The much-anticipated Nintendo 3DS finally has a UK release date – March 25th 2011. The dual-screen hand-held successor to the DSi will be the first to include a 3D screen that doesn’t require the viewer to wear glasses.

With a retail price of around £229 and available in either Aqua Blue or Cosmos Black, this is a considered purchase, but is it worth upgrading your son’s or daughter’s DSi to a 3DS, especially as it is recommended that children under 6 years old switch the 3D option off (3D games can be played in 2D as well).

The list of games at release is a mixture of classic Nintendo franchises with some strong third-party titles as well:

• Nintendogs & Cats
• Super Monkey Ball 3d
• Asphalt 3d
• Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars
• Street Fighter 3d
• Rayman 3d
• Ghost Recon
• Splinter Cell
• Pro Evolution Soccer
• Pilotwings Resort

To date there seems to be no titles planned that are based on any Kids TV franchises, but the DS/DSi has plenty around at the moment, with more to come, so I expect that some programmes will eventually have their own titles developed for the 3DS. I can see some of the bigger American shows, like Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Do, appearing fairly quickly, along with Ben 10 for older kids. On this side of the Atlantic I’m hoping Peppa Pig will make an appearance, although with 2 DS titles released and third on it’s way, I don’t know if there is much more they can do with Peppa and her friends. Maybe a full-blown adventure title would be good.

The 3DS will also be able to play regular and 3D movies, which makes it a good alternative to a portable DVD player, if enough titles are available to purchase. I also hope they don’t restrict it to recent Hollywood blockbusters – it would be great to see some older movies and regular TV series on there, even if it is in 2D!

Santa Claus is coming to town! But before he does, he’s sending personalised letters to children to confirm his annual visit.

The NSPCC’s Letter from Santa fundraising initiative gives parents, grandparents and anyone else the chance to nominate someone special to receive a magical Letter from Santa for a suggested donation of £5. The letter is personalised with the child’s name and age and confirms his sleigh stop in the child’s home town to wish everyone a merry Christmas. The letter is written in a hand script font and is beautifully illustrated on quality colourful paper. The envelope shows that it’s been safely delivered through ‘express Rudolph Mail’. The person ordering the letter also stands the chance of winning a trip to Lapland*.

Fundraiser Hannah Parrott said: “Letter from Santa adds to the joy of Christmas by making a special child in your life feel some extra festive magic. The initiative also helps us to raise money to support children who are perhaps not as fortunate to have such loving adults thinking of them at this time of year.”

Also on offer is a Baby’s First Christmas letter, which is the perfect keepsake for newborns celebrating their first festive season.

Everyone ordering a Letter from Santa this year will automatically be entered into a free prize draw to win a family trip to Lapland* thanks to the generosity of lastminute.com.

*The family trip to Lapland will include:

• A family holiday consisting of two adults and two children (child ages must not exceed 11 years on day of departure).
• 3 nights stay including accommodation (on a minimum bed & breakfast board basis) and flights departing from Gatwick or Manchester.
• Selected date options will be made available departing in December 2011 subject to tour operator’s availability at the discretion of lastminute.com.
• Details will be confirmed during the time period of 1 August – 31 August 2011, all passenger names are to be confirmed at this time.
• Suits and boots will be provided in resort.
• A visit to Santa’s post box included in your trip
• The prize is non transferable and non refundable.
• Full terms and conditions for the free prize draw can be found at www.nspcc.org.uk/santa

Order your NSPCC Letter From Santa here

Pudsey Bear is back at Build-A-Bear Workshop stores nationwide from 1st October 2010, only this time he is not alone! Pudsey is bringing his furbulous friend along with him.

Pudsey fans can now make their own BBC Children in Need Blush Bear mascot or Pudsey Bear at any of 50 Build-A-Bear Workshop stores across the UK, with £5 from each sale going directly back to the BBC Children in Need Appeal.

New for this year is Blush Bear who is Pudsey’s ‘BBF’, she likes playing the drums and dancing and is on hand to help Pudsey with his busy fundraising schedule, lending him a well needed paw when he needs it. Blush loves to have fun and comes with magnetic paws to help her cover her rosy cheeks.

Pudsey can be dressed in a newly designed t-shirt and furbulous spotty mini boxer shorts, whilst Blush can be adorned with the t-shirt as well as a pawsome spotty ra ra skirt. An additional £1 from the sale of the t-shirt, boxers and ra ra skirt will also be donated to the charity.

In 2009, Build-A-Bear Workshop donated a bear-illiant £100,000 to BBC Children in Need through the sale of Pudsey Bear and this year they’re hoping to do even better with the addition of Blush Bear. Every penny raised helps to make a positive difference to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.

Build-A-Bear Workshop is based on the premise that nearly everyone, regardless of age, has a special fondness for stuffed animals. When Guests visit Build-A-Bear Workshop stores, they enter a light-hearted teddy-bear-themed environment. Guests will now be able to make and stuff their beary own Pudsey and Blush Bear, add a heart – a Build-A-Bear Workshop trademark – and if they choose, dress them in pawsome outfits.

Guests can also play together online for free with their new furry friends at buildabearville.com®, a virtual world stuffed with fun. Guests who purchase a Pudsey or Blush Bear can also register them at buildabearville.com

“We are absolutely delighted to be partnered with such a worthy cause like BBC Children in Need again and with the addition of Blush Bear we hope this year supersedes the previous year’s campaigns”, said Build-A-Bear Workshop Founder and Chief Executive Bear Maxine Clark. Giving back to the community and helping children and families is a core value at Build-A-Bear Workshop and is at the very heart of our brand”.

“We are very excited to be working with Build-A-Bear Workshop for the third year running. Children are at the heart of our charity and it’s wonderful for kids and adults alike to be able to make their very own Pudsey and Blush Bear mascot”, says Carrie Green, Partnership Manager for BBC Children in Need.

Guests can support the cause by purchasing a Pudsey or Blush Bear from any Build-A-Bear Workshop store nationwide or from the company’s website at www.buildabear.co.uk

Pudsey Bear will retail at £15; Pudsey Bear t-shirt at £5; and the Boxer Shorts at £4.50 each. Blush Bear will retail at £15; Blush Bear t-shirt at £5; and the spotty ra ra skirt at £4.50 each.

Turner’s preschool-targeted TV channel, Cartoonito, will soon be available to Virgin Media users. Cartoonito, which features series including Fireman Sam, Care Bears and Hi-5, will be included in the line-up of channels available to customers on Virgin Media ‘L’ or ‘XL’ TV pack from this April.

But that’s not all the good news! Some of Cartoonito’s shows will be available on Virgin Media’s on-demand service, and some Turner Broadcasting content will be available both online and on mobile phones, so you’ll soon see it was worth it to find o2 Mobile Phones or smartphones on other networks. Cartoonito shows such as Go And … and Cartoonito Karaoke, in addition to from content from Cartoon Network and Boomerang, including Cartoon Network’s Ben 10 and Boomerang’s Scooby Doo, and new content from Cartoonito will be on offer.

I expect that come Christmas Eve your kids will be rather excited. To them, the 24th December has many more hours than the standard twenty four, and that time runs slower than at any other day of the year. The TV is showing non-stop Christmas: Christmas movies, Christmas specials, Christmas music on every single channel. Well this fantastic website might give your little ones something else to focus on for the day…

The NORAD Santa Tracker is a website developed by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which tracks and plots the position of Santa Clause on Christmas Eve as he travels across the globe delivering presents to millions of children. A map of the world with Santa’s position is updated every five minutes so children can see how close he is (it also provides a little leverage to parents to persuade excited offspring to go to bed before he arrives!) You can even track him in 3D using Google Earth.

The NORAD Santa Tracker will be operational from midnight Wednesday night and throughout Christmas Eve. In the meantime, there is a countdown page with lots of games to play, and a nice little movie below which explains the site a little further.

My Kids TV is not just about bringing you the latest information about our favourite kids TV show and the best shopping deals. It’s also about connecting with our readers and letting the connect together and share information. This can be done on the site by commenting on stories, or you could always become a fan of My Kids TV on Facebook.

Not only will you each new article show up on your Facebook wall, but you will also be told of exclusive Facebook-only deals. We’re working hard with suppliers to bring you some very special discounts next year and we’ll also be running some Facebook-only competitions. But you need to become a fan on our Facebook page to be part of it so why not try it now!

Day 2 of the My Kids TV Advent Calendar 2009 takes us to the North Pole. Well actually, it brings the North Pole to us! Santa has embraced the 21st century and created the Portable North Pole so he can communicate with us from afar.

This site will ask you a number of questions about your child (name, age, favourite toy, how they’ve been good – the usual Santa-style questions) and ask you to upload a photo of them. Then the site will create a personalised video message for your son or daughter, incorporating the answers to the questions and their picture. The end result is amazing. Our little boy, who is four, loved the fact that Santa knew his name and told him he had been good!

You will be sent a password so you can watch your video at your video at any point. You can also send the address to friends or family so they can look. You can even create similar videos for naughty or nice adults!

Try the Portable North Pole now!

Arthur
Bakugan Battle Brawlers
Balamory
Bear in the Big Blue House
Ben 10
Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom
Big & Small
Big Barn Farm
Big Cook Little Cook
Bits and Bobs
Blue’s Clues
Bob the Builder
Charlie & Lola
Chop Socky Chooks
Chuggington
Curious George
Dora the Explorer
Drake & Josh
Ed, Edd ‘n’ Eddy
Engie Benjy
Fifi and the Flowertots
Fireman Sam
Garfield
Gigglebiz
Go, Diego, Go
Handy Manny
Hannah Montana
Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs
Horrid Hendry
Humf
I Can Cook
iCarly
In The Night Garden
Johnny Test
Jungle Junction
Lazytown
Little Einsteins
Little Robots
Louie
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast
Mama Mirabelle’s Home Movies
Me Too
MI High
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Mister Maker
My Friends Tigger and Pooh
My Parents Are Aliens
Nina and the Neurons
Numberjacks
Pablo the Little Red Fox
Peppa Pig
Pocoyo
Pokemon
Roary the Racing Car
Robotboy
Scooby Doo
Show Me Show Me
Something Special
Special Agent Oso
SpongeBob SquarePants
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Super Why
The Backyardigans
The Basil Brush Show
The Story of Tracy Beaker
Thomas & Friends
Timmy Time
Tom & Jerry
Tommy Zoom
Tweenies
Unfabulous
Watch My Chops
Waybuloo
Wonder Pets!
Zoey 101

Roary the Racing Car is aiming to come first with his new pasta! Chapman Entertainment has signed a deal with Premier Foods to produce Roary pasta shapes.

Due to hit the shops in October, you will find Roary, Maxi, Flash, Big Chris and the new police car, Nick in the tins!