| Will there be smiles and looks of excitement on the | | | | robot built in about 30 minutes. The drag-and-drop |
| faces of your children or grandchildren when they | | | | programming interface uses pre-programmed objects |
| open their Christmas gifts? There will be lots of | | | | that you pull from a palette and snap to other |
| smiles if you take a look at these Christmas gift | | | | objects build and program robots that do what you |
| suggestions. | | | | want. The NXT also has built-in Bluetooth wireless |
| According to Amazon, these will be some of the hot | | | | technology so your robots could be truly wireless. A |
| Christmas toys for 2006. Start shopping for these | | | | really great learning tool. |
| toys now and you will get them in time for Christmas | | | | Number 4 - Twister Dance DVD - Milton Bradley |
| and probably at a good price. Wait and you either | | | | Interactive Games |
| won't be able to find them or you will pay higher | | | | This really a simple concept: Put the DVD in the |
| prices. | | | | machine, place the 2.5-foot square mat in front of |
| Number 1 - Barbie in The 12 Dancing Princesses: | | | | the TV, and dance following the onscreen prompts. |
| Interactive Princess Genevieve "Let's Dance(TM)" Doll | | | | In Learn mode, an animated choreographer shows |
| Barbie dances and interacts in three different ways, | | | | you the dance moves step by step. There are 40 |
| including two interactive modes. In "Performance" | | | | dance lessons that start slow and simple and gently |
| mode, she performs multiple dance routines to her | | | | add complexity as you go along. Dance mode |
| own recorded music. In "Teach Me" mode, she | | | | increases the tempo and strings the individual dance |
| actually shows and tells you how to perform each | | | | moves into a dance routine. This is fun. Show off |
| dance movement ("Arms overhead", "Now, spin"), | | | | your dance moves and learn some new ones. |
| one at a time. She then has you imitate the | | | | Number 5 - Here & Now Edition Monopoly Board |
| movements. And finally, in "Play With Me" mode, | | | | Game |
| Genevieve will move her arms and left leg in direct | | | | This is an updated version of the original board game |
| response to your movements when you wear the | | | | with a new twist on the classic property trading |
| included wrist and foot controllers. | | | | game. There are new tokens including the Toyota |
| Number 2 - Leapster L-Max Handheld Learning Game | | | | Prius, New Balance Shoe, McDonald's French Fries, |
| System | | | | Labradoodle, Motorola RAZR Mobile Headset, and a |
| This is part of the award-winning LeapFrog Leapster | | | | Laptop Computer. As far as properties, new additions |
| products. Players interact on the handheld screen and | | | | include Boston's Fenway Park, Las Vegas Blvd., |
| see the results on their TV. There are multiple skill | | | | Houston's Johnson Space Center, Nashville's Grand |
| levels, learning tutorials, and unlimited educational fun. | | | | Ole Opry, and Minneapolis' Mall of America. You'll love |
| Your children won't even know that they're learning. | | | | the new Here & Now Edition. |
| Turns your TV into a super learning machine. Just | | | | So there they are, 5 hot Christmas gifts for ages 8 |
| pop in one of Leapster's many software games and | | | | to 11. Don't let your children or grandchildren be |
| let them learn as they play. | | | | disappointed at Christmas. Start shopping for these |
| Number 3 - LEGO Mindstorms NXT | | | | Christmas gifts now! |
| With the Quick-Start Guide you can probably have a | | | | |