No 09
The Toniebox is a padded cube with a speaker inside, and a child plays a story or an album by putting a small figurine, a Tonie, on top. Squeeze an ear to change the volume, tilt it to skip a chapter, and the child runs the whole thing without a screen or a parent. The starter set includes the box and a Playtime Puppy Tonie with songs and stories.
It is the Christmas gift for a son or daughter from about three to seven, the baby shower gift from someone thinking a few years ahead, and the gift grandparents give with a Tonie of a favorite book. It is the thing that makes bedtime and car rides quieter.
The box charges on its base, runs about seven hours, and connects to Wi-Fi once to load content. Tonies for stories and characters are the follow-on gifts, about fifteen to twenty dollars each. Seventy dollars for the first screen-free device a kid actually wants.
Affiliate disclosure: links may earn us a commission. Picks are editorial and don't change based on payout.