Introduction

It is once again the time of year for cold weather, miserable traffic, crowded airplanes, and frantic gift-giving.  Hooray, holidays!  Fortunately OFF-ROAD YOYO is here to help!  Our goal is to create a holiday shopping guide for throwers and non-throwers alike.

We will cover two scenarios.  One for the thrower that wants to get their friends interested in the hobby, and another for the kind-hearted friend that wants to get something cool for their yo-yo addicted buddy.  If you have any suggestions to further improve this guide, feel free to drop us a line or leave a comment below.

Scenario A: Thrower Wanting To Get Another Person Hooked

Truth be told, what could we actually say here that would be helpful?  If you are a thrower yourself, you probably already know what you’re looking for.  You also know your weird friend way better than we do, so what business do we have trying to choose something for them?  We’ll still take a stab at it, of course, because we aren’t quitters.

1. Get Them Interested

Try Planting Seeds First

There’s an assortment of yo-yo trick books out there for cheap.  Try buying one of those and leaving it out somewhere for them to find.  Nobody actually reads books anymore though, so you’ll have to be sly about it.  Plant the book in a high traffic area or somewhere where they tend to spend a lot of time.  All you need is for them to pick it up and thumb through a few pages.

Example: Try leaving a book on the toilet tank and then lining the bathroom with Faraday Fabric.  When they get stuck on the toilet with a phone that won’t work, their primitive brain will take over and they will be thrilled to find a book behind them.

Talk About Yo-Yos Nonstop;  Do Pinwheels Often

Nothing gets somebody interested in a subject faster and more intensely than constantly hearing about it.  Play YouTube videos at a high volume, leave a yo-yo store page up on your computer screen everytime you leave your desk, and absolutely never stop talking about it.  Try creating some comparisons that you can recall during a conversation, and practice them when you’re alone to help them feel natural and off the cuff.

Example: “Man, this traffic is really bad.  I hope we find a parking spot, otherwise we’ll be in quite a bind.  By the way, when I said “bind” a moment ago, I didn’t mean the flashy and highly rewarding yo-yo trick that returns a non-responsive yo-yo to your hand.  I meant it more like, you know, a problem.  Speaking of problems, which yo-yo should I bring to dinner with your parents tonight?”

Showing off sick tricks is also a great way to get people interested.  Nothing impresses more than a really intense pinwheel, so don’t be afraid to really milk that one.  Try herding people into a corner and keeping them there with your aggressive pinwheel skills.  Leave them no choice but to be impressed.

2. Seize the opportunity

Consult the Beginner’s Guide

In the event that your target starts to show interest, you’ll want to immediately rattle off suggestions and next steps.  We’ve put together a tutorial for new throwers, which is a good resource for this kind of thing.  In it, we identify some beginner yo-yos and provide reasons why they could be a good fit.  Lastly, we also provide advice for learning ticks and progressing in a way that can prevent stall-out and/or boredom.

Carry 2 Yo-Yos At All Times

Nothing beats hands-on experience.  You should repeatedly try to force a yo-yo into their hand whenever they appear idle.  You don’t want to give up your EDC, though, so start carrying 2 with you.  Make sure the one you give them is not your 1/1 rare custom boutique yo-yo, though.

3.  Execute Gift Purchase

Find Way To Take Advantage of Sales That Recently Ended

Both Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone for 2017.  Way to go, Senior Deputy Prompt.  Maybe you should just buy a card and try again next year.  We jest, of course, you should still buy a yo-yo for them, sale or no sale.  Just do it.  You can try and be more on the ball next year and everything will be fine.

TLDR; Just buy a yo-yo.  You don’t even need to wrap it.

Scenario B: Non-Thrower Wanting To Buy Gift For Thrower

So.  You have a friend that’s really into yo-yos?  Do they talk about it a lot?  Do they always have one with them?  Of course they do, and that’s OK.  Your challenge, however, is getting them something you know they’ll love, but don’t already have.  Throwers tend to be pretty picky about their yo-yos, so this can be tricky.  We’re here to help!

1. Buy a Giftcard

This is self-explanatory and kind of boring.  Yes, they’ll love it, but it’s kind of a cop-out, and we’re pretty sure you already considered this (otherwise you wouldn’t be here).  On the other hand, we’d look incompetent if we didn’t mention it.

YoYoExpert

YoYoExpert has almost everything a yo-yo nerd could want, so this is a pretty safe bet.  They sell gift cards right here.

YoYoBestBuy

Another fantastic option for one-stop yo-yo shopping.  Smaller selection than YoYoExpert, but the dollar can go farther here due to lower prices.  Their gift cards are right here.

Amazon.com

The cop-out to rule all cop-outs, but you can make the argument that they sell yo-yo stuff on Amazon, so it makes sense.  The advantage here is that they can use the gift card to buy literally anything in the world, so it’s an absurdly safe option.  The disadvantage is that it’s obvious you were just checking off an item on your list, rather than putting deep and genuine thought into them as a person.

Note:  They’ll probably like this the best.  You can pick one up right here.

2. Buy Something Else

It is possible to please the “thrower who has everything” without having to settle with a gift card.  Allow us to demonstrate.

Yi 4k Action Camera

Throwers love to record themselves with their yo-yos.  It allows them to share with their friends as well as to review for self-improvement.  You can go with a GoPro if you’ve got the dust, but the Yi does a wonderful job at a fraction of the price.

Pick up a Yi 4k Action Camera here.

How To Goodbye Depression

Everyone could use some good advice about how to keep their spirits high and maintain a healthy, happy lifestyle.  This paperback book, titled How To Goodbye Depression: If You Constrict Anus 100 Times Everyday.  Malarkey?  or Effective Way?, is a great way to deliver it.

Pick up a book about clenching your anus for happiness here.

Something Something 4k TV I Have No Idea But It’s Expensive So It Must Be Great

We don’t know what’s up with TVs anymore.  Everything is abbreviated and apparently the number ‘4’ is awesome now.  Whatever.  Listen, we went to Amazon and cranked up all the dials and this one was at the top so just buy it.

Pick up a Samsung Something Or Other here.

Shameless Plug

We have our own OFF-ROAD YOYO store for merchandise!  Why not get them a kickass shirt, mug, or blanket?  This is probably the safest and best all-around option if we were to say so ourselves.  And we are saying so ourselves.  Sure, we’re probably the ONLY people saying this, but that doesn’t make us wrong!

Check out our store right here.

Conclusion

We hope you found this article helpful.  Whatever option you choose to pursue, we’re sure they’ll love it.  As far as “it’s the thought that counts” is concerned, you’ve technically already done your shopping simply by reading this.  You’re a good person, and we hope you have a wonderful holiday.

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