Drones are getting smaller and smarter

The Parrot Mambo is a quality starter drone. It's not built for racing or long-distance missions, as its battery provides only eight minutes of fly time. What you can do is shoot balls at people using a peashooter attachment, or ferry lightweight objects around a room with the grabber attachment.

The $120 drone is also a tool for teaching kids about coding. The Tynker app lets kids (or adults) program the drone on a tablet.

Parrot is one of the top drone manufacturers and makes a variety of other drones big and small, including the Parrot Bebop 2. The $700 Bebop lets users strap on goggles and fly the drone for up to 25 minutes while looking at a live feed from its HD camera.