Daily Star’s Christmas youngsters tech present information, from Toniebox to Harry Potter wand

On Oct 22, 2024

Christmas is coming, and sometimes we need inspiration for what to get the younger family members. So I’ve spent the last few months testing out some of the more unique kid’s tech products, from wands to watches.

The products listed below were tested on my daughter, who is five-years-old, so that should give you a good idea of the kind of customer these are aimed at. Although . . . she’s probably more tech-savvy than most of use would dream of being at that age – the modern world is fun to navigate.

With that being said, here’s my (or her’s) top six recommended tech products for kids this Christmas.

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Toniebox – 5/5

I’ll be honest, I have never heard of a Toniebox until a few months ago, despite my wife swearing she’d told me about them before. For the uninitiated, this £79.95 cat-themed cube is actually going to revolutionise your child’s life if you get one.

It sings, it reads, it educates and, most importantly, it entertains. Thanks to a series of clever little action figure-like characters, your child can pick and choose what they want to listen to by putting it on top of the box, which then starts playing something relevant to the character – basically, it appears to work via NFC-like technology.

There are more than 200 different characters, from Disney to Minions to Paw Patrol and even Rachel Riley’s maths skills, so your child will NEVER be bored. I am yet to find a downside to this box of epicness, and whomever designed it needs a Nobel Peace Prize.

HelloBaby Instant Print Camera – 4/5

Who doesn’t want a camera shaped like a cat?! Aimed at kids from ages three and up, this camera is a brilliant and unique gift, that is actually a bit of a throwback to a certain 1998 Gameboy Camera that we all grew up loving.

It comes with a full colour 3.2” digital screen, can shoot 1080p video, and has a 16gb SD card for your child’s snapping joy. But the unique part of this is that it has a black and white camera on the front of it that works like a polaroid – you take a picture, and out comes the snap.

The printer paper is thermal, which tends to be a little expensive in today’s world, so just make sure you manually send photos to print rather than printing everything. The only negative I found with this is that it’s not great in low-light, so don’t expect to take stunning pictures past about 4pm if you’re outdoors.

It’s currently on Amazon for £39.99 – instead of it’s £69.99 full price – and also has a 30% voucher you can use, which is well worth the price right now.

myFirst Camera 50 – 4/5

For those who want to train their youngsters in something akin to a smartphone without the risks of having an actual smartphone, this is a good option. The myFirst Camera 50 has only recently launched, and will set you back around £109 on their own website – which is a little pricey, if you ask me.

My daughter loved this, as she felt like she had her own phone, which comes with a very powerful front camera for selfie-style shots. It has an in-built video editor, with AI-powered software, but also prioritises safety and privacy with an app on the parent’s phone so that you can see what your child is doing.

My caveat with this is that it appears to be some kind of older smartphone running Android software that I think looks like it’s around Android 10 or 11 – not an issue per se, but I’m not sure how secure that would be when connected to the internet.

I do recommend this for the slightly older child, as it could give them a head start towards becoming a future vlogger.

Orboot Earth Interactive Globe – 3.5/5

I’m starting with the negatives on this one – it’s not the most well built product and requires something not provided for it to actually work. However, once you install an app on your own tablet, the globe starts to shine thanks to AR technology that gives your child more than 1000+ facts and stories from around the world. It’s a great educational tool, and will keep the little one occupied for hours.

I just wish the actual globe did more – like lighting up or making sounds, maybe – and that it was slightly better built. It does feel a bit too cheap and plasticy for my liking.

Currently price at £39.99 on Smyths, it appears to be very popular as it’s currently only available as a Click and Collect delivery.

Harry Potter 14” Light Painting Lumos Wand – 4/5

It’s a Harry Potter wand that lights up . . . what more can I say! This is a great product for Harry Potter fans, and the light at the end gives the younger ones the sense of real magic.

It also comes with a light painting app, where your child will really think they can perform spells. It’s well built, is everything you know and love from the Harry Potter world and will give your kids some serious joy, especially outdoors.

My only negative is the app – it’s a little buggy and slow to respond to the light from the wand sometimers. It’s priced at around £24.99 on Amazon or Smyths, which is reasonable if you have a Potter fan in the family.

myFirst Fone R2 – 3/5

Everyone has a smart watch in today’s world, so why not let your kid have one, too.

The myFirst Fone R2 is actually, despite the name, a watch. Price at £148 currently – something I’ll come back to later – it aims to give your child that bit of responsibility they might crave at a certain age by having an Android-like smart watch that also doubles up as a phone, running on something called FoneOS.

It combines the functionalities of a phone, GPS tracker, music player, camera, clock, and fitness tracker into one convenient device. I have found a few software issues, mainly with the size ratio of the screen. There were several moments where options were half off the screen because it’s clearly set for something slightly bigger.

However, it’s worth the investment if you’re not ready to jump to getting your child a full-on smartphone yet – but the £148 price tag does leave me somewhat wanting more from it, especially with the software issues I kept finding.

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