Tag Archives: Christmas 2018

Last Minute Holiday Gift Guide

18/12/2018 Tracey Dowdy 107 Comments

By Tracey Dowdy

‘Tis the season for last minute shopping. Although many of us vow that this year will be different, inevitably, there’s one more gift you forgot to grab. Maybe it’s a last minute RSVP for Christmas dinner, Secret Santa, or to replace something you’ve ordered that won’t be here in time, these suggestions should cover just about anyone on your list.

The Takeya 10310 Patented Deluxe Cold Brew Iced Coffee Maker is under $20 and available with Amazon Prime, so you’ll have it by the weekend. Cold brewing extracts only the rich coffee essence, leaving behind the bitter, acidic bite of the hot brewing process. Once brewed, concentrated coffee from your Takeya can be kept fresh in its airtight container for up to two weeks and used for either hot or iced coffees.

When you were a kid, getting socks was like, so lame, but as an adult, it’s a whole different story. Actually, even kids will get a kick – see what I did there? – out of Target’s Santa’s Sleigh 12 Days of Socks Advent Calendar. It’s a mix of holiday-themed low-cut, no-show and crew socks and shipping is free and guaranteed for December 21.

Remember when getting the mail was fun? Other than the occasional birthday card or wedding invitation, the only time of the year it’s fun to go through the stack of bills and junk mail is Christmas. Change that up with a magazine subscription. Magazines.com offers discounted subscriptions on both digital and hard copies of magazines. Currently, Sports Illustrated is discounted 76%, us Weekly 67%, and Entertainment Weekly is 87% off the cover price.

Everyone’s crazy about the Yeti water bottle, but at $39, it’s a little steep for some budgets. Instead, opt this highly rated dupe from Walmart – the Ozark Trail Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle. Available in nine colors, it keeps your drinks hot or cold for hours. It’s on sale for just $6, so you can afford to get one for everyone on your list.

If all else fails, it’s never a bad idea to grab gift cards. Once the go-to of aunts and uncles who don’t really know you, gift cards have become far more widely available for almost every restaurant chain, movie theatre, or even specialty stores like Bass Pro Shops, The Disney Store, Pet Smart, and Jiffy Lube.

Tracey Dowdy is a freelance writer based just outside Washington DC. After years working for non-profits and charities, she now freelances, edits and researches on subjects ranging from family and education to history and trends in technology. Follow Tracey on Twitter.

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Top Toys for Creative Kids

13/12/2018 Tracey Dowdy 1 Comment

By Tracey Dowdy

Back in February, over one thousand toy companies debuted innovative and imaginative toys at Toy Fair 2018. From this massive exhibition, a number of toys stood out for their creativity and pure fun for kids, and they’re proving to be a hit this holiday season.

If you’re looking for gifts that will spark imaginations and inspire your kids from STEM to fashion design, these toys should top your list.

If your kiddo is a Star Wars fan, Sphero’s R2-D2 App-Enabled Droid ($30 – Walmart) is going to be a big hit. Users can control R2-D2 via an app or a Force Band, with sounds and bright LEDs lights that mirror R2-D2’s onscreen personae. kids can use the Sphero Edu App to learn to program three different ways and complete STEM activities or explore a holographic environment like the Millennium Falcon to further immerse themselves in the Star Wars universe.

The smART sketcher Projector ($49.99 – Target) makes drawing, coloring, and writing fun through a simple-to-use app or preloaded SD cards. Kids simply upload any photo, and then the (free, downloadable) app automatically turns it into a sketch that they can then trace onto any write-on surface like paper, canvas, or wood. Kids can send photos from any smart device via Bluetooth. smART Sketcher comes with Colored Pencils, 20 Sheets of Bordered Paper & an AC Adapter.

Magformers are bright, colorful and educational 360-degree rotating magnets designed to attract the magnet encapsulated in the next shape allowing kids to construct in 3D. The Magformers 44-piece Sky Track Play Set ($99.99 – Magformers.com) allows kids to build a space coaster then send the included sky-car speeding through its loops and hoops. As always, the Sky Track Play set is compatible with other Magformers sets, so the only limit is your child’s imagination.

Elenco Snap Circuits Bric: Structures takes ordinary bricks you have in your toy box – think Lego – and brings them to life. Kids can snap-together circuits to make their builds light up, move, or even make sounds. The set comes with 20 SNAP CIRCUITS® component parts, 75 Bric-2-Snap adapters, over 140 fully compatible building bricks, and a full-color, easy-to-read project manual so your kids can start creating from the moment they open the box.

Similarly, LittleBits Hall of Fame Kits ($27.95 and up) are designed so kids can use both their right and left brain so instead of STEM (science, tech, engineering, and math), it’s STEAM (science, tech, engineering, ARTS and math). Each LittleBits toy uses snap-together circuits so kids can create while learning STEM skills. This years’ kits include a night light, a bubble bot, a crawly creature, and an arcade game.

Tech Trends/Lifestyle, home

Holiday Tech Gifts for Parents

11/12/2018 Tracey Dowdy 175 Comments

By Tracey Dowdy

Like most parents, you’ve likely spent most of your list-making energy deciding who’s been naughty or nice and curating your kids’ wish lists to match your budget. But what about you? What about your partner? This holiday season, what are the best gifts for moms and dads?

This list of holiday tech should help you come up with some great ideas.

Whether you’re into the medicinal benefits of essential oils or think it’s the modern version of snake oil, you can’t argue that everyone enjoys a house that smells good. An essential oil diffuser can smell nice and scents are known to alter moods and performance. Soothing lavender or vanilla, energizing peppermint or eucalyptus, or even frankincense for relaxation.

If you’re in the market for a new TV or an upgrade for your home theater, consider swapping your flat screen for a projector. The cost of home theatre systems has dropped making customizable options more affordable than ever, plus they’re a great option if you have little ones who have trouble sitting through an episode of Peppa Pig let alone a feature-length movie. Individual specs vary, but some can project a 50-inch diagonal image from as little as 32 inches away, and with LED projection, you won’t have to replace the lamps.

Speaking of home theatre systems, even if you’re not in the market for a new TV or projector, you can boost your home theatre experience with a new surround sound system. You can choose from a Home-Theater-In-A-Box (HTIB), or if you prefer to customize, you can buy the speakers and the receiver separately. Keep in mind lower end systems will mean running wires and cables while higher-end systems will be totally wireless. Either way, a complete system is within reach for less money than you may think.

Tablets have come a long way since the introduction iPad, though tablets were around long before 2010. They keep our kids entertained, have become essential to the way many do business, with their lightweight portability and robust software. Whether you opt for a PC based tablet like Amazon’s Fire 7 Tablet with Alexa or Apple’s iPad Pro with iOS 12, whatever your need, there’s a tablet for that.

When the smartwatch was introduced back in 2015, many thought it was going to be one of those “Nice try, not interested,” devices. Not so. Today’s smartwatches are sleek, pack user-friendly interfaces with larger buttons than previous iterations, and longer battery life than ever before. If you’re in the market, this list can help you decide which best fits your needs.