Happy Monday and happy 2010, everyone. I hope you had a lovely holiday break and are recovering/transitioning ok! Our family enjoyed a very nice Christmas and quiet New Year; it was just the right amount of family time. After a hectic fall and holiday season, I took a much needed break from blogging and writing. Apologies for the lack of posts, but things will be back to normal this week.
Tag: teens
Gift Glossary: great video games
In the video game sector, titles and technology are constantly evolving. With many new handheld titles and fun family titles to choose from, I had a tough time narrowing down NKT picks. I could go on and on with this exhaustive list for great family video games, but I chose many of the ones below because I had the unique chance to experience them first hand. For the ones that I didn’t try out myself, I felt that their family-friendliness and entertainment value coincided with NKT’s scope. And as far as giveaways go, this is a biggie! Enter for a chance to win these recently released video games and NKT picks!
So, here they are:
Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom
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NKT Gift Glossary: great games
Finally! I’m just now getting all caught up and posting my much delayed Holiday Gift Glossary! Over the next few days, I will be unveiling my favorite top picks for the NKT Holiday Gift Glossary. And oh yeah, I’ll be giving away a few goodies, too!
Today’s installment of the Holiday Gift Glossary is all about games! Check them out here or under the Gift Glossary tab above!
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NKT Picks: Cyber Monday Deals
I hope everyone had a fun and festive Thanksgiving! And if you hit the sales on Friday, I hope you found some fantastic deals and made it home unscathed. My girlfriend and I are still reeling from the lack of sleep on Thursday night/Friday morning since we hit Toys R Us at midnight and pretty much kept going until 11am!
But for those of you who have saved your money (and sanity) for Cyber Monday, there are lots of great deals! Most of these last until midnight, so be sure to check them out! I’ll be sure to post more as I see them!
Here’s my quick roundup of Cyber Monday deals:
Amazon video game deals
For the teen and tween set, undoubtedly, a few video games will make it to their gift list! Need some ideas, or better yet, some great deals? Be sure to head to Amazon today for some great Cyber Monday deals!
LeapFrog
LeapFrog has a great lineup of Cyber Monday deals today, with select Tag Books and Leapster games as low as $5! I picked up a Leapster for my kid at the TRU Black Friday sale, so I will more than likely pick up a few more Leapster games for to add to the collection. We’re huge LeapFrog fans!
· 25% to 75% off sitewide
· Select Leapster games as low as $5
· Select Tag Books as low as $5
· Up to 75% off on our gift packs
· Spend $50, get free shipping
Scandinavian Child
One of my personal favorite distributors is having some great Cyber Monday deals that start at noon and end at 9pm EST, including 30% off Anka High Chairs and 40% off Svan Scooters! Be sure to go here for their complete list of Cyber Monday Deals.
Target
I cleaned up at Target on Black Friday, but it looks like they have a number of really great deals today, with the $500 off a Philips 47? 1080p 120Hz LCD TV catching my eye. You can check out their Cyber Monday deals here. Here’s a great coupon for $7 off of $70 plus free shipping.
Stride Rite
I’m a bit late on sharing this great info., but Stride Rite is having a ton of fan-only Cyber Monday giveaways…including a mystery grand prize worth $600 and more giveaways every hour! Make sure you become a fan to score some great deals on their shoes, which includes great lines such as Robeez, Saucony, Keds and much more!
Gymboree
Online only & today only! Free shipping on any order & save 20% off. New line online now & in most stores 12/2. http://www.gymboree.com
Superstuffed Nicksgiving Weekend
While we all have turkey and stuffing on the brain, I guess it’d be a good time as any to let you know what our friends over at Nickelodeon have planned. Dubbed Superstuffed Nicksgiving Weekend, Nick has a great lineup of shows this weekend including new episodes, marathons, and movies.
New DVD Release: Star Wars The Clone Wars
Tuesdays always marks a fun day of the week, particularly because of all the fun new DVDs and CDs that are released. Well, this close to the holidays, you can be sure to expect even more exciting titles to pop up, with today 
as no exception.
The first season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the wildly popular animated series that chronicles “a galaxy far, far away” was released today.
“The Clone Wars sweep through the galaxy, the heroic Jedi Knights – including Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master Yoda and padawan Ahsoka Tano – struggle to maintain order and restore peace. But despite the best efforts of these brave protectors, more and more planets are falling prey to the sinister forces of the dark side…”
In addition to all 22 episodes, the four-disc set offers a look behind-the-scenes and also includes an exclusive 64 page production journal. Exclusive to the Blu-ray disc, The Jedi Temple Archives provides in-depth access to an extensive database of creative materials.
As children of the 70s and 80s, I know many of my parent friends are huge Star Wars fans, so, it’s no surprise, The Clone Wars has garnered a lot of older fans too. At $44.98 for DVD and $59.99 for Blu-ray, The Clone Wars first season would make a great family gift for Star Wars lovers!
The dvd is available in stores today, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars airs on Fridays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on Cartoon Network.
Free Fun with Halloween Photocraft
There are tons of great Halloween-themed apps out there right now, but Halloween Photocraft is a great, fun free app. With this app, you can either take a photo or use an existing photo and add all sorts of fun Halloween graphics.
After finishing your creation, I love how you can just Tweet it, Email it or add it to the photo library directly from the app. Easy peasy! Halloween Photocraft is a perfect app to use while you’re out and about enjoying all the Halloween festivities. This app is ad-supported, but best of all, it’s fun and free! Check it out in the App Store.
Yum-O! Lunch Program Launches
I had quite the interesting morning; it was actually a super yummy morning! I’m in the midst of catching up on posts and organizing photos, but I thought I’d share a few photos from my morning with Rachel Ray and Sen. Gillibrand at P.S. 89 / I.S. 289 in Tribeca.
Together with a few other bloggers, I was asked to attend a media event for the launch of Rachel Ray’s Yum-o! Organization’s new partnership with New York City’s Department of Education, Office of SchoolFood. The Senator and Rachel Ray are both advocates of keeping kids healthy and fighting childhood obesity, and I’ll be sure to share more about what they had to say.
As much as I love awesome kid products, I’m just as passionate about learning and sharing about healthy eating and wellness, in general. I’ve written about healthy eating and the reform of nutrition standards here on NKT, and so, participating in this very informative event and to be able provide exclusive coverage on NKT was such an honor.
There’s much more to come!
Sesame Street inspires American Apparel Tees
Good news for fans of the street synonomous for sunny days: this fall, American Apparel and Sesame Street are collaborating to offer limited edition classic t-shirts to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street. Big Bird and other Sesame Street characters will be printed as the original line drawings on American Apparel shirts.
I love the classic homage to the Sesame Street gang, yet vintage feel of this line of shirts. What’s so awesome about these shirts is that not only will the kidlets love them, but so will we. They come in both adult and kid sizes and will be available this fall.
Forty years garnered a lot of sunny days and big, big fans. I’m so excited about these and can’t wait to see more! I’m not only excited about these shirts, but I’m so excited that I’ll be going on a tour of Sesame Street next week! I’m looking forward to sharing all about that, too!
Battle Strikers are a force to reckon with
One exciting toy that’s worth buzzing about is Battle Strikers by Mega Brands. This new toy, which was released earlier this year, is already being called a “breakout toy” by Chris Byrne, AKA The Toy Guy.
So, what is it? An updated and exciting version of the classic spinning top, Battle Strikers takes it to the next level with battery-operated launchers, unique and superfast Strikers and a tournament arena. After being launched, the lightning-fast Battle Strikers can be navigated by magnetic finger Controllers, adding even more excitement to the playing field. Battle Strikers is a simple concept that Mega Brands has revved up to offer a kid-controlled battle system
Mega Brands gave us the chance to test out the Tournament Set, so I enlisted the help of my 12-year old nephew who is no stranger to battle systems. The Tournament Set, which retails for $35, comes with two Launchers, two Controllers, two Strikers and a battle arena. Starter kits and single Strikers are also available.
Upon first impression, as a mom to a little guy, I balked at all the small pieces that Battle Strikers included. (The suggested age range is for 6 years and up) But once the actual Strikers were constructed, it all made so much more sense to me. The Launchers, Controllers and Strikers are all boldly colored and appear to be durable enough to withstand countless battles. The arena is a basic plastic square with walls that allow for enough room for the Strikers to battle, but still be controlled. There are a few great YouTube videos that showcase Battle Strikers in motion, but I love how candid this one is:
As I mentioned, the premise of Battle Strikers is simple, with new technology and engineering for a new generation. There are 12 different Strikers, which all have their own character and strengths, differing in attack, defense and control. Kids can collect and interchange the different Striker pieces to customize and enhance their battles. The Strikers easily click into the bottom of the Turbo Launchers. The Launcher, which channels a joystick of sorts, accelerates the Strikers by pushing a trigger on the handle. The Launcher releases the Strikers by bumping the opponent’s Launcher or tapping the top of your own. Once things are in motion, it’s pretty empowering to be able to navigate and strategize with the magnetic Finger Controller. (Don’t get let the Controller get too close to the Striker because the magnet will pick it up. I know this one firsthand!) The object is to keep your Striker in motion, and the last Striker standing wins.
One thing my nephew kept mentioning is that Battle Strikers reminded him of Beyblades, another battling top sort of toy. From the research I did, it seems like Beyblades has a very loyal following, many of whom seem to have mixed opinions of the new Battle Strikers. I remember buying my nephew a few Beyblades toys when he was into them, but from what I can tell now, they seemed to have fizzled since I haven’t heard much about them. With its powerful launchers and 12 different customizable Strikers and Finger Controllers, Battle Strikers will likely have its own loyal following!
Battle Strikers is a fun new game that involves imagination, competition, strategy and speed, and one that I think older boys will love. Battle Strikers is likely to land on a lot of Christmas gift lists this year, and don’t be surprised if you hear even more buzz on these soon!
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Be sure to check out Battle Striker’s website to get a taste of the action with all their fun interactive features! Battle Strikers can also be found on YouTube and Facebook.