Nintendo 3DS XL Archives - Listen to Lena

Note: The following giveaway is open to Canadians only.

Years ago, when I first became a mom, I had an idealist view of how I would parent – and how my boys would flourish and grow. I’ll make their baby food from scratch! I promised. No television for my boys! I declared. And the kicker – They’ll never, ever be caught with those dreadful handheld gaming devices!

Well, I didn’t make baby food from scratch. And Lord knows I can sing the theme song from almost every Disney Junior show, so there’s that. But I held out on avoiding video game systems for as long as possible, wrongfully assuming that every child who encounters them instantly becomes addicted. Not true at all.

In fact, I found that introducing my boys to the Nintendo 3DS XL has had a very positive effect on their cognitive skills, such as spatial navigation, reasoning, memory and perception. Additionally, I’ve absolutely seen an improvement in their social skills, like sharing, compromise and offering encouragement (although we do have a tug-of-war over the device from time to time, but they’re siblings and it’s to be expected). All in all, you could say that my opinion of handheld gaming systems has changed incredibly over the past few months.

So what’s all the fuss about? The Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL systems feature a stereoscopic 3D display on the upper screen to give objects within the game world a feeling of space and depth. It becomes easier to see the position of characters and obstacles, making many game experiences even more intuitive for all types of players.

(Since the boys are still young, we disable the 3D effect thanks to a built-in 3D Depth Slider, which allows us to adjust the intensity of the 3D settings on the Nintendo 3DS system.)

Of course, one feature we haven’t tried and are eager to as the boys grow: the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL systems can take photos in 3D. Capture eye-popping images of friends and family, have fun with filters like the Merge lens, or even use the system’s AR technology and included AR Cards to make Mii characters and Nintendo heroes appear in the real world. Très cool! …

Worst kept secret: I LOVE alliteration in my post titles. Hahaha!

Now there are just two more shopping days left until the BIG DAY. You know, that little holiday known as Christmas. And this past weekend, I locked myself in the basement and wrapped up a storm; prezzies for my gorgeous new niece, the boys’ awesome grandparents, and even a surprise or two straight from ol’ St. Nick. With delight, I arranged the gifts under the tree, pausing to coordinate the colorfully wrapped boxes.

Of course, I spent the rest of the evening swatting curious hands away from the presents, doling out reminders to be good boys and wait for Christmas Day. For the most part, the kiddos were on their best behaviour – I only found a few gifts out of place this morning. But a little box shaking here and there never hurt anyone, right?

So, you may be wondering – what’s under MY tree? As a Canadian mom, with free will and the means to choose her favourite gifts, what did I wrap up last night? Presenting (pun intended)…. The Top Three Toys Under My Tree.

1. Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Crawl Around Car

For my sweet little niece, of course, and perfectly age appropriate from 6-36 months. The Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Crawl Around Car puts baby in the driver seat of a fun-filled stationary vehicle with all-around learning and play. The interactive lights and sounds dashboard keeps baby busy with a light-up baby “GPS”, horn to honk, gears to shift, and more. With over 75 songs, tunes and phrases, and three modes of play, there’s plenty of fuel for learning adventures and fun!

The stationary car encourages baby to sit up, crawl, pull up, stand and move all around for play inside and out. Includes a built-in ramp for ball play (3 balls), shapes and colors sorting door (3 shape blocks) , and introduces baby to letters, numbers, colors, first words, greetings and more. The Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Crawl Around Car is rated one of the Top Toys of 2013!

2. LeapPad Ultra

For my curious little pre-schooler. It’s got the graphics, the camera, and the looks, just like my own wireless device. But LeapPad Ultra is a kid-tough tablet. Built from the inside out just for kids, it has child-friendly controls, an ultra-tough frame and a screen designed for a kid’s light touch. Plus, LeapPad Ultra is the only child tablet with LeapSearch powered by Zui—a secure browser that lets kids explore the content they love. Everything on LeapSearch has been handpicked by a team of learning experts, with parental settings for easy fine-tuning. And, the LeapPad Ultra learning tablet comes packed with 11 apps and tons of fun features, designed by educators just for kids. Little ones can write, draw, snap photos and even make videos. With so many ways to create and explore, LeapPad Ultra is the ultimate kids’ tablet to inspire a love of learning.

3. Nintendo 3DS XL

For my enthusiastic gamer who’s at the perfect age to perfect his coordination. The Nintendo 3DS XL system opens up a whole new world of eye-popping gameplay possibilities. The stereoscopic 3D display of the upper screen gives objects within the game world a feeling of space and depth that extends far into the back of the screen. It becomes easier to see the position of characters and obstacles in the world, making many game experiences even more intuitive for all types of players. Achieve total immersion with a 90% bigger screen than the Nintendo 3DS; I’ve taken a peek, and it’s spectacular.

And the hottest game? Mario Party: Island Tour of course. Gather your friends and family—up to four people can join Mario on the Party Islands: a wonderland of 80 all-new minigames, 7 new boards, Streetpass minigames, and more. Packed with content and unique ways to play on the 3DS and 2DS, this island tour will seem brand new every time you play.

Well folks – those are the top three toys under my tree. Consider it my official endorsement!