Christmas Eve is a magical time. The tree is lit and the ornaments spark and shine. The cookies are freshly baked and placed on a special plate for Santa next to a glass of milk. The lawn is sprinkled with reindeer food to entice Santa to arrive. The stockings are hung on the fireplaces with care (and the occasional last ditch effort note to Santa). Finally with any luck, the kids are tucked in their beds fast asleep.
Then the work begins!
No matter how hard we try or how prepared we think we are, instead of cuddling on the couch watching a Christmas movie, we are on the floor surrounded by toys, wrapping paper and a ton of garbage. In our home, we like to have the BIG present put together for Christmas morning. These ones are usually buried behind the tree, but we love setting them up like the came straight from Santa’s workshops. With heaps of stockings, paper and gifts, my hubby and I tag team it as we trudge through the Perfect Christmas process. Normally around midnight, we crawl into bed knowing the wake up call will only be a few hours later!
This year, I fear that I may be only one doing the wrapping. My husband will still be around, but I’m afraid the “setting” of our son’s SPHERO MINI will take up all of his time!
The SPHERO MINI
The SPHERO MINI is a miniature ball and robot in one. Packed with teeny tiny tech, Sphero Mini has a little gyroscope, accelerometer, and LED lights. You simply download the app, connect to it via bluetooth and watch the marvel of technology. Imagine the amazing Sphero Ollie, shrunk down to 46g and 42mm in diameter. Although its mini, there is nothing weak about this product. The SPHERO MINI has an impressive 10-metre range, the ability to charge directly via micro-USB and can reach the speed of 1 meter per second. The battery life last 45 minutes on a single charge and unlike its big brother, you can play again in an hours time (vs. 3 hours for the Sphero).
There are three different ways you can play with your SPHERO MINI; Driving, gaming and coding. The Drive Mini Face Drive mode is for sure going to be my son’s favourite! User can move the SPHERO MINI by using his face! A smile moves the toy forward or frown to move it backwards, an angry face causes it to run away and winking changes the Mini’s colour LED lights. The SPHERO MINI comes with florescent pylons and bowling pins to increase the difficult level. In the gaming mode, you can use the ball to shoot your way through space, race through a tunnel, or to destroy a polygon of bricks. For a bigger challenge, you can download the Sphero Edu app on your phone and control your robot by learning how to program in JavaScript.
When gaming and technology is all your son can think about, the SPHERO MINI is the perfect gift to entertain, challenge and teach him new skill. Now the only problem will be trying to get it away from Daddy.
The wrapping part is special to me. I like getting it all ready. I think I prefer it to cuddling and watching a Christmas movie.