As kids get bigger, you find that computer games start to feature heavily on their Christmas lists. And that's fine by me. It's not just they keep them entertained while the grown-ups sit through the festive helpings of EastEnders and Corrie . Or that they're great for hand/eye co ordination and problem solving. But they're also incredibly easy to wrap!
So I asked Ben, six and Harriet, 13 to choose their favourite games from the selection on offer this Christmas. Here they are:
Disney Pixar's Up, available on DS and Wii. Suitable for 3 plus. 'I loved the film and the game is really good too, but I had to get my sister to help me with some of it.' Ben
World of Zoo, available on DS, Wii and PC. Suitable for 3 plus. 'This game gives you the chance to get up close to adorable animals and take care of them all day long. Me and my little brother played on it for ages, washing, feeding and grooming our zoo animals.' Harriet
SpongeBob SquarePants: Truth Or Square, available on Wii, NDS, PSP and XBox. Suitable for 3 plus. 'Spongebob is my favourite TV character, and I think the game is really funny.' Ben
The Sims 3: World Adventures Expansion Pack, available on PC/Mac. Suitable for 12 plus. 'This is a fantastic extension to the Sims 3 game, bacause you are given the oppurtunity to take your Sims families on holiday, to places like Egypt, France and China, whilst there you can do lots of fun missions, like exploring tombs, summoning mummies and hunting for treasure.' Harriet
Lego Indiana Jones 2, available on XBox 360, NDS, Wii, PS3. Suitable for 7 plus. 'This is brilliant – you can build your own levels and share them with your friends and there's lots of exciting action sequences. I haven't seen all the films but it doesn't matter.' Harriet
All the games are available from play.com, and if you shop at any KidStart retailer today, you could win a £100 Play voucher!
written by Liz Jarvis