Why beyblades make one of the best holiday gifts for pre-teens?

I have scratched my head at least a hundred times, searched on Google for "best gift ideas for kids" and gone through Amazon looking for an alternative to video games or screen-time things for the holidays; something my kids would be thrilled to open while not breaking my bank. While some items fit one or two of the criteria, I have found it really difficult to find an ideal or even near ideal item. Let's take a drone, for example. While drone prices range from $10 to $10,000+, a decent drone can be purchased under $300. A drone can provide some fun activities; however, a drone requires clear weather, possibly driving somewhere and can't be really shared with friends or played in a group. 

So, in this desperate search, right before the peak of holiday season, I have found that beyblades meet most of my criteria and make an amazing gift for pre-teens and can be combined with any other items you may have in your must-have list. 

Let me break it down with a few important reasons. With a few beyblades and accessories, such as launchers and stadiums, you can start playing the game. While beyblades can be played individually, it is best played with multiple players; among siblings, extended family & friends. If you have more than one child, you can even divide the beyblades as gifts among them. They can then combine their beyblades to play with each other which serves the purpose of healthy & exciting competition among them while saving you the energy to pick out individual presents. The key point is that beyblades can bring family and friends together. 

Beyblades are older than you might think. They were originally released in 1999 in Japan and there are few different series, the most recent one being Beyblade Burst. A beyblade has 3 primary parts - layer (top), disc (middle) and tip (bottom). Almost all beyblade burst parts are interchangeable. So if you buy 2 beyblades, the beyblades can be customized 8 different ways. If you buy 4 beyblades, these beyblades can be customized in 64 different ways! Now imagine the possibilities with 10 beyblades. As your child learns about beyblades and starts to enjoy battling with others, he/she will have so much fun trying to customize beyblades to find the winning combo(s) or just to come up with a design of his/her preference. It also can be a learning opportunity for trying to figure out why certain combo(s) perform better than others.

Another major reason for my choice is that beyblades can provide a screen free activity for an extended period of time and some much needed break for parents while not feeling guilty about giving kids screen time. Beyblade Bonanza, one of the few shops selling beyblades, actually has made their mission to provide "Screen free fun to everyone" through beyblades. As beyblades and accessories can be carried easily, they can be played anywhere from indoors to at a park.

The only drawback I can think of is that beyblades can not provide physical activity like that of playing basketball or soccer. However, given the flexibility of beyblades being light weight and a ready-to-go activity with minimal set up, beyblades are my favorite gift idea for the holidays. As beyblade manufacturers, primarily Takara Tomy and Hasbro, keep coming up with new beyblades and series, you can add new items to a kid's existing collection over time, adding a new wave of excitement every time.

Takara Tomy is a Japanese brand and possibly the most sought after brand for beyblades. Hasbro, an American brand, licenses beyblades from Takara Tomy but designs their own beyblades. There are a few unbranded beyblades which are cheaper but do lack in quality. You may try these unbranded beyblades to start and see how your kid(s) like the activity if you are not sure. 

Beyblades come with their own anime series. Now, I know I have talked about screen free fun but the anime strategy was adopted by beyblade manufacturers to make it popular. Although performance of the beyblades are vastly different from what is depicted in the anime, the anime series does provide an extremely engaging story for beyblades and beyblade battles. 

I wish you a very happy holiday season and good luck in finding all of the perfect gifts!!  Please reach out if you have any questions.  We are always available to answer any questions you might have about our products or guide you in buying the right items.