What do kids want for Christmas this year? A new bike? A train set? That’s soooo 20th century. According to a survey from Nielsen, nearly half of children ages 6 through 12 are hoping Santa brings them a new Apple iPad. If an iPad isn’t in the mix, almost any Apple product might do in a pinch. About 36 percent of kids thought an iPod Touch or iPad Mini would be a nifty thing to find under the tree. About a third hoped for an iPhone. If Santa has to go outside the realm of Apple, 39 percent felt that a Nintendo Wii U would be pretty awesome, too. Teens are a little bit harder to please. Only 21 percent of kids 13 and older wanted an iPad, with slightly fewer hoping for another Apple device. The iPhone, oddly enough, trailed in this year’s holiday popularity contest, with only 14 percent of teens wanting one for Christmas. Maybe that’s because another survey, this one by piper Jaffray & Co., found that 40 percent of teens already own one. (Los Angeles Times)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com, and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife Wendy and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.