Christmas is coming – in fact, it’s nearly here. With less than 36 hours to the big day, what might tech-savvy children be looking for under their fibre-optic Christmas tree?

Well, one possibility is Ubooly – a cuddly toy fit for the post-digital age. If my daughter were a little bit older, she’d have one wrapped up for her, but at five months she’s a little too young, by about three and a half years…

This cute, orange fluffy toy is surprisingly talkative. It can tell you stories, jokes or ever play games with a child. It can listen – and reply – to children. It’s a cuddly toy with a brain – and a very familiar brain at that.

Buried in the heart of every Ubooly is a phone – an iPhone, to be precise. An old, contractless phone is perfect,because all you need is a WiFi connection. “Even a disconnected phone can be a smart toy,” said Carly Gloge, Co-Founder & CEO of Ubooly. Slip the iPhone (or iPod Touch) into the pocket on the toy, with the free app installed, and you’re ready to go. The phone goes in upside down, so that the microphone and speakers are in the top of the toy.

It’s that connection which gives the toy its smarts – and which allows it to get better. After all, if you have a toy which reports back on use over time, it can be improved. A story that children repeatedly skip? Replaced with new content. The Ubooly gets better through the implicit feedback of all the children using it.

And, of course, it can improve through more mundane, familiar methods, with updates coming every month, to help prevent you child getting bored of it. There will be learning packs that can be added to through in-app purchase. Handily for the parent – although perhaps less so for the children- the toy can report on the progress of the children.

If that’s the state of the art today, I can’t help wondering what sort of smart toy might be sitting under the tree in Christmas 2016 when my daughter is old enough for them…