The Peanuts Movie is out on 21st December so, if you’re catching it at the cinema, it’s sure to be your kids’ latest infatuation right before Christmas. Buy in on this by getting them the Snoopy’s Grand Adventure game, available now on PS4™, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U™ and Nintendo 3DS. Suitable for ages 7 and over, Snoopy searches for Charlie Brown and friends, with the addition of Woodstock in two player mode. The backgrounds are fun and one of the best parts is unlocking new costumes as you go along — Snoopy can become a masked marvel or a flying ace.
Interactive toy come video games are all the rage. They’re a good halfway house and gaming with your kids favourite characters as well as malleable figurines, actually inspires real world play. I’m sure you’ve witnessed the same thing when your children watch tele – as soon as their favourite programme or film is over they immediately want to carry on in that imaginary world with their play.
Inspire them with Disney Infinity 3.0, the latest version of Infinity, where you can use specific play sets, such as Star Wars, to tell stories inside that Disney universe. Once you have a number of sets, you can mix and match characters across the Disney world – Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar etc – with toy box mode, using platform, racing, combat and exploration modes.
Never one to be left behind, LEGO has its own version ‘Dimensions’, where worlds collide in the Multiverse. Bart Simpson can play alongside LEGO Movie characters or Doctor Who, borrowing each other’s vehicles and gadgets. All the LEGO characters are welcome to the party except Disney one – as they all live in Infinity world, of course.
The amount of different play sets available with these expansion packs – and new ones being released regularly – mean you’re set up for many Christmas gift ideas to come. Disney Infinity and LEGO Dimensions are available on PS3™, PS4™, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Wii U™.
If you’re strapped for cash, you could always wait for Black Friday deals, with the likes of Amazon and GAME offering new deals every hour. Make a list in advance of what you want, find out where to get it and keep checking back on their websites or sign up to your favourite shops’ newsletters to get deals of when their sales start and what they’re offering.
You might be buying your little monster their own tablet this year. In which case, whilst you’re setting the parental controls, you’ll want to pre-load some games on there. The multi award winning Monument Valley is a feast for the eyes and isn’t just for kids. Try it out on your handheld first, but watch out as the mesmerising and mind-bending architecture will have you hooked. It costs £2.49 and is available on multi-platforms, so you can play at the same time as your little one.