Melissa and Doug is the name of a company named after its founders, Melissa and Doug Bernstein. They are noted for creating high-quality children’s toys and puzzles, most of which are made of wood. It is this attention to quality that has made Melissa and Doug products a favorite of both parents and children for the past several years.

One of their more fancy items is the Melissa & Doug Fold and Go Wooden Castle. At the same time, it is kept relatively simple, allowing children to fully exercise their imaginations while playing. The Fold and Go Wooden Castle is approximately 16.5 inches by 13.5 inches by 9 inches. It comes with the castle and a king and queen, one bed, two thrones, two knights, two horses and a treasure chest with a lid. Add to that the working drawbridge and dungeon area and it’s time for the imagination to run wild.

For those kids who like to play house or pretend they are chefs, Melissa and Doug offer several different toy food sets. The Cutting Food Box has 31 pieces, including food slices, and it also makes realistic cutting sounds. The Wooden Sandwich-Making Set has all the fixings you need to make sandwiches. There’s also the Deluxe Ice Cream Parlor Set, the Melissa and Doug Deluxe Ice Cream Parlor Set, and even a wooden sushi set; to name a few.

Their jigsaw puzzles are fun, colorful, and ideal for younger kids. Letters, vehicles, zoo animals, farm animals and shapes are just a few of the high-quality puzzles they offer. Melissa and Doug make toys that can be enjoyed by generations to come. While their toys are fresh, they also have a timeless quality that both children and parents love.

Modern science tells us that Bigfoot doesn’t exist, but they’re wrong! To be fair, we are not talking about an eight-foot tall, living, breathing human-like animal. The Imaginext Bigfoot from Fisher Price proves the tall, hairy creature is indeed real.

This toy brings the Bigfoot legend to life, and in a fun way. The Imaginext Bigfoot has a remote control in the shape of a foot to move the big guy around. He can walk forwards and backwards, throw a ball, eat, talk, and display different emotions. Fisher Price makes the remote easy to use for even the youngest child (recommended for ages three to eight) as it as pictures on the buttons instead of words.

When you push the angry button, the Imaginext Bigfoot will roar, lift up his arms and shake his fists, but it’s all in good fun. Besides, the lovable guy can also act happy, have fun, sleep and exercise. There is also a plastic leaf that you can feed him. The sensors in his mouth will then cause him to chew, and even burp when he’s done; he even minds his manners and excuses himself.

The Imaginext Bigfoot from Fisher Price is made of solid plastic and has a tuft of fur on the top of his head. It comes with a 9.6v rechargeable battery for Bigfoot, and the remote control requires two AA batteries. While the legendary Bigfoot may be the stuff on nightmares, the Imaginext Bigfoot is a friendly guy who will endear himself to any child lucky enough to get one.

Cuponk! What the heck is that? On the surface it looks like nothing more than a cup and a ping pong ball, but there’s more to it than that. For one thing, a cup won’t light up and make noise when you make your shot and get the ball in the cup. To make play a bit easier for newer players, each version of Cuponk comes with some sort of themed backboard that can be attached as needed.

Cuponk comes with different cards, each of which suggests different tricks to do while trying your shot You can play alone, or with friends, and the game can be enjoyed by all ages (not recommended for younger children due to small parts). To add some more interest, the ping pong balls have different designs on them, and there are collector’s sets of balls available.

There are currently three different versions of Cuponk. First, there is the Cuponk Gorillanator with Ramp, which makes gorilla sounds when you make your shot. Then there is the Cuponk Let it R.I.P. with Backboard that makes zombie sounds and includes a ping pong ball that looks like an eyeball. After that it is the Cuponk El Campeon with Funnel which has a wrestling. Also, each version has trick shots that relate to the overall theme of the game.

Finally, there is no reason why you can’t make up your own tricks when playing Cuponk. So, go ahead and get Cuponk for somebody on your list (or for yourself) and watch as they have countless hours of fun.

There was a time when Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo’s two main video game competitors, scoffed at the user interface of the Wii. Namely, the way the player’s movements control the action on the screen. They called it a gimmick. Let’s be polite and say times have changed. The Kinect for the XBox 360 promises to take this technology to the next level.

Just like the Nintendo Wii, the XBox Kinect uses a sensor bar to help detect where a player is, and what they are doing. However, the Wii still requires the use of a controller (either hand-held, or a foot board). The Kinect, on the other hand, gets rid of the controller all together. Instead, it uses several different proprietary sensors within the bar, including a camera and sound detection. Their is also facial recognition software to let the unit “see” who’s playing. Because there is no longer a controller, players interact with games by making various gestures or with voice commands.

The Kinect can be purchased as an add-on peripheral if you have the latest generation model XBox 360 that supports it. You can also buy a new XBox which comes bundled with the sensor bar. The choice is yours, of course, but it may be a smarter idea to get a whole new console to ensure there are no compatibility issues.

Any console is only as good as its games. While there are not a lot of titles for the Kinect yet, there are sure to be more to come. And, because it’s Microsoft, it should be interesting to see what games they come up with. As of now, a lot of the games do feel a bit like reworked Nintendo Wii games, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Being able to read books wherever you are is convenient way to enjoy your reading. However, it would be impractical to lug around all of you favorite books everywhere. The Amazon Kindle, and other ebook readers, solve that problem. The Kindle lets you store digital versions of your books and take them with you. The nice thing about having an ebook reader is that it is so portable. With the Kindle, you’ll be able to store about 3,500 books in a device that easily fits into the palm of your hand.

There are other advantages of reading on a Kindle. For one thing, there is no glare on the screen. This used to be an issue, but with its latest ebook reader, Amazon has solved this problem. You can take it to the beach and read it in full sunlight. The Amazon Kindle also has improved contrast and better fonts for easier reading of your ebooks.

The Kindle has built-in wireless as well. You will be able to download most titles in 60 seconds or less. Plus, there is no need to sign up for a wireless plan, as it is built in and ready to go. Speaking of titles, because it is made by Amazon, the largest online bookseller, you will have access to more title than anywhere else. As of now there are over 700,000 books available for download to your Kindle, and that doesn’t include the nearly 1.2 million that are in the public domain.

If you have been wonder what the perfect gift for the avid reader on your gift list is, wonder no more. The Amazon Kindle is a top Christmas gift idea that and is sure to make the lucky recipient extremely happy. And if you like to read, too, be sure to get one for yourself.

We have been monitoring the post Christmas sales for the most popular toys and games this past holiday season and have just found an outstanding offer from Amazon.  They are offering the Elmo Live doll at a substantial savings - 41% off of retail - with FREE Shipping.

With almost half off the regular price, and free shipping as well, it will be hard to beat this price on one of the most popular Christmas toys of the season.  If you doubt this fact, check out any other toy retailer and see for yourself.

So, if you have been waiting to buy Elmo Live for that special child or grandkid, now is the time!   This reduced price will generate even more demand for this best selling Christmas gift, so we expect Elmo to sell out soon.

If you would like to learn more about Elmo Live and see an Elmo Live demo of all the action features of this doll, visit the Elmo Live Toy website for more details.