We live in a small city, meaning everything is very close by. Costco is actually closer than the fruit stand, so we ran (no, actually we drove) over there today for bananas.
Our local Toys’R’Us closed years ago, but Costco has taken over that role. The place is filled with toys, and many of them are set up so you can play with them.
There’s the $4,999 Star Wars pinball machine. Fantastic. You can play all you want, no quarters required. It’s fantastic. Not “buy-it-for-5K” fantastic, but definitely “play-until-your-spouse-yells-let’s-gooooooo-honey” fantastic.
Then there’s a SpongeBob claw machine for $649.99. I dropped the claw six times. Each time I whispered, “The CLAWWWW…” like I was in Toy Story.
Costco, in December, is a grown-up Chuck E. Cheese. And it’s glorious.
That’s when I saw it: a VR headset priced at $14.97.
Wait—what?
It’s listed online at $44.99, but in-store it was marked way down. Again, Costco proves it’s not just a place to bulk-buy granola. It’s a toy wonderland.
Now, let’s be clear. This isn’t VR like Apple Vision Pro or Meta Quest. It’s a passive viewer. You slide in a smartphone, launch a companion app, and the phone screen splits into two slightly offset images. The headset lenses send one to each eye. Your phone’s motion sensors track head movements, and the app renders a scene that shifts as you look around.
Parent translation: It’s smartphone-powered VR. The headset is basically a lens holder. But for an eight-year-old watching a T. rex charge at them? Still absolutely “WHOA.”
So, this VR viewer is more like the ViewMaster I had as a kid, than an actual VR headset. But, if you can find one of these at your local Costco for $15? You will be an absolute hero to your kid, your niece, or your nephew. This would also make an amazing donation to the Toys for Tots station. You could feel like a superhero dropping this thing into that giant cardboard wrapped bucket, protected by those slightly intimidating Marines. Despite this not being an Apple Vision Pro, it’s a great gift for $15, and hey, it does also include a 80-page book. So, big educational win there.
It looks like a hair dryer to me, but Costco is pushing this item this year.
Price: around $60–$80 at many Costco warehouses this season
I didn’t get to play with “Miko Mini,” so I can’t judge how good this robot is. I did see a grandparent intently reading the packaging, so it does look like they are selling some.
This small wheeled robot can chat with kids, tell stories, play music, run educational games, and deliver STEM lessons, all wrapped in a kid-safe design.
Under the hood, Miko uses speech recognition to turn your child’s voice into text, then routes that text through modern language models.
Cameras and sensors enable it to track faces and movement, so it can “look at” whoever is speaking and respond in real time, with some processing on the robot and more complex tasks offloaded to cloud servers over Wi‑Fi.
If you’re considering one, here’s the marketing video for the little hairdryer. Er, kid-friendly robot.
Price: $379–399
Ages: Tech-savvy grownups or families with pets
EBO Air 2 Plus is a rolling robot that looks like a Pixar side character but functions like a mobile security cam. It offers:
3K wide-angle video
Two-way audio
Auto-patrol modes
Pet and human tracking
Face display with animated expressions
You can set patrol routes, drive it manually, or video call into your home. It even chats back.
Parent translation: You’ll buy it for “home security.” Then catch yourself saying goodnight to it.
Bonus insight: Enabot markets this to seniors as a safety and companionship tool. But let’s be real. A glossy ball rolling across hardwood floors? That’s a broken hip waiting to happen. Thankfully, it can then call 911. “Help! I’ve tripped over the home security robot ball thing. Call for help!”
Price: around $700 for a Costco-exclusive bundle
Price: ~$700 for Costco-exclusive bundle
Ages: Adults and older teens
When we were kids, balsa-wood planes flew for 11 seconds before splintering on impact. The HOVERAir X1 is what happens when that plane grows up, goes to grad school, and starts a YouTube channel.
Features include:
Palm-launched flight
4K to 8K video recording
AI-powered auto-tracking
No controller required
It tracks you using onboard neural networks, adjusts to wind in real time, and makes you look way cooler than you probably are.
Parent translation: With this, your teen can be the next Spielberg. (Or, take great skateboarding videos. Or, you’ll end up using it to take videos of the dog.)
Price: around $350–$380 for the Costco bundle, depending on location and timing.
Ages: 14+ or younger with supervision
If the HOVERAir is for creators, the ATOM 2 is the workhorse drone with all the right specs:
4K/30 HDR video
8K stills
AI tracking
30+ minutes flight time
GPS positioning
Sub-249g weight for FAA registration exemption
Parent translation: It’s a “real” drone without the Hollywood budget.
Price: $70–80
Ages: 6–13
This is a child-safe 3D printing pen disguised as a chunky marker. It uses low-temperature filament to let kids draw in midair.
No hot surfaces
Cool-touch nozzle
Plastic hardens immediately
Parent translation: It’s art, STEM, and clutter generation rolled into one delightful gadget.
The video makes it look amazing. I have not doodled with one myself. Curious your opinion if you’ve tried one out.
Price: Varies by warehouse
Ages: 4+
Biscuit is a 22-inch animatronic dog that responds to voice and touch. It can:
Sit, lie down, bark, wag, and sleep
Respond to commands
“Eat” toy treats
It runs on six large batteries, not kibble.
Parent translation: Your kid gets a dog to brush and “walk.” You don’t have to deal with midnight potty breaks.
Whether your kids grow up to be roboticists, filmmakers, engineers, or just people with really cool childhood memories, one thing is clear: toys in 2025 are no longer just toys. They’re wrapped in sensors, algorithms, and a surprising amount of emotional intelligence.
If you’re shopping for yourself, those drone bundles would make a great gift. You’ve been awfully gift this year. Gift wrap it. Put it under the tree and act surprised when you open it. “Just what I wanted!”
Editor’s Note: I’ll be away for the next several days attending the Humanoids Summit in Silicon Valley, so the next full article update here will be on Monday. I’m sure I will have some great anecdotes and video clips to share when I return.
Thank you all for reading. I appreciate all of you.
If you found this valuable, please pass this on.
Deep Learning with the Wolf will always be free. But, sharing my work helps me out as a creator. Thanks!
Share Deep Learning With The Wolf
#ai #robotics #vrforkids #holidaytech #deeplearning #techexplained
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.