Talking holiday toys that can become your kid's digital friend

The illusive Hatchimals for ages 5 and up retails for $60 in the US (£59 in the UK and AU$110 in Australia). It launched this holiday season and is flying off store shelves. Hatchimals are interactive electronic creatures inside eggs that hatch on their own when cared for, a process which includes touching and talking to it. You won't know what the Hatchimal will look like until it hatches. There are four styles of Pengualas and four Draggles.

If there were a kids version of the Amazon Echo this would be it. The CogniToys Dino is an interactive kids toy that retails for $99 (roughly £80 and AU$135). During setup you input your child's name and birthdate, and the Dino will only respond with age appropriate answers. It doesn't sound as fluid as Alexa, but unlike most assistants it will play games.

Brightlings are for kids ages 4 and older and retails for $30 (£25, AU$40). They come in three different colors: pink, purple and blue. The dolls can say about 100 phrases, sing and repeat what kids say to it. The Brightlings have buttons in their hands, bellies and ears. The hand button takes you through modes and the ear button is where you would select a choice from a sub-menu like a particular type of music, and lastly the belly is where you confirm it.

Meccano -- Meccanoid 2.0 is a 2-feet high (60 centimeters) robot for ages 10 and up, and retails for $139 (roughly £110, AU$190). It's an electronic device you build, consisting of 497 parts and pieces with tools included. However, the four D batteries required to run it are not. It's a great next step for those who love to build with Lego blocks or even a parent-child project. After building it, you can also program its actions as well.

For ages 3 and up, Zoomer Marshall is a well-recognized character from the popular Nickelodeon show "Paw Patrol." Zoomer Marshall runs on four AA batteries, has about 80 missions as well as 150 Paw Patrol sounds and phrases.

Mebo is an Android and iOS remote controlled robot equipped with a camera that broadcasts 720p video and audio back to a phone or tablet controlling it. The Mebo can also record audio/video (pictures too) and playback audio from its built-in speaker. While you can't actually talk to Mebo, you can talk through its speakers. It can also be controlled over the internet when you aren't home (so you can chase your pet around the house when you aren't there), and it has a claw that can pick up and move things. The robot retails in the US for $120, or roughly £95 and AU$165.

Zoomer Chimp is an interactive chimp that not only recognizes voice commands, but also moves about on all fours and can stand up straight. He communicates in his own chimp language, responds to voice commands, can dance around your play area and can sense your hand motions to move him around. Zoomer Chimp comes with rechargeable battery and retails for $120, converting roughly to £95 and AU$165.