10 Amazing Toy Deals to Expect for Black Friday 2023

10 Amazing Toy Deals to Expect for Black Friday 2023

Toys and games are an integral aspect of a growing child’s life and an entertainment source for adults. They help develop children’s intellect, communication, and social skills and provide adults with much-needed respite and mental stimulation. Black Friday is a time when one can check out different types of games to their heart’s content, as most of them have lucrative discounts. So, here are some toy and game deals to expect on Black Friday 2023:

Building blocks
There is a reason why most kindergarten schools have building blocks in their playrooms. Playing building blocks helps develop children’s hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, reasoning ability, problem solving, and creativity. Here are some deals one can expect on popular building blocks this Black Friday:

1. PicassoTiles
PicassoTiles offers building blocks that are designed to foster spatial awareness, motor skills, and cognitive development among children. These building blocks are available in several sizes, from compact 13-piece sets to elaborate 200-piece ones. Amazon offered up to 65% off on PicassoTiles building blocks last Black Friday, increasing shoppers’ expectations of discounted prices on these products this time around too.

2. LEGO
The building-block sets by this eponymous Danish brand need no introduction. LEGO blocks are available in various types, typically cutting across age barriers. Black Friday is the perfect time to buy these fascinating block sets at highly competitive prices. For example, LEGO Star Wars sets were offered at up to 42% discounts last year on Amazon, while the Lego’s Jurassic World Dominion set, suitable for children, was offered at 20% off.

3. Melissa and Doug
Regarded as a leading brand for wooden preschool toys, Melissa and Doug offers an incredibly vast selection of wooden building blocks that are sure to transport toddlers to a fascinating world of fantasy and challenge. Kohl offered 25% off on select Melissa and Doug toys on Black Friday 2022. Some of their classic play sets were also available at discounted prices on Amazon. For example, the brand’s Top & Bake Wooden Pizza Counter Play set was available at flat 31% off on Amazon last year. In addition, the website organizes its own Black Friday sales on its website, offering a sitewide 30% off on its products. Thus, one can expect significant discounts on Melissa and Doug’s building-block sets and similar toys during Black Friday 2023.

Board games
Board games are typically introduced in one’s formative years in the form of Clue, Catan, Snakes and Ladders, Ludo, etc., to help develop children’s motor skills, arithmetic skills, and shape, color, pattern, and word recognition. More advanced board games are available for older children and adults, fostering social skills and enhancing logic, memory, and reasoning. Here are some board games for children and adults that one can expect to bag at discounted rates during Black Friday 2023:

4. Qwirkle
Although this game is ostensibly basic, it entails several cognitive benefits, not only for children but also adults and seniors. The game involves taking turns to arrange tiles in a line, such that it comprises six tiles, either of the same color but different shapes or of the same shape but different colors. The player who places the sixth such tile to complete a row of tiles of the same color or shape wins six extra points for achieving a Qwirkle. Last year, Kohls and Target offered up to 50% off on board games and puzzles. Thus, Qwirkle, a popular board game on these sites, may be available on sale this Black Friday.

5. Catan
This is easily one of the best board games to encourage social interaction and healthy competition. Catan players are “settlers on the Catan island,” competing against each other to establish a civilization before the others. Although originally priced at $49, the board game was available at $19 off on Black Friday 2022 and will likely be offered on sale once again this shopping season.

6. Exploding Kittens
This game entails regular and “exploding kitten” cards. Players take turns to pick cards from the deck until a player pulls out an “exploding kitten” card. This player is eliminated from the game, which continues until only one player, the winner, is left in the game. Exploding Kittens is popular among children and was offered at a whopping 50% off on Target last year.

7. Mysterium
This game may be played between as few as two players or as many as seven. Here, one of the players plays the ghost, while the rest assume the roles of “psychics.” The ghost and the psychics unite to act upon their intuitions and guesses to solve a murder mystery. This edge-of-the-seat board game was available at 30% off on Amazon last Black Friday; therefore, shoppers may look forward to deals on this product even this year.

Dolls and dollhouses
Dolls and dollhouses are perhaps the first opportunities for pretend play for many people. Building and maintaining a home is a significant responsibility that is effectively fostered among children through dollhouses during their formative years. Here are some Black Friday 2023 doll and dollhouse deals to look forward to:

8. Rainbow House
This brand’s dolls and dollhouses come in various sizes and types and are immensely popular for their aesthetic appeal. Rainbow House dollhouses were offered at 53% off on Black Friday 2022.

9. L.O.L Surprise!
L.O.L Surprise!’s dolls entail “magic” elements that are sure to leave children in awe. The brand’s products were available at 39% off at Walmart last shopping season and are likely to go on sale this year as well.

10. Disney Princess
Often, children cannot seem to get enough of the fascinating world of Disney princesses, and Disney Princess dolls and dollhouses help kindle their imagination further. Available at 34% off on Walmart last year, these dolls and dollhouses may go on sale for Black Friday 2023.

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A handy guide to buying the right laptop

Laptops are powerful portable tech that is versatile, compact, and fast, making them the preferred choice. However, the best laptop for you is the one that complies with your needs. Now, there is a plethora of laptops in the market. This makes choosing the right device a daunting task. To help you, here is a guide to help you buy a laptop as per your needs and the best ones available in the market. Plan your budget Thanks to tough competition between laptop brands, you can buy a laptop for as low as $200. But if you can increase your budget, you can buy a quality laptop with better performance and features. Laptops like HP Stream and Dell Inspiron 11 3000 are the least expensive, costing about $150-$200. Laptops costing $900 and above have faster processors, cutting-edge graphics, and powerful resolutions. Moreover, they are lighter, making them efficiently portable. Pick your operating system Do you want a Windows or a macOS? There is no wrong answer, as the choice of the operating system solely depends on your preference. If you are confused, here’s a brief summary of each. Windows 10, Microsoft’s latest operating system, is the most flexible. Moreover, laptops with Windows OS are generally inexpensive and offer features like touch screens and dual graphic chips. On the other hand, macOS Big Sur is Apple’s latest desktop operating system and is expensive. If you are a tech wizard and know your way around an OS, you can also choose operating systems like Chrome OS and Linux. Specifications As per your needs and budget, opt for the most powerful processor, as processors influence the performance and speed of the laptop. Most laptops have an Intel® processor, although some laptops even come with an AMD processor. Inexpensive laptops offer Intel® Atom®, Intel® Celeron®, and Intel® Pentium® CPUs that are good for light document editing and browsing. However, if multitasking and speed are important to you, then opt for an Intel® Core™ i3, or better yet, an i5 or i7. Next, you should check the RAM size. Most offer only 4GB RAM space. However, experts recommend that you opt for a minimum of 8GB RAM. Furthermore, get a laptop with a solid-state drive (SSD) since these are three times faster than a hard drive. Consider buying a laptop with a minimum of 9-plus hours battery life with a 12.5- to 14-inch screen size. Top 5 laptops of 2021 To further help you, here are the five best laptops of 2021: Equipped with an 8th Gen Intel® Core™ processor and 16 GB RAM, the Google Pixelbook Go is the perfect choice if you’re looking for a fast and efficient laptop. Along with a great processor and impeccable response rate, this laptop boasts of a touchscreen display that can play 4K videos. If you’re looking to upgrade your laptop, checkout Google’s laptops on sale and save big this shopping season. The Dell XPS 13 offers excellent performance, 3.5K OLED touchscreen, i3-i7 processor, option to choose an 8GB or 16GB RAM, SSD storage, powerful display, and a sleek design. The Apple MacBook Air with the latest M1 chip provides an outstanding 14-plus hours of battery life and lightning-fast processing speed. Next is the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 that is powered by the Intel® Core™ i5/i7. It comes with features like touchscreen, top-notch graphics, and up to 1TB SSD storage. Finally, don’t forget to check out the latest IdeaPad Slim 7 by electronic giant Lenovo. The recently-released laptop comes with a 15.6” display, 11th Gen Intel® Core™ processor, 512 GB SSD storage, Dolby Atmos® Speaker System, and a whole lot more. If you find this laptop a bit pricey, don’t worry. There are several fantastic deals on Lenovo laptops right now, and you can grab this one at a lower price from the company’s website.

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7 Offers to Explore on the iPhone 14 Series

The iPhone 14 series is still one of Apple's top-of-the-line offerings that one can purchase at the Apple store or other third-party retail websites. Hundreds eagerly wait to upgrade to a new device or buy their first iPhone, lest they find a suitable offer on a preferred Apple smartphone. For those intrigued, here are seven offers on the iPhone 14 series that could help save money and make repayments easy. Apple - Trade-In 1. One of the most popular offers that customers may come across when they shop from the Apple website is Apple Trade-In. With this, they could get between $40 to $650 credit toward their new iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Plus. One could get up to $800 for their trade-in when they finance with select carrier deals at Apple. One needs to answer a few questions to estimate their trade-in value and pick their payment methods, after which Apple will mail the customer a trade-in kit. The customer must ship their trade-in device within 14 days of receiving the kit. Once the device is shipped, a team at Apple will inspect and verify its condition. More details about Apple trade-in can be found directly on Apple's website. Apple - Card cashback 2. Customers who shop at Apple can use the Apple Card to pay monthly at 0% APR. They could also get 3% Daily Cashback on the Apple product purchased - all upfront. When checking out the iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Plus, they must choose Apple Card Monthly Installments and connect the new iPhone to AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon. Customers can check if they are eligible for this offer directly on Apple's website. Other benefits with the Apple Card include Unlimited Daily Cashback with every purchase, including 3% at Apple, at select merchants when one uses the Apple Card with Apple Pay, and 2% everywhere else that the Apple Card is used with Apple Pay. Further, one will also get an Apple-designed titanium card usable anywhere Mastercard is accepted. Apple - Free subscription to Apple Music and Apple TV+ 3. There are multiple third-party retail stores where one may get a free Apple Music and Apple TV+ subscription. This offer might apply to the entire Apple iPhone 14 lineup, including the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. As part of the offer, customers who buy an eligible device may receive a free Apple Music subscription for up to 4 months, which gives them access to over 9- million songs and 30,000 playlists ad-free, online or off. The Apple TV+ offer gets them a 3-month free subscription, through which users can stream Apple Original series and films, and new Apple Originals are added every month. Verizon - Free with a new line offer 4. Customers who buy the iPhone 14 or the 14 Plus from Verizon might be eligible for the device for free. They have to add a new line of service on a qualifying plan. The users could get the basic iPhone 14 or the 14 Plus for free with any 5G unlimited plan. As for the iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max, the user will need the Unlimited Ultimate plan for the more advanced iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max. AT&T - Installment deal 5. Customers could save significantly when they shop for an eligible device from the iPhone 14 series at AT&T. For example, they could save over $300 when they pick the base iPhone 14 device and get it for about $11 a month on a 36-month installment plan. The customer must buy an eligible variant on a qualifying 0% APT installment agreement, including taxes on the full retail price (upfront) and a $35 activation/upgrade fee. They must then activate/keep the postpaid eligible unlimited service. After this, the user could get up to $335, $255, or $274 in bill credits on the iPhone 14 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB respectively. The complete terms and conditions can be found by selecting the iPhone 14 on AT&T's website. Customers might also be eligible for a similar offer on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max variants on the third-party retail website. AT&T - $100 off through third-party retail websites 6. Another popular deal from AT&T could be found on select third-party retail stores. Customers who purchase an eligible device, such as the iPhone 14 128 GB, could get it for as low as $630 when they activate it with a new AT&T line or account. That is $100 off its current retail price. One may get a similar price cut on the devices, including the iPhone 14 Plus, Pro, and Pro Max models. Mint Mobile - Phone + Service Deal 7. Customers who shop from Mint Mobile might be eligible for the iPhone 14 series Phone + Service Deal. Purchasing any 6-month plan at the telecommunications provider could free the user six months of additional network service. For example, while Mint Mobile's unlimited plan is $30 per month, one must buy a 6-month plan and get an additional six months complimentary.

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