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There comes a time in all our lives when we fully appreciate practical gifts, like some new socks or a new frying pan. However, the children in our lives might not treasure these useful presents in quite the same way.

While they might not be turning to the Argos catalogue for inspiration, they’ll doubtless have Christmas lists as long as your arms. If you’re at a loss as to what to get them, here’s a roundup of some of the best Christmas tech toys:

PlayStation VR

No matter how old you are, virtual reality is some seriously cool tech. The downside to VR is how costly it can be. However, if your kids already have a PS4, the PlayStation VR is an impressive and affordable piece of kit.

With specific, full VR games including Gran Turismo Sport and Skyrim VR, this is a toy you can also enjoy once the kids have gone to bed.

Fisher-Price Teach ‘n’ Tag Movi

This mini robot friend is aimed at kids aged three and over. With two wheels, Movi will zip around your living room and engage your kids’ critical thinking skills with its three modes of play – Alpha Fun Actions, Think & Move Shapes, and Learn & Play Games – and has six interactive games.

Movi is sure to be a great source of amusement for the kids while you’re finishing up the Christmas dinner, and we bet that you’ll even find yourself getting involved in “Movi Says”.

Anki Cozmo

So, this might not be the slickest of names, but this is set to be one of the hottest tech toys this year. It was actually available in the US last Christmas, but it is now on sale world-wide. And don’t be put off by its size — Anki Cozmo is one of the smartest robots on the market.

Powered by AI, Cozmo runs via compatible iOS, Android and Kindle Fire apps. It comes with three LED cubes that he can interact with, and has a camera to enable it to see and recognise the blocks, other objects, and even faces. With the Cozmo Code Lab, your kids will pick up coding in no time!

You might not expect a robot to have much personality, but expect to be charmed by this little guy.

Osmo

Let’s face it, it can be hard to draw kids away from the iPad. But, if you’re worried that they’re spending too much time staring at the screen but can’t seem to prise them away, Osmo can help transform their iPad time into fun learning.

Using the iPad as its base (it works with anything from the iPad 2 onwards, including the Air and Mini), it creates numerous interactive games through the tablet’s camera and a red ‘reflector’ that attaches to the top of the tablet to track movement. The packages include play pieces, word counters and “coding” blocks to coincide with the games such as Coding Jam. There’s also a pizza shop which encourages maths.

Kano Computer Kit

There’s something very satisfying about building something on Christmas Day; it makes you feel like you’ve done something productive with the day, and not just sat and eaten chocolate and pigs in blankets all day.

While Lego is still all the rage, the Kano Computer Kit lets your kids build something even more exciting. Complete with its own Raspberry Pi computer, this DIY computer kit aims to encourage kids into the programming process, enabling them to build, run and play with their own computer.

The kit comes with a Raspberry Pi, orange keyboard, case, LED light kit, and all the other necessary accessories. There’s also the option for the package to include a screen and speaker.

Once they’ve built the hardware, the open-source Kano OS will keep them entertained for hours, with its selection of games and exercises, all designed to teach kids how to code, create art, and build apps and games. Who knows, this could help turn your kid into the next Steve Jobs!