July is the month when major chain store retailers hold their annual toy sales, hoping to convince parents they will save a fortune by doing their Christmas shopping almost six months in advance. Just how much can you really save with this strategy? More »
The shops are already filling with toys for Christmas, but there’s a bunch of good reasons to think twice before whacking down your money even if that kiddie favourite is seriously discounted. More »
Foam and dart weaponry doesn’t usually grace the hallowed pages of Lifehacker. But in the name of recapturing our youth – not to mention scoring a NERF Vulcan EBF-25 or Recon CS-6 – we’re happy to make an exception. To win your very own NERF Vulcan or Recon, simply click through to our sister site Kotaku, and test your trigger finger on their NERF shooter game. There are 8 blasters up for grabs and just five weeks to win one of them. [NERF on Kotaku]
Online retail might sometimes seem like an unregulated wilderness, but these days it gets just as much attention as regular bricks-and-mortar stores. This week, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued a warning to parents after finding an online store selling toy cars that didn’t meet Australian safety standards (which require no small parts which under-3s might choke on). That applies not just to removable elements but also parts which might break off, as the ACCC explained:
“Young children, particularly those under three, put most things in their mouth. They haven’t learned to cough things up that might become lodged in their throat. This is why small pieces of toys or bits that break off easily are so hazardous to young children and must be kept away from them.”
The retailer in question seems to have handled the situation in exemplary fashion, contacting each of the purchases and offering them a refund (something that’s much more difficult with a meatspace store). However, it’s a timely reminder if you fancy setting up shop selling toys on eBay as a sideline, you’d better be across the relevant consumer laws. More »
No matter how carefully you plan, there’s almost always a point on Christmas morning when little Jared’s shiny new toy won’t work because you forget the batteries or some other implementation disaster. As a card-carrying geek, I’m all for giving the kids tech presents, but after a few minor incidents of this kind over Christmas, I’ve made a few notes on what to do better next time around. More »
Elmo Live (a super-robotic version of the infamous Tickle Me Elmo) has received masses of publicity and is expected to be a big Christmas seller. Digital Journal TV showed true hacking instinct by grabbing the all-singing, all-dancing Muppet and ripping his skin off to show the workings underneath; check it out in the video above. It’s surely only a matter of time before people come up with more elaborate hacks to repurpose Elmo.(Warning: your kids might not like this much.) Digital Journal [via Tough Pigs] More »
The gang at IKEA Hacker have come up with another esoteric tech hack, this time using a Söt Barnslig soft toy to create a novelty USB drive. You could easily adapt this plan for other soft toys, though you might have to hunt around to get one for less than 95 cents. [IKEA Hacker]
The folks over at the Unclutterer blog are on a war against toy clutter in the house that inevitably builds up with toddlers. They offer a few “duh!” alternative activities to commercial toys, like matching the socks in a freshly-done load of laundry, plus this great suggestion for a two-year-old: Man, does she love to “paint” the sidewalk or fence with a paintbrush and small bucket of water. She can easily spend a half an hour painting and when she is done there is absolutely no mess to clean up.
If you’re looking for ways to entertain the kids this weekend, see our previously posted 10 ways to entertain young kids for $1 or less without the TV. Baby toy alternatives (part 2) [Unclutterer]
