Silent
night, shopping night...
Crikey,
we're tearing into November now, eh? Not long until Christmas, and
even fewer shopping days remaining until the big day. To that end
we're back with another Christmas gift guide, highlighting four more
awesome things that you could stuff in a stocking for someone you
love. Hey, you're welcome, okay?
Sneaky
Cards
No,
not a card game to play around the dining room table over the remains
of the Christmas lunch; this is in fact something you could be
playing all year round. The “play it forward” idea of Sneaky
Cards is that each and every card is a potential adventure, forcing
you to interact with strangers, do something new and exciting, or
brighten somebody's day.
For
example, a card might read “Buy a stranger a coffee”, so you have
to get some random person a fresh hot coffee, and then hand over the
card to them. Ideally, they'll do the same at some point, so the
cards will pass from person to person, doing good. Each card also has
a unique tracking number which can be entered into the Sneaky Cards
website to see where it has been and what it has been involved in.
The whole thing is buckets of fun and could be great fodder for
inspiring interesting New Year's resolutions.
£9.99
Visit
sneakycards.com
Star
Wars: The Force Awakens Choose Your Destiny Lightsaber
See,
another Star Wars product, and one we've had a tonne of fun messing
about with. For those familiar with the Star Wars TV show Rebels, you
might have seen the Inquisitors' spinning double-bladed lightsabers.
Awesome, aren't they? Now you can create your own with this kit which
includes the (battery-powered) spinning hub, and blue and red
'lightdaggers'.
The
handle actually spins, and pretty quick too, while the whole thing is
compatible with other Blade Builders Star Wars products, so you can
extend the length of the blades and use different colours. Still, the
short blades that are included are cool, they light up, and the
effect is pretty nifty. Hey... not long till Rogue One, baby!
EEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!
£19.49
Visit
www.argos.co.uk
Supersize
Thunderbird 3
You
might have seen this toy promoted about in the media as one of the
most-desirable of Christmas 2016... and it's no surprise to see why.
Standing half a metre tall, this spot-on replica of the rebooted
Thunderbird 3 (purists calm down!) looks great just as a thing to sit
on your shelf, but it actually does quite a bit. There are three
modes: take off, flying, and drilling, which togther sounds like a
wonderful night out to us.
The
most striking thing about the model is the ability for the engine
exhausts to 'smoke'. When sitting ready to launch a thin cloud of
vapour erupts from the engines, as well as lights glowing to mimic
the burst of the thrusters. It looks pretty awesome, especially with
the light glowing realistically through the smoke.
After
that you can fly it around the room, along with sounds taken directly
from the show (“F.A.B.” etc...), then land it into drill mode.
Flip out the struts to act as a tripod, and convert the cockpit to
reveal a drill head, perfect for mining asteroids and the like; a
wholesome Christmas activity indeed. All that, and you also get two
mini figures as well; Alan and Kayo. A great set, with some fantastic
effects.
Around
£40
Visit
www.amazon.co.uk
Karrimor
Ridge 280 Head Light
This
Christmas, give someone the gift of light; hands free light! As we
found out recently with this effort from Coleman, head lights are
wonderfully useful at this time of year, and if you know someone who
doesn't let a bit of early-evening darkness get the better of them,
this is an ideal gift.
The
Karrimor Ridge 280 Head light features a battery that can be
recharged via USB and four levels of brightness. Because the battery
pack is separate from the lamp itself, the light feels more balanced
on the head, with no heavy chunk of gadgetry weighing you down on
either side. It is comfortable, adjustable, and infinitely handy in
these dark months; be your intended a runner, camper, or just enjoys
taking out the rubbish in the dead of night. Our neighbours do that,
weirdos.
£24.99
Visit
www.karrimor.com