WASHINGTON — Forty-five percent of all purchases between now and Dec. 25 will be toys or toy-related products such as batteries. So federal safety officials took the opportunity yesterday to give shoppers some safety tips.

Read toy labels to make sure an item is designed for a child's age, advised Hal Stratton, chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Babies and toddlers who use their mouths to test almost everything could be at risk for choking if a toy has small balls or detachable pieces.

There were 16 toy-related deaths of youngsters under age 15 last year. An estimated 161,100 children wound up in hospital emergency rooms with toy-related injuries.

Vera Adams, executive director of trade enforcement at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, also warned shoppers to be on the lookout for counterfeit toys.

Knockoff toys — especially those with small breakable parts or stuffed with plastic materials — could be hazardous to younger children, she said. Counterfeit batteries can leak acid or contain lead.

Counterfeit products also can harm U.S. businesses. Overall, counterfeit products cost the U.S. economy up to $250 billion in revenue, Adams said. Toys ranked sixth among items customs officials seize at U.S. ports.

Some counterfeit toys are so skillfully made, it is difficult to tell them from the legally manufactured items. But Adams said if you buy a toy from a flea market or roadside stand, you're probably getting a counterfeit.

The other telltale sign?

"Is the price too good to be true?" she asked. "If it is, it's likely you have a counterfeit product."