Tech for your travels: top gifts for kids this Christmas
Tech the halls! From high-spec drones to fabulous photo filters, we take a look back at the past year and share our top gadget gifts for the family this Christmas
Kano Computer Kit Touch
Budget blowout: Parrot ANAFI — RRP £499
Capture the whole family on film from above with a Parrot ANAFI; the latest lightweight, foldable drone. The 4K HDR-resolution camera rotates 180-degrees and is controlled through a free smartphone app that has additional in-app purchases if you want to unlock the 'follow me' and 'touch&fly' features. parrot.com
Festive favourite: Kano Computer Kit Touch — RRP £279.99
Turn screen time into a learning experience with their own touchscreen tablet that they have to build from this educational kit. Putting the parts together is a great way to learn what goes on inside our technology and it also comes pre-installed with hundreds of tutorials and challenges. kano.me
Seasonal steal: Thumbsup Retro Gaming Console — RRP £15.99
Loaded with over 150 classic arcade-style games reminiscent of the eight-bit puzzlers, platformers and shooters, this lasts absolutely ages, but one downside is no headphone socket, so what you save in hard cash you might pay for in sanity on a long car journey. thumbsupuk.com
Best gadgets of the year:
Skyroam Solis – RRP £135
The gadget I used most this year is this portable wi-fi hotspot and hub. It works in over 100 countries and each £7 'day pass' delivers 24 hours unlimited 4G data. With wireless connection for up to five devices it's a more secure way for the whole family to get online than public wi-fi hotspots. skyroam.com
Million Mile Light – RRP £12
This battery-free solution to being seen in the dark powered by the slightest movement so can be strapped to a coat or backpack and forgotten about. Whether you're hiking, cycling or just want to spot the kids running around in the dark, you can't really argue with the price. batteryfree.co.uk
Top travel apps of the year:
LifeLapse — iOS/Android FREE (in-app purchase for more features)
Create your own stop-motion film with this simple app — just start a project and add a shot, then each time you want to add more you'll see a ghost of previous content to help you recreate the exact position you were in. lifelapseapp.com
TripFiles — iOS/Android FREE
You might prefer a private environment to share travel snaps content with friends and family only. This app lets you build a beautiful log of your trip, and you can then choose to share the trip with specific people or publish openly on the web. tripfiles.com
Dark Sky Hyperlocal Weather — iOS/Android FREE (in-app purchase for more features)
If you don't want to carry around wet weather gear for the whole family 'just in case', this app offers hyperlocal forecasts by the hour in a nice package, complete with visual graphics of the weather fronts. Upgrade to premium for minute-by-minute notifications about what the weather. darksky.net
Hover, iOS/Android FREE
If you're tempted by a drone purchase this Christmas, make sure you download this app to let you know where and when you can safely fly. As well as local regulations around the world it has drone-specific weather forecasts, flight logs and industry news. hoverapp.io
Plotaverse — iOS/Android FREE (in-app subscription for full features)
As well as letting you bring still photos to life with cool morphing and masking tools, there's now a suite of effects overlays, like a flaming border or falling feathers.