Technology can have the propensity to take over family life. Whether it’s a constant need to check the Smartphone or a videogame you need to complete, keeping a balance with face to face time can be tricky. My approach is perhaps a little unorthodox but seems to work — we go for broke on a particular craze, burn out and then move on.

Skylanders Giants is an interesting example as it is designed to keep you hooked for a long time. If you’ve not come across it before it’s a videogame that uses Near Field Technology in toy figures (purchased separately) to grant access to characters in the game world when they are placed on a Portal peripheral and then save progress back onto the toy as soon as they are removed. Magic!

Of course it’s no bad thing that the game takes a while to play, offers all sorts of side-quests and challenges to keep you coming back and releases the toy figures in waves (although that last one is maybe more contentious ). As Eric Kain put it in his review “This is the stuff of imagination: a game that doesn’t end when the console is turned off. That’s a good thing, even if it is a bit on the pricey side.”
read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/andyrobertson/2012/11/15/skylanders-giants-wave-1-unboxing/  
trampolines also make a great xmas gift http://www.squidoo.com/trampoline-with-enclosure-the-best-exercise-for-kids