The I-Turtle is for 8 years old and up, but we have had a ton a fun with it here. You can place the turtle in front of a speaker or plug in right into your iPod. Once you do that, the turtle will start swaying its head from side to side, taping its foot, and moving its shell up and down. The LEDs on the turles shell also flash in different patterns. All of this is done with the beats of the music you are listening too. My kids absolutely love this. Any time we turn music on they run and get the turtle, so they can watch him.  It is very cute.  Now, let me warn you, don’t mess with the turtle’s tale.  The LEDs all turn red, and the turtle does not like it at all.  Also, the LEDs can also turn red if it doesn’t like your music.  Now, if it does like your music, it’ll even play a few of its own riffs!  My kids love that and start dancing to its riffs.

We’ve put it in our kitchen below our counter radio, in front of the tv, and even plugged it into our iPod.  It works great and keeps the kids entertained.  Who can ask for more?

With the new movie that came out, it is awesome that another generation gets to enjoy Indiana Jones. My four year old even find the Indiana Jones movies funny.  When they had to eat monkey brains, well, she thought that was the funniest thing ever.  She also likes that he is afraid of snakes (now, I don’t remember that being in the movies, but it hold true on her Indiana Jones Lego PS2 game).  That being said, there is a whole new round of toys this year with the Indiana Jones franchise.

All I can say about the Indiana Jones Giant Radio Controlled Ant is that it is ugly and creepy — you know, just like real ants.  Oh yeah, and its huge.  Personally, I hate ants which I think is what is the big appeal for this toy.  In Indiana Jones, and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Indy faces a swarm of deadly ants.  Its for ages six and up.  However, the controller is quite large, and it isn’t too difficult to control.  This even comes with a field notebook with ant facts!

The Indiana Jones Room Booby Trap is for siblings who just can’t seem to stay out of each others way.  This has a set of booby traps you can use in your house to help one defend against nosy friends and siblings.  The best part of this toy is that they are learning about gears and levers with this, and they have no idea!  Who knew booby traps could be a learning experience?

Indiana Jones Crystal Skull Adventure Projector is one freaky looking projector.  However, it works a lot better than you would expect.  The video that shines on your walls comes from its glowing eye (and it is as weird looking as you can imagine).  With this, you get to join Professor Jones on several archaeological discoveries and famous scenes from the movies.   This projector includes an audio track, so you can hear about all sorts of famous discoveries while you are watching.  You get the base, a projector, a booklet, slides, and an audio CD.

If you have any Indiana Jones fans in your house, these are some definite toys you need to be checking out for this holiday season!

Does anybody still remember MacGyver?  Do you remember how he could make all those crazy gadgets by using whatever he had on had?  He was always able to escape using the oddest things and get the bad guys.  Well, real life isn’t that far off from some of the things he was able to come up with.  The Sneaky Uses Book series brings us all one step closer to being a MacGyver in our own homes.

The first book in this series of books is Sneaky Uses For Everyday things. From this book, you can learn how to make a megaphone, convert your radio into an aircraft broadcast receiver, and make a flood alarm. There are 80 things in here you can make (and that doesn’t include the bonus applications), and each of these are made from things you should easily find in your house! There are no extra shopping trips needed to pull this stuff off.

The next book is Sneakier Uses For Everyday Things. This book will show you how to make an antigravity rollback toy, a hovercraft toy, and even a breathing device! This is an additional 40 items for you to build in your house!

The next book in the series is the Sneakiest Uses For Everyday Things.  Again, all of these things can be made from items you just have laying around.  I’ve learned how to make a calculator, a magnifier using only a paperclip and paper, and a mini boomerang.  This book has an additional 40 projects for you to try out!  Like the other book, it also gives you step by step directions and illustrations to show you how to make these awesome items.

The Sneaky Book For Boys is right up any boys alley.  They can learn how to get drinking water from plants, make a periscope, and make an emergency flotation device.  I love that at the end of the book there is a list of other books and resources to check into.  You can keep the learning experience ongoing then.  There is also a section in the book for sneaky animals.  You can read all about spider and lizards that are sneaky (and right up a boys alley).

We don’t want to leave the girls out, so there is also The Sneaky Book For Girls. Here we can learn how to make a drawer alarm, make milk into plastic, and how to make batteries.

These books definitely make excellent stocking stuffers for anyone in your house.  The activities can be used in the classroom, for homeschooling, and just for fun too!  I got a kick out of reading how to make some of these items and I definitely felt my inner MacGyver wanting to come out!