I'm not a fan of party-planning myself, possibly linked to a dream I once had involving Margaret Thatcher and a bowl of car keys, but I feel that a few good Dadgets will see me through anything. Having children means that you'll end up arranging countless parties, so what are the Dadgets to look out for?

Let's start with the invitations. Why waste money and rainforests on paper invites when you can plan the whole shindig online for free? There is a wide range of party planning web sites that will allow you to send e-invites to your event and then monitor the RSVPs as they come rolling in electronically.

I recently stayed in a hotel room with a pretty awesome mirror in the bathroom. I’ve seen small shaving mirrors that claim to be fog-free, but this was a wall-sized mirror with a big fog free square in the middle. The genius of this gadget is that they could have probably made the whole mirror fog-free at little extra cost. But what's the point in that if nobody fully appreciates the cool technology? By having it part foggy, part clear, it’s a gadget that screams out, "Look at me, I’m cool! And I obscure your testicles after you shower!"

-by Craig Alan Williamson
Dadgets.info

If you were to catch your teen texting or typing the acronym "PBS" and you're desperately trying to work out in your head what PBS could possibly stand for ... don't worry, you are not alone. These days our children are more likely to use TXTing, tweets and short updates on Facebook than to make an actual phone call. Consequently short codes or Internet speech is used in everyday vernacular. So "PBS" stands for more than just "Public Broadcasting System" ... in this case it's most likely to mean "Parent Behind Shoulder".

I just found this gem of a toy the other day - a mini table tennis set. It is JUST BRILLIANT! You can use it with children from the age of 3 ... but you can also use it on a Friday afternoon in the office for a round of office Olympics (show your co-workers who's daddy! ... or at least who is good at mini table tennis). The sets typically come with two paddles, a little net and net poles and a table tennis ball. All you need is a table. The poles have got suction cups so should work on all smooth table surfaces. It's all about half the size of a normal table tennis table (except for the ball) so don't actually need a lot of space.

Craig at Dadgets.info has come up with a pretty unique Christmas present for your baby ...

If it's your child's first Christmas this year, or even second for that matter, you'll currently be wondering what to buy him/her for Santa's big day. Family and friends will be showering your little prince/princess with toys, clothes, things that make a mess, things that make a noise, things that make no sense whatsoever ... so how can you top that? If you're a practical scrooge then you might be so brave as to not buy anything at all – after all, what does a little baby know about receiving Christmas presents anyway. But if you take this route you risk feeling guilty for the rest of your life. And if your child ever discovers that you never bought anything for his/her first Christmas, you'll be hearing that for the rest of your life (especially at a time when he/she is choosing your retirement home). Luckily, I am here to help you avoid such pain and suffering.

Seasonal greetings to all iPhone Dads! Last year we reviewed 25 online advent calendars in the run up to Christmas. This year it's all gone a bit iPhone and some creative gaming company has come up with the "APPVENT CALENDAR". The website reveals a free iPhone game every day till Christmas. Download the game of the day at work and try it out with the kids when you get home.

Enjoy!

-Stef

Here's another great gift idea for your child’s grandparents, god parents/guardians or perhaps even for yourself. Zumyn allows you to create a mosaic photo of your child using your entire collection of baby photos. The web site's photo upload tool compresses your pictures before uploading (saving you plenty of time), and the clever Zumyn software will then arrange your photos to represent any particular picture you choose. It's free to use, but you can pay for prints on photo paper or canvas if you like the results.

Having your wife under the weather can be quite a chore, especially if you have to look after the kids as well. Fetch me this, go get me that, wipe my nose, scratch my feet – it can all get a little tiring. However, the wise Dadget-lovers amongst you will sense a fantabulous Dadget purchasing opportunity.

A sick wife is a helpless wife, and any temporary illness is a perfect time to ask approval for the Dadget that would ordinarily be out of your reach. I especially recommend selecting the ‘drowsy’ variant of any medication so that she’ll be even more amenable to your request.

BONUS TIP: Pregnancy is the golden period for Dadget authorisation as you’ll have 9 months of weakness and vulnerability.

“Here’s another Lemsip, darling.”

“I love you so much. You’re taking such wonderful care of me, and our baby boy. I’m so pathetic when I’m ill.”

Tell yourself that you’re saving yourself from the agony of having to redecorate your dining room. You’re also stickin’ it to the man.

Tell your wife that buying the Playtray is cheaper than buying a new shagpile.

You’re the worst parent in the world if you allow your child to eat from a tray attached to a highchair. Or at least, that’s what Stokke will make you believe if you read their preachy web site:

“children who eat dinner with their families are exposed to a greatly reduced risk of developing social problems in later life”

“a highchair that enables your child to sit with you at the table…provides your child with a secure platform for growth and development.”

Meanwhile on planet earth ...

What's the number one annoying thing about electronic toys (apart from the daft sounds they usually make)? Flat batteries I reckon ... having to replace them every 5 minutes is not only costly but also screws up the planet as household batteries usually end up in the garbage can where they turn into chemical timebombs.

Fortunately the good people at Ecotronics have come up with just the solution. Electronic toys that don't need batteries! The concept is simple - use a small generator to produce energy on the fly. All Ecotronics toys feature some kind of handle or wind-up thing that you need to turn a few times or squeeze to generate enough electricity to keep the toy running for a while. Brilliant - using this simple meachnism an Ecotronic toy achieves three things:

* saves you money and helps save the planet
* teaches your offspring the fundamental concept of work and reward