One of the best parts of the holidays is seeing family and friends, though one of the worst parts, in my opinion, is actually traveling far and wide for the visits.  Since almost all of our loved ones live in Texas, we typically get in the car and drive for hours on end.

Now while adults find this type of travel rather boring, children tend to find it excruciatingly dull.  And when a child is bored, believe me, the entire trip suffers.  Thankfully, One Step Ahead has two affordable travel essentials that will keep your kiddos happy and entertained throughout those long car rides.

But wait, there`s more! »

Source: iToy Boxes :credits-caption:

Parenting is all about compromises. Your daughter wants candy for breakfast, so you settle on toaster waffles with only one layer of blue frosting. Your son doesn't want to clean his room, so you agree to a viable path to the hamper if you promise not to look under his bed.

Christmas is no exception to the rule of compromise. Your kids want fun toys, but you don’t want to blow your entire budget on junk that’ll either rot their brains or fall apart before the wrapping paper is taking over your living room floor.  Luckily, there are plenty of great toys for little ones that help develop complex learning skills, like memory, logic & reasoning, processing speed, attention, and auditory and visual processing. Best of all, these brain training games can help strengthen the cognitive skills needed to make learning easier – and they're all under $15!

Just skim through the list and look for skill sets based on your child’s age and abilities.  Do you have a seven-year-old with ADHD?  Look for toys that strengthen selective, divided and sustained attention.  Teaching your kindergartner to read?  Select toys that strengthen phonemic awareness (letter sounds) through rhyming, segmenting and sound blending.

But wait, there`s more! »

Christmas Eve is just a week away, so procrastinators, it's time to get your game face on.  At this point, you may be struggling to come up with truly unique gift ideas that the folks on your shopping list will love.  You may also be dreading battling those long lines and the crowds of people at your local mall.

If any of the above describes your situation, take heart because RadioShack has come up with eight sure-fire hits for the holidays.  And the best thing is, you can get these goodies either online or at your neighborhood location.

But wait, there`s more! »

Honestly, I can't remember the last time I had a landline phone in my house.  I just couldn't see paying almost $30 a month for a phone which RARELY got used, though at times, I still miss having one.  For instance, what do you do in the middle of the night if there's an emergency, yet your cell phone is sitting on the charger downstairs, very much out of reach?

What about if your child wants a phone line of their own, yet you do NOT want them to have a cell phone yet?  Or how about having a second way to make or receive calls if you're like me and get poor cell phone reception in your home?  Thankfully, netTALK has invented a cost-effective solution for all of these everyday problems with the netTALK DUO WiFi.

But wait, there`s more! »

From R2-D2 to Transformers to Wall-E, kids are obsessed with robots.  So what could be more enticing than turning a tape dispenser and on old eater bottle into a functioning robot?

The irresistible Recycled Robots book and kit shows kids how to use their imaginations and old toys to design and build their very own robots!

But wait, there`s more! »

PBS KIDS released data from its annual holiday tech survey which finds this year’s hottest gift for kids will be downloadable.  In fact, fifty-eight percent (58%) of parents of kids 2-10 reported that they will “most likely” or “definitely” be purchasing downloadable gifts such as apps, games, e-books and digital music.

This holiday season, PBS is offering some quick tips to help parents navigate successful selection and use of downloadable gifts:

But wait, there`s more! »