Every year, parents attempt to get the best and coolest toys for their kids without breaking their budgets. Not every parent can afford to give their kid the new PS4 or Xbox One. So, for those parents out there who have a modest budget but want to be a hero on Christmas morning, I’m here to share with you the best tech toys to get your little geeks without breaking the bank.
Also, I’m here to comfort you with the knowledge that you do not have to brave the crowds on Black Friday or even late Thanksgiving in order to get your kids those coveted toys. In fact, you don’t even have to leave your house. Cyber Monday is a geek’s Black Friday. You can browse and shop without the threat of getting your nose busted attempting to grab what you can.
Remote-control toys are always a good fallback choice. Thinkgeek.com offers a variety of toys that don’t necessarily need a controller. Some of these toys can be controlled by a smartphone. My personal favorite is the Mario Kart 7 remote-control racers. Getting your kids off the video game may be easier if they can race as Mario or Donkey Kong in real life.
For the toddlers and younger kids, a hide-and-seek plush monkey may be the way to go. Parents can hide the monkey and the child holds a wand with a button. If the wand is within a certain distance when the button is pressed, it will let out a monkey sound. You can also find this at Thinkgeek.com.
Instead of buying a bunch of Hot Wheels cars for your kids, why not let them make it? Your kid could be making and designing their own cars. You just need to turn on the press, melt down wax and corm your own car using the molds included in the kit. You can add decals once the car is made. You can purchase the add-ons, which include muscle car molds and more colors. You can find this nifty toy on Amazon.com.
LeapFrog released its own kid-friendly tablet. It sports a 7-inch touchscreen and two 2-megapixel cameras. It has eight gigs of storage space and comes preloaded with 11 apps and 10 songs. It also has access to LeapFrog’s library of more than 500 educator-approved games and apps.
Hexbug has come up with water-activated RoboFish. The fish act like real fish when they are put in a bowl of water. They swim around and even bob their little heads toward the surface like they are eating. There are four different types of fish and four types of sharks available on the market.
Hasbro’s Baby Alive has been around for several years. The newest version of Baby Alive allows more interaction than before. It moves its head and has touch sensors, allowing the toy to interact more with your child. There are different types of dolls to better customize the pretend-parent experience to what may best fit your child.
When I was a child, there was nothing creepier than a toy moving on its own and trying to interact with me of its own volition. Luckily, the makers of Furby have cut back the creepy in their newest version, Furby Boom. Furby can interact with your smartphone device, which allows more interaction between you and the toy. Furby can even have babies and do other things that it previously wasn’t able to do without the digital power of your smartphone.
For the more musically inclined child, Jakks EZ Pro DJ Mixer is available this year. This toy allows aspiring DJs to lay tracks and beats like the best of them. It also has the option to add a mic. This allows your child to sync their voice to their music.
Most of these toys can be found at Amazon.com or Walmart.com.
Steam is a great way to get the newest and popular PC games for decent prices. Certain times of the year, Steam will have sales where you can get various PC games for up to 90 percent off. Here you can get your kids great PC games for very decent prices. Visit Steampowered.com for more information on how to get Steam on your PC and start saving money on popular PC games.
