I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that someone on your holiday shopping list really wants a video game (or 10) this year. I’ve got some great news for you! You can make that person happy while saving money and you don’t even have to get out of your P.J.s to do it.

Amazon.com is getting in on the Black Friday madness with some great deals on over 200 games and accessories and I’m not talking about a couple of lame games that nobody wants to play. These are new and hot titles like Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe for $39.95 (Regularly $59.99), LEGO Batman for $29.95 (Regularly $49.99), and Guitar Hero Aerosmith Wii for $25.95 (Regularly $39.99).

Check out the sale today (Friday, November 28) at Amazon.com

Play Categories: Internet, Video Games, gifts

Books are so 20th century but sometimes your Kindle just doesn’t cut it when it comes to following a dinner recipe. So what to do? Grab a Nintendo DS and pick up the new Personal Trainer: Cooking, an interactive cooking coach complete with tasty recipes and video demos.

In addition to more than 240 recipes from dozens of countries around the world, Personal Trainer: Cooking also features the DS Chef, an electronic cooking instructor who walks users through recipes one step at a time. A built in voice-recognition system allows you to ask the Chef to move forward or repeat a step, which could prove very useful when your hands are covered in flour. With the DS’ touch screen you can check off ingredients on an electronic shopping list and search through recipes by ingredients, number of calories or cooking time.

Personal Trainer: Cooking is in stores now. For more cooking video game fun, check out my review of the new Cooking Mama World Kitchen, online now at Time to Play Magazine and have a great Thanksgiving!

Play Categories: Video Games

Educational toys are much on the minds of parents these days – particularly with school-age children. They want to balance fun with education, and why not. Who wants to finish up doing homework and then do, um, more homework. I was interviewed by a blog called “Free Technology for Teachers” on this very subject. It’s run by a very bright young teacher in Maine… who happens to be my nephew. Check it out!

Play Categories: Industry News

Don’t you just love it when art imitates life? Dance Dance Revolution: The Musical is, as the name might imply, a musical loosely based on the popular Konami video game Dance Dance Revolution or DDR as it is often referred to.

The experimental theater group, Les Freres Corbusier, will bring to stage their futuristic Flashdance-esque world in which dancing is illegal until a strange prophet of dance, named Moonbeam Funk, arrives on the scene to shake things up.

DDR: The Musical opens on December 3 at the Ohio Theater in New York City for a limited run through December 20. Tickets are $18.00 for general admission and can be purchased by clicking here.

Play Categories: Uncategorized, Video Games

From TheToyGuy!

Originally written for the Live with Regis and Kelly Blog

Here come the holidays! And that means toys for kids. But if you’re like the vast majority of people we’ve spoken to over the past months, you’re probably concerned about your budget. The good news is that it’s still possible to manage your budget and have a great holiday. On the show on November 18, we’re talking about toys that are under $20—and you may be surprised at how much you can get for your money.

In fact, did you know that with more than 160,000 different toys on the market at any one time in the U.S., the average price of a toy is still about $10? Of course, you’re going to find some toys that are going to cost a lot more, but being on a budget doesn’t mean having no fun.

In addition to checking out the cool toys I shared on the show, here are some tips that can help you make the most of your holiday toy buying this year—and perhaps from now on.

Play value does not equal cost. We’ve all heard the story about the kid who plays with the box instead of the toy. Well, sometimes that’s because the box is more interesting, sorry to say. Or what about the people who s

Play Categories: Advice, gifts

Thanks to all of you who took the time to write me after my last blog to share your personal stories of the daily struggle with balancing work and family life. As you know, I can absolutely relate to the horrible feeling of having to miss special events with my children.

Last year when I learned that was going to have to miss celebrating the first night of Chanukah with my children I was devastated. So, not surprisingly, when I told my children the news they shared in my misery. A few days later while working the night shift I was telling some of my work buddies that I was going to have to miss the first night of Chanukah with my children and I broke down crying. One of my friends said to me that there must be a solution because holidays are really about who you’re with, not about the actual day or location. She gave me a hug and we got back to work. I thought long and hard about what she said for days.

As the holiday got closer I came up with a plan. The day before Chanukah arrived, while my children were at school, I decorated the house, made potato pancakes, laid out a gift for each child and set up the Menorah. When my children came home from school and walked in the door they looked around with big eyes. I yelled “Happy Un-Chanukah”!!!!! My children were so confused but that didn’t stop them from smiling ear to ear.

I asked my children to sit down so I could explain what Happy Un-Chanukah was. I told my children that I had to work in order to keep our household running properly and that sometimes that may interfere with holidays or special events. However, I told them that a wise friend told me that a holiday or special event should be about who you are with and not about the actual day or location. So, I told my children, whenever we had to miss celebrating an event or holiday from now on, we would celebrate the event on a different day and the celebration would be as magical as if it were the actual day. My children were so excited and our first night of Un-Chanukah began. We lit candles, ate traditional holiday foods and exchanged gifts until the wee hours of the night. Wow, did we have fun. I heard my son on the phone with my parents later that night telling them all about Happy Un-Chanukah and how this year he would have nine nights of Chanukah.

That night while I was in bed I smiled knowing that my children and I had redefined the meaning of holiday in our home. Although I always hate to miss a holiday or special event with my children, I think we have come up with a great solution to the problem. If you are apart from your loved ones on a holiday or special event because of work or any other reason, try celebrating the Un-Holiday and let me know what you think.

Play Categories: Advice, Experiences, gifts

As the mother of two young children and recipient of many odd, duplicate, or “way too cute” gifts, I have become a “regifter”. There, I’ve said it. Whether regifting is your answer to a penny-pinched shopping season, you’re a chronic regifter, or if you truly believe some one else will covet the copper pumpkin potpourri holder you received last year – here are some tips for removing the “tacky” taboo from this timeless holiday tradition.

• New or Used. A key distinction which ultimately defines a “regift” is whether or not it’s been used before. A good guideline is if it’s been used in any capacity, such as shoes worn a couple of times before you realized a 4” heel was a bad idea – it’s a hand-me-down, not a gift. Real gifts are not previously used by the gifter – heirlooms being the exception.
• Rewrap. This is important…if you adhere to no other “rule” of regifting, you must pay attention to this one. Remove and discard the old wrapping and gift card. There’s nothing wrong with passing along one of the nine dolls your daughter received, just spend a few minutes wrapping it with personal care for the newest, appreciative little recipient.
• What happens here, stays here. There is no reason – aside from unnecessary guilt – that you would need to disclose the origin of the gift. Except, for example, if you’re unknowlingly regifting a personalized item…like, say a baby blanket with a miniscule, illegible embroidery of your child’s name that you mistook for a duck – then you should just come clean while earnestly battling the threads applied by an industrial sewing machine.
• Know the origins. If regifting turns out to be your thing, then get organized about it. Keep a log of who originally gave you the gift as there is no more embarrassing gifting moment than giving back to your coworker the hideous scarf that she gave you two years ago.
• Other do’s and don’ts. Don’t regift socks, street corner purchases, soaps, fruitcake, products from out-of-business retailers/companies, broken toys or those without instructions, or dirty kitchen appliances. These may seem obvious, but if they’ve made this list then, trust me, it’s been done.

This year will present many money-saving opportunities, so consider regifting just one tool in the fight against over-gifting, and the never-ending quest to remove “unappreciated” items from your own home. Let the rewrapping begin!

Play Categories: Advice, gifts

Sounds strange but it’s true. This Saturday, November 15, is the first-ever National Gaming Day and it all takes place at your library.

Libraries across the country will participate in the largest, simultaneous national video game tournament ever held. Gamers will be able to compete against players at other participating libraries with their scores displayed online in real-time. Old-timey games, i.e. board games, will also take part in National Gaming Day with Hasbro donating the game Pictureka! to every public library branch in the U.S., with the hope of setting a record for the most people to play a game on the same day.

This gaming get-together is part of the libraries’ initiative to spread the message that libraries are about much more than books. Video games are the next logical step in the libraries addition of new media offerings for their patrons.

For more information, including a map of participating libraries, visit the official site at iLoveLibraries.org.

Play Categories: Video Games

You Say Budget Like It’s a Bad Thing!

As predicted, last weekend (the first weekend after the historic election) saw people going to the stores to make start their holiday shopping. With the uncertainty of the election season behind us, and the prospect that the economy is not going to turn around by magic over the next two months, shoppers hit the stores.

Our correspondents in New Jersey, California, Dallas and Seattle, all told us that holiday shopping was going ahead. Here in New York, Fifth Avenue was lined with people rushing around with bags. Toys “R” Us and FAO Schwarz were jammed.

But we spent a healthy part of the weekend talking with shoppers about how they were approaching the holidays, and while it’s not a scientific sample, almost everyone we spoke to said they were on a budget this year.

And here’s the thing: They were all happy. They were happy to be shopping, out with family, in New York, whatever. Being on a budget didn’t seem particularly onerous to any of them. In fact, some people even seemed proud that they were being careful about the money they were spending.

Don’t tell me we’re growing up!?!?!

Yes, it may be just that. People we spoke to were mindful of what they had to spend. They might think the $300 plush toy was cute. They might even say, “imagine how (insert child’s name here) would love that.” But what they weren’t doing was going into debt to buy it. And they seemed proud and happy that they were shopping responsibly.

I’m the child of Depression Era parents. We didn’t have much money; my parents were teachers, and there were five of us kids. But what we did have was a sense of reality. One of my parents’ cardinal values was living within one’s means. That, they told me, was what grown ups do. Their teaching me, and modeling, that value has, after some youthful mistakes, made me happier and more content and, most importantly, mindful of the privileges I have.

I recently heard a wise friend say, “The secret to your happiness today is to want what you have.” In other words, to focus on the gifts life has given us and be happy in the moment. It’s not that we don’t have hopes and dreams. It’s not that we don’t want to do better, get more, give more to our kids; we all do. But it’s also good to take stock of what we do have and try to avoid feelings of deprivation. They’re toxic and, more than anything, can undermine the pleasures of the holiday.

Which takes me back to all the happy people I encountered braving sloppy gray day in Manhattan last weekend to shop. The dismal weather and the early twilight only made the shop windows seem more enticing. Yet when I asked people what were the best parts of the day, several said that they were loving finding bargains—and they weren’t racking up more credit card debt.

Imagine, I said to a friend whom I met for dinner, what might happen if we had holidays without remorse. Yes, I know that retailers are concerned about their numbers being down, but I think we have to take the longer view. Consumers who live within their means continue to buy even after the holidays. They’re not trying to take care of debts for presents that may be long forgotten long into the New Year.

And isn’t your peace of mind worth it? At the end of the day, we’ve virtually never seen anyone remembered for the presents they gave but for the presence they had in the lives of their families and friends.

Play Categories: Advice, Experiences, Opinions, gifts