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Get your running sneakers ready for this Black Friday!  If you haven’t started your gift lists grab a pen and paper now and we’ll get you started with some of the top affordable tech gifts of 2017!  Whether you’re looking for Him or Her or the Littles in your life, there’s something here for everyone.

For HIM

Smartphone Projector
Let’s face it, most of us use our smartphones more than many other devices in our lives.  Take that sharing experience to new heights with a smartphone projector!  A new twist in casting.  Check out the cheaper alternative here!

BioLite CampStove 2
Have a great outdoorsman in your life? Here’s an interesting contraption to stay green and connected all at once!

Tile Slim
Is your guy constantly losing his phone, keys, wallet…(fill in the blank)…?  Let the Tile take the guesswork out of finding those lost items!

For HER

Echo 2nd Generation
With updated features including more built-in microphones and sound quality, the 2nd generation Echo can’t go wrong as a last minute gift for anyone!

Samsung SmartThings Hub
Let’s face it.  Women are worry warts.  Why not put her mind at ease about anything at home so you can enjoy a night out on the town… worry free!  The SmartThings Hub allows you to control and monitor all the smart objects in your home remotely.

Smartphone Photo Cube Printer
In this day and age, we probably have more photos on our phones than our point and shoot cameras.  We may share the majority of our photos on phones, but there’s also something to be said about a physical print to ensure the best of the best is preserved and able to be passed down to future generations. The Smartphone Photo Cube Printer helps to close this gap!

For KIDS

LeapFrog LeapPad Ultimate Kids Learning Tablet
Back in the day, we learned basic skills when we started kindergarten, but in today’s world, our children are expected to already have a basic knowledge of many skills before they even begin those primary grade levels.   This LeapFrog Tablet is not only affordable, but packed full of skill reinforcement and helps prepare and enhance what your kids need to know in school.

Bit
If you have a creative, techy kiddo in your life, consider this artistic robot who combines drawing and coding.  Use colored markers to make paths for it to follow through sensors and connect to a computer or tablet for additional programming features.

Ninitendo Switch
The Switch makes gaming a more versatile and life-like experience with features that allow single-player, multi-player, and shared screen options all in one small device.  Be sure to check out the parental control options as well as a list of top Switch Games of 2017 & 2018 right here.

It’s quickly coming upon us… the feast of the year!  Once again, we’d like to share some favorite Thanksgiving recipes that could bring some new flavors to your dinner table.

Three Meats Sancocho

(INGREDIENTS)
1 cup chopped onions
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground achiote
3 ears fresh corn, cut into 3 pieces
12 cups of water or more if necessary
8 pieces of chicken
1 pound of pork meat or pork ribs
1 pound of beef cut into pieces
2 green plantains, peeled and cut crosswise into 2 inch pieces
4 medium white potatoes, peeled and cut in half
1 pound frozen or fresh yuca cut into big pieces
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt

(DIRECTIONS)
1. Place the onions, pepper, garlic and cumin in the blender with 1/4 cup of water.
2. In a large pot, place the beef, pork, chicken, corn, onion mixture, salt and green plantain. Add the water and bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium and cook for about 45 minutes.
3. Add the potatoes and yuca. Continue cooking for 30 more minutes or until the vegetables are fork tender. Stir in the cilantro.
4. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve in large soup bowls, dividing the meat and chicken and vegetables evenly.

Sausage Stuffing

(INGREDIENTS)
1 lb breakfast saugage (cooked & drained)
3 celery stalks
1 large onion
1 bag bread crumbs
1 large can chicken stock
Poultry seasoning
pepper to taste

(DIRECTIONS)
1. In a pan, fry onions and celery until soft.
2. In large bowl combine celery, onions, and seasonings into bread crumbs.
3. Slowly add broth until bread crumbs are moist.
4. Refrigerate over night if using to stuff turkey or place in casserole dish and bake at 375 for about 35 mins or until hot all the way through.

Cream Cheese Corn

(INGREDIENTS)
20 ounces frozen corn
3 tablespoons butter
8 ounces cream cheese, cut in chunks
¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₈ teaspoon pepper
parsley

(DIRECTIONS)
1. In medium saucepan, warm corn slightly covered in water to about room temperature.
2. DO NOT OVER COOK.
3. Drain corn, place back in pan.
4. Add butter and cream cheese.
5. Cook, stirring over medium heat only until melted, add salt and pepper.
6. Pour into serving bowl and sprinkle slight amount of parsley for color.

Cinnamon Apple Cranberry Sauce

(INGREDIENTS)
2 cups cranberry juice
1 6 oz bag of cranberries (or craisins)
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
¼ cup sugar
2 Gala apples, peeled, cored & diced
2 teaspoons corn starch

(DIRECTIONS)
1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add cranberry juice, cranberries, cinnamon & sugar.
2. Bring to a boil and let cook for 5 mins.
3. Add the apples and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries have softened and apples are tender, about 5 mins.
4. Remove 8 ounces of the liquid to a small bowl and whisk in the cornstarch.
5. Slowly add the cornstarch-juice mixture to the cranberry mixture, stirring constantly. Cook for an additional 5 mins.
6. Remove from heat and pour into a serving bowl.
7. Refrigerate until thickened, about 30 mins.
8. Remove the cinnamon sticks and serve.

Texas Trash Pie

(INGREDIENTS)
1 cup graham crackers, crushed
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup caramel bits
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup pretzels
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (9-inch) pie shell

(DIRECTIONS)
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In large bowl, combine graham crackers, chocolate chips, caramel bits, shredded coconut, crushed pretzels, and condensed milk.
3. Stir well.
4. Pour filling into a pre-made 9-inch pie crust and bake for 40 mins, or until pie filling is firm and crust is brown.

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Coffee Cake

(INGREDIENTS)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cans (16.3 oz each) Pillsbury Grands! Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

(DIRECTIONS)
1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Lightly grease 12 cup fluted tube pan with shortening or cooking spray.
3. In large food-storage plastic bag, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon.
4. Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in pan.
5. In small bowl, mix brown sugar and butter; pour over biscuit pieces.
6. Bake 28 to 32 mins or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Cool in pan 10 mins.
7. Turn upside down onto serving plate; pull apart to serve. Serve warm.

Ages 3+

Gears! Gears! Gears! Space Explorers Building Set

The endless variations for stacking and interlacing the chunky cogs encourages repeat play, all while building problem solving and design skills as you talk to your kids about the solar system and outer space.

SmartGames Snow White

With prompts from an illustrated story book and an instruction booklet with 48 challenges, kids employ logical reasoning and critical thinking to arrange the Seven Dwarfs correctly to keep the Wicked Witch away from Snow White.

Ages 5+

GeoSmart Moon Lander

Easy to put together, take apart, and re-arrange into new configurations, magnetic toys readily foster creative design and intuitive play. GeoSmart’s Moon Lander adds a dash of robotics to the mix with a motor and remote control, giving kids the ability to put their vehicles through their paces. But they’ll need to think critically about how the various components work together and where to make connections to have the motor drive the rover.

Osmo Coding Jam Game

By snapping together “coding” blocks that the game’s app reads and then translates into animated musical compositions, kid-users make music through programming. Though families do need an iPad or iPhone to run the app and play kids’ pop hit creations, this open-ended digital toy encourages creative thinking, spatial reasoning, critical evaluation and computational logic.

Ages 8+

Droid Inventor Kit

Your little one can build their very own custom Droid and bring it to life using littleBits electronic blocks! With the free Droid Inventor app, they’ll give their R2 Unit new abilities and reconfigure parts to design any Droid they can dream up. App includes challenges to promote creativity and customization using household items.

E-Blox Circuit Builder

What if Legos could make a fan spin, or play a little tune? That’s the idea behind the 120 circuit-building projects kids can build with the bricks in this electronics learning toy.  Builders can also design their own circuits, creating linkages to light up blocks, or turn on a noisemaker to annoy their older sibling. #funfact They’re compatible with Legos!

Something for the Big Kids

Swift Playgrounds

A revolutionary app for iPad that makes learning Swift interactive and fun. It requires no coding knowledge, so it’s perfect for students just starting out. Solve puzzles to master the basics using Swift — a powerful programming language created by Apple and used by the pros to build today’s most popular apps.