We all strive to get the best presents we can for our kids as well as the things they want so it is slightly disappointing when that one thing is not as successful or well received as you had hoped.
There has been many a present i think have been a total waste of money as either is not the quality you expected or just doesn't get used, i dread to think of the wasted money on these presents
There are however things that i have most definitely got my moneys worth out of.
Top of my list is the Leappad Ultra
I got both kids one a couple of years ago for Xmas, the youngest being three was able to navigate and use it independently pretty quickly and i was able to purchase age appropriate games, the benefit with these are they are totally kid friendly, educational, no access to internet or anything that they should not see so really secure and peace of mind for mum. Although you do have to buy the games and apps they range in price so there is affordable ones that are good quality, and i was able to download bought apps to both devices which meant both could play together as some games enabled them to link devices and play against each other. They both love the camera function and making funny photos with the filters. the youngest loved the drawing apps and had hours of fun with this, you can also download videos from the app store, we have Peppa, Transformers, Paddington bear, Fireman Sam, all a lifesaver on long car journeys. I am upgrading this Xmas but i am sure there will still be much use out of these yet.
Next Leap TV ( honestly i am not being paid by Leapfrog these are my own views and opinions) This is like a kiddies Wii and works in much the same way, it links into your TV and apps can be downloaded from the app store, i was also able to use some of the games purchased for Leappad ultras on here too, again games are educational and aim to get kids moving, improve reactions and motor skills. I think these are reasonably priced too.
My daughter fell in love with her cloud pet so i purchased one as a present for my niece, it allows parents or others that a parent allows to link up to send messages to the teddy, the messages are sent to an app on parents phone which then get forwarded to pet, this gives extra security to allow mum / dad to listen to messages first (not that anybody would send anything indecent, especially when under the influence of alcohol!!!!), my daughter gets so excited to receive messages from 'sparkle'
Didi car/ Wiggle car - just wiggle and go, no batteries, no pedals, all done through motion so its a great way for you child to explore movement and cause and effect, my son loved this and would play for ages on it as is a real outdoor kids anyway, it still gets pulled out the shed now after three years.
Lets just hope some of this years presents have the lasting power of these favourites!!
