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Rocking And Rolling Elmo for this Christmas
Forget about tickling Elmo – here is the $79.95 Rocking And Rolling Elmo from Hammacher that comes in an animatronic plush model, where he will actually play his very own instruments as well as make music with his vocal chords. Some of his musical equipment include a microphone, tambourine, and a couple of bongo drums. Not only that, he is smart enough to tell the difference between one and another whenever they are held near.
Apart from that, he will also enthusiastically announce phrases such as “You have a microphone!” when you place the microphone in his right hand, and when the tambourine is located in his left, he will be polite enough to tell you, “Thank you”. With a repertoire of half a dozen songs, among them including “What Elmo Likes About You,” “Sing Out,” and “Elmo’s World”, each will result in him opening his mouth, while sashaying from side-to-side. Powered by half a dozen AA batteries, I would suggest you get rechargeables for the long run.
Origami Baby Stroller can fold by itself
In Up in the Air, George Clooney advises his protege not to follow someone with a stroller through airport security, as he has “never seen a stroller that has taken less than thirty minutes to take down”. That is an exaggeration, but as someone who once purchased a folding stroller, that is about how long it took me to learn how to fold one.
Fortunately, the 4moms Shop has come up with a way to do a self-folding stroller that transforms in a way reminiscent of The Transformers. There is a video after the jump, and I am surprised that I don’t hear the wha-chut-chat sounds of transforming from the old cartoon that made their way into the Michael Bay movies.
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LittleBits for the little engineer in your home
When it comes to your kids, do you want them to live out your dream, or do you prefer them to pursue their very own dreams and ideas instead? I know that it can get pretty hard if you and three generations before you have been running a bakery, and here comes your tiny tot who wants to be an engineer when he grows up. I say, forget about following tradition – making sure the heart is set free is the far better option, hence ThinkGeek delivering the $129.99 LittleBits for budding electricians and engineers.
LittleBits are similar to LEGOs when it comes to the world of electronics. As how you snap LEGO bricks together in order to construct your very own castle, so too, can you snap LittleBits together in order to come up with a prototype of your next electronics project. In fact, it is as easy as snapping a couple of magnets together. Each bit will have its own function, be it lighting up, emitting some sound, work as a sensor, being a button…the list goes on. Each purchase comes with 10 snap-together modules, a carrying case, instructions, and a 9v battery to get you started right out of the box.
Waterball Cannons for some splashing fun
I know that summer is long gone, and with everyone wearing thick layers of clothing now to make sure they remain warm and insulated from the coming winter’s chill, here is a toy that you might just want to consider for next year’s watergun fight – the $39.95 Waterball Cannons. Yes sir, this particular cannon will not dispense pellets like a BB gun which sting from up close and personal, but instead, it will shoot out harmless water-saturated pellets.
The blasters will rely on non-toxic 1/16″ polymer pellets that are capable of swelling to 150% their original size when submerged in water for three hours. Each blaster’s hopper is capable of stashing away up to 75 different pellets, and these are loaded and fired one-at-a-time through the simple pulling back and releasing of its spring-loaded bolt carrier. With a range of up to 50′ away, it will ‘detonate’ upon contact unlike some water balloons.
Lullabelly Maternity Musical Device
We live in an extremely competitive world, and parents these days want their kids to get ahead of the rest even from the womb itself, hence you see many of these “baby aids” that intend to help the development of the foetus in the market. ThinkGeek does not want to get left behind as well, hence their $59.99 Lullabelly Maternity Musical Device, which is actually a pre-natal music belt which allows you to play tracks of your choice so that your future geek-to-be will also be able to rock on to today’s grooviest tunes without missing a beat.
Not only is it super soft to make sure it does not mess up mummy’s tummy, it is also adjustable, lightweight and comfortable. The volume for baby’s speakers are capped at a safe level, so you need not worry about breeding a headbanger right from the get go. There is a splitter thrown into the mix for you to listen to the same music, and hopefully you won’t introduce him/her to Justin Bieber, but rather, more solid stuff like Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana.
Swimfin for laughs and giggles at the pool
I am quite sure that everyone has watched “Jaws” at least once in their life, and the iconic background tune that builds up a sense of tension is clearly one which is for the ages. Well, if you want to inject a sense of urgency in the pool the next time your kids jump inside, why not let them wear the £21.99 Swimfin instead? Available in blue, pink and grey colors (who has seen a pink shark?), this is not just to make your kids have super cute photos when they are still young – it is primarily an innovative strap-on buoyancy aid which will enable your little one’s arms and shoulders to move about freely, so that they will be able to develop a natural swimming style.
I don’t think you can really go wrong with this – after all, it was created by UK swimming instructor Kevin Moseley, and whenever your kid is confident enough, the Swimfin can be removed as they attempt to keep themselves afloat with the techniques learnt.
Doctor Who Ride-in Dalek
So your little geekling is still too young to own a driving license, but he or she has been badgering you non-stop to get him/her a ride. Since Christmas is around the corner and you want to keep your youngling happy, why not stimulate our nation’s economy in the process by forking out $299.99 for the Doctor Who Ride-in Dalek? Yes sir, this toy will definitely make the young Whovian in your life more than ecstatic, where it is made out of a mixture of ballistic nylon and laminated rubberized polyvinyl. These are soft to the touch, but belie the fact that they are very durable and tear resistant.
Being inflatable does not mean that this is on par with a beach ball in terms of quality, but more that of a snow tube. To get it moving around, it will rely on a 6v battery powered motor that delivers 360 degree steering and a maximum speed of nearly 2 mph – definitely not fast enough to outrun parents who want to reel the kids in for dinner. While it is unable to hover around, at least the soft bumper located around the edge of the Dalek will protect your walls and furniture from damage. Bear in mind that this being a UK imported toy, you will need to get your own UK outlet adapter if you’re living Stateside.
Jump And Learn Trampoline
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”, or so the saying goes. Well, if that is the case, why not get Jack (or Jane, depending on the gender of your little one) the $119.95 Jump And Learn Trampoline? Yes sir, this will certainly be useful to work off all that extra energy that the little ‘un has accumulated in a safe and controlled manner. After all, there is no Trampoline 101 the last time I checked pre-school syllabuses, so with the Jump And Learn Trampoline, you know your kid is in good hands.
This indoor trampoline will be able to teach pre-school basics as your kid jumps about, as there is a sensor in the frame which works with an integral speaker, letting the toy tally up the total of bounces as they happen, so that children can play games that teach counting, music, rhythm, recognition, and memory. Apart from that, there is also “musical statues” which challenges children to stop bouncing the moment the music stops, somewhat akin to a trampoline version of Musical Chairs.
Apart from that, you can also insert silly sounds into music, or to concentrate on enhancing one’s counting skills by announcing a precise number of jumps to execute. If all the sound gets to you, just mute it and you’re good to go. Powered by a trio of AA batteries, just make sure whoever uses this won’t weigh more than 80 lbs.
