Haunt Jaunts Picks for the Top 10 Coolest Unique Gifts, Gadgets and Toys

I get a ton of catalogs in the months leading up to Christmas. One of my favorite things to do is make a list of all the coolest and most unique gift ideas, gadgets and toys I come across every year.

Some years the same things show up on the list. Like last year in my Christmas Gifts for Ghost Enthusiasts post I thought the smart pens were neat gadgets. They’re on my list this year too, but not in my top 10.

This year anything with wishes or wands seemed to dominate the list. It’s amazing the creations technology has developed these days!

And really e-book readers like Sony’s Digital Reader Touch Edition, Amazon’s Kindle, or Barnes & Noble’s NOOK, and tablets like iPads, the 7 Touch Google Android Tablet, or the Archos tablets should be on this list too. Touch technology is cool and I think tablets are soon going to make laptops obsolete, but I wanted to keep the list to the top 10 coolest gadgets. Tablets and e-readers could easily make up a top 20 list of their own.

So instead I picked the things that appealed to me on a wow scale. They were the following:

10. Mindflex Game

 

I’m certain this one was on the list last year too. It looks so neat. Apparently you move the pieces with your mind. I’d love to see if it actually works or not.

9. Historic Compass Reproduction

It may be an old school type gadget, and there are all kinds of modern digital compasses to choose from, but the look of this appeals to me. It’s got class and personality. Plus its got functionality.

8. Gadget Charger for the Car

I love the novelty of this one. You just plug it into your car’s lighter and you’re set to charge all kinds of things via the two outlets or anything with a USB connection. Slick!

7. Bushnell Backtrack GPS Personal Locator 

This one appeals to me because inevitably whem I’m jaunting around with my husband we get lost. This would help us find our way back. All I’d have to do is plug in our coordinates before we headed out, and if we ran into trouble we just use this little gadget to guide us back to our starting point!

6. U-Record USB Music Archive System

 

Love music and are you old enough to still have a lot of tapes and such? Wish you could store them all so you could listen to them in digital format? Voila! Here’s yet another gadget to let you do that!

5. Barkley the Banker the Coin-Munching Canine

 

This has got to be one of the funnest piggy banks ever! As the copy advertising for it said, “A fun way to encourage kids to save.” They’ll be begging you for coins to feed to Barkly.

Here’s a clip I found of Barkly in action. So funny and obnoxious!

4. The Wizard’s Wand Universal Remote

 

I don’t know if you even have to be a Harry Potter fan to appreciate this one. It responds to your circular, up and down movements to  change channels, control volume, etc. How cool is that?

3. 365 Wishes Candle Set

 

This would make a good New Year’s or birthday gift. There’s 31 different sentiments printed on the candles, one for each day of the month. “Burn a candle a day, and let the inspirational word on the candle burn into the universe, releasing your sentiment.” What a positively positive present to gift someone with!

2. Flying Wish Paper

 

I was instantly intrigued by this one because it involved lighting the paper on fire. The pyro in me perked right up after reading the tagline “Write it. Light it. Watch it fly!” You write your wish on the paper, crumble it into a ball while focusing on your wish, then you unravel it and form it into a tube, place it on the Flying Wish Paper Platform and then light it with a Flying Wish Paper Match. And that’s how you send your wish into the Universe to be granted! (There are also different Flying Wish Paper styles, like one for Love or to Celebrate. Great gift ideas for birthdays, weddings, or any other big Life event.)

Below are a couple of Flying Wish Paper clips. One is one I made, the other is the product’s promo vid.

1. Flitter Fairies

There are all kinds of Flitter Fairies. Pictured above are Alexa (Meadow Fairy), Eva (Lake Fairy), and, my personal fave,  Aerioth (Cave Fairy). There’s also Daria (Forest Fairy) and Mara (Fire Fairy). Here’s the copy that caught my eye and made me stand up and take notice of this cool toy:

Flitter Fairies magically flit and fly all around you with enchanted flapping wings! It’s easy to guide your fairy with your magic wand!…Each Flitter Fairy seeks to bond with a human friend who shares her most important trait such as compassion, protection or inspiration.

More than any toy or gadget I saw this year, this one most appealed to my inner child. Tell me if it doesn’t spark your inner child’s interest when you see this video of them in action: