5 Gifts to Bridge the Generation Gap

1 Tetris Party on WiiWare
The puzzle video game that has brought dads and children together in competition since the 1980s is now on Wii. Tetris Party has 18 modes, including a multiplayer function in which two or more players battle, and “Co-op”, where players work together to defeat the system. The only change is that you’re standing up and holding a Wii remote to play. And for $12, a day of friendly (or not-so-friendly) competition with your child comes cheap.

2 Hong Kong Disney
Parents usually acquiesce to trips like Disney because pester power rules their wishes. But staying at the castle-themed hotel, and hanging out with Mickey and Donald, besides rides that may get parents screaming more than their children, are likely to win parents over as much as children.
Approx cost for four days for a family of four: Rs. 1,20,000.
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3 Bicycles
Most parents rue the fact that while they had knees full of scrapes and cuts because of their outdoorsy life, their kids see scrapes only on the gaming consoles they are addicted to. One way to get some real-life quality time — and some exercise as well! — is to teach your kids to cycle. Once they’re confident, there’s nothing like a regular morning ride en famille.

Image: Vidyanand Kamat

Bicycles can cost a few thousand rupees to many lakhs. Check out Schwinn (recently launched in India), the home-grown Firefox, or the nearest cycle shop.

4 iPod, with dock
Ever since the Walkman, personal music players help people retreat into their own cocoons. Which can widen the generation gap in a family. Chances are you each have your own iPods loaded with your favourite tunes. Get an iPod dock. And have family listening days where you each take turns to introduce your favourite listening. Who knows, your kids could wind up loving Farida Khanum, and you might find Fergie not bad at all.

Models range from a few thousand rupees while a good dock could cost as much as Rs. 10,000. There are also loads of third-party docks available. 
A good place to start 

5 Karaoke
You don’t have to go to a karaoke bar. You can get karaoke machines, and software and karaoke tracks that will let you use your home PC as the player (you’ll need a sound card and good speakers, though). Karaoke can make the corniest songs fun and get the unlikeliest people to sing. What could be better for family bonding? 

Enter-Tech Magic Sing ET 19 KVis a great new Karaoke machine that will bring out singers in most families. Price: Rs. 20,000.
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