As we get closer to the big day, don't forget to download the content you need to run those new high-tech toys! For example, the LeapFrog Tag Reading System (Compare Prices) requires a grownup to plug the USB cable into a computer and download the books before they can be read. While this technology works pretty well, it's best to allow extra time in case you run into hiccups.
To avoid disappointment on Christmas morning, parents should also pay attention to Christmas toys' compatibility with your home technology. For example, the cool, new Dora Links doll (Compare Prices) is a high-tech toy with an online component, but it doesn't work with Macs.
I have a close friend who grew up in the UK and speaks the Queen's English. Her two daughters were born in the US, but because both she and her husband speak with a UK accent, the girls do too! She treasures toys that allow her girls to hear voices from her homeland, so she cleverly downloaded several Tag books from LeapFrog's UK site for her daughter's Tag Reading System.
Parents can also program many LeapFrog toys to greet the child by name, so that's another good thing to do in advance.
We think maybe Santa will bring Tag books for our sons, so I put the Tag Reader and the USB cable in my suitcase when we traveled to my parents' for Christmas. Hey, sometimes even Santa needs a hand in the technology department!
Not only does my daughters US bought Tag pen read some books in British English and others in American English, but our younger daughters My Pal Violet sings some songs and speaks some words in British English, peppered amongst the American English!
Go Leapfrog!