It's a voice-activated device that can keep kids busy for hours – with knock-knock jokes, music and shopping made so simple, even a 6-year-old can do it.
"I am very surprised," said Megan Neitzel.
Christmas night, 6-year-old Brooke Neitzel was playing with their new Amazon Echo Dot. Megan says she hadn't had a chance to set her parental controls.
"I said to her, 'Alexa can you please order me a dollhouse and some cookies?'" said Brooke.
It wasn't just any dollhouse – it's a $150 version, plus four pounds of Danish Butter Cookies.
"I immediately tried to cancel the order and Amazon wrote me back and said we can't cancel it. It's already shipped," Megan Neitzel explained.
Hours later, the dollhouse and cookies showed up.
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Megan Neitzel says she immediately logged on to set her parental controls, which revealed another surprise: a transcript of the entire order.
"What it said on there was, 'Will you play dollhouse with me and order me a dollhouse?' And then the Kidcraft one pops up and says shipment confirmed," Megan said.
She had the option to return it, but Megan Neitzel says she'll donate the dollhouse instead.
The cookies on the other hand, don't stand a chance.
"The whole thing we thought was funny, really funny, but it won't be funny if she orders it again though," the mother said.
The experience also delivered a valuable lesson about the power of having a personal assistant in the palm of your hands.
When asked what she'll do next time, Brooke replied, "Ask my mom and dad."
An Amazon spokesperson says parents can manage shopping settings by turning off voice purchasing.
You can also require a confirmation code before every order, something now in place at the Neitzel household.
