THE Christmas I was eight I desperately wanted a 'Baby Rollerblade' doll.

I don’t know if it was the staring eyes, manic smile or battery-operated rollerskates that switched on and off of their own accord, but it was love as soon as I saw the advert on CITV. In August.

My friend Kimberley finally elevated me to ‘best friend’ status (I’d been second-best for several months) just so she could come over to play with her.

I treated the doll like she was my ‘baby’ - and woke up many a-morning with tiny tyre tracks zig-zagging my face because I couldn’t be persuaded to put her down.

But the important thing, which I didn’t appreciate at the time, was the hours my sisters and I spent together with our toys - dolls, of course, being a key component of any decent tea party.

We talked, used our imaginations and learnt the importance of sharing.

So I felt something akin to disappointment when my eight-year-old niece informed me that the toy of choice for any self-respecting child is now an iPad.

The simpler times of Playdoh, Meccano and even Buzz Lightyears are no more, apparently.

As if it isn’t enough to be permanently hidden behind the earphones of an iPod, youngsters can now be antisocial with email, internet access and even more ‘apps’.

There is also nothing challenging about an electronic device once the initial workings of it have been figured out.

There is no ‘trial and error’, no scientific logic to it, no imagination.

So this year, determined to keep us sociable, my dad and stepmum have bought us all board games for Christmas.

I'm sure there'll also be several rounds of Charades throughout the holidays.

I just hope my nieces can be persuaded to put down their computers and join in the games with us - the big kids.