with the significant other or a family member for this shopping experience (that goes without saying).