Avoid Scooby-Doo at all costs. You need only to look around to see the decay it has caused. Other that that......Good Luck!
Thomas and Friends here. You wouldn't believe the massive piles of cash I've spent on trains. I hate trains.
Thomas in plastic, Thomas in wood, Thomas in metal, Thomas special editions in plastic, wood and metal. Motorized Thomas in pastic, wood and metal. A 3 hour drive to ride on a full sized Thomas a'la "My Day Out with Thomas".
No, I'm NOT kidding...
Thomas T-shirts, Thomas back packs and lunch boxes...stealing my pens and cigars and BREADSTICKS because they look like parts of a train!...Stop the madness!!!
But in the end you do it because you love them and you get some special moments out of it...They'll forget it 10, 20 minutes down the line but you'll always remember.
Incidentally, I don't lie to children about Santa, either...It's not as traumatic as you might think, unless you've been twisting their heads for years.
BTW...I cannot tell you how SICK I am of watching the Polar Freakin' Express!