BB-8 is already a fan-favorite character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, despite the film’s all-encompassing spoiler blackout. Apparently BB-8’s sheer adorability was enough to make us fall in love.
Even among the Star Wars franchise’s endless plague of tie-in products, BB-8 reigns supreme. She (or he, or they, because BB-8’s gender still remains a mystery) has been incorporated into all sorts of clothes and accessories, as well as spawning one of the most popular toys of 2015: the app-controlled BB-8 Sphero droid.
With this much choice on offer, it can be hard to decide what to buy for your BB-8-obsessed friends and family this holiday season. To solve that problem, we’ve picked out some of the best stuff available online.
Toys
The Sphero droid is the obvious choice here, a miniature BB-8 that satisfyingly replicates the sound effects and movements of the original. It can even (kind of) project a hologram message using its connected phone app.
Sphero
But for those who don’t have $150 to hand (or who don’t want to buy an easily breakable robot that might get eaten by pets or small children), there are other options. For example, this huggable “life-size” plushy version. For Lego lovers, there are BB-8 minifigs or, if you’re feeling ambitious, you can build a bigger model yourself.
Merchandise
A cynic might suggest that BB-8 was created with the express purpose of selling more merchandise for the Star Wars brand. And to be honest, that’s probably true. This little droid was basically engineered in a lab to be as lovable as possible without requiring any backstory whatsoever, building on the massive popularity of R2-D2—and avoiding the legacy of Jar-Jar Binks, another character who was supposedly created to appeal to kids.
Luckily for Disney (although not so much for our bank accounts), the BB-8 marketing ploy totally worked. Once you slap BB-8 on something, it immediately becomes a million times more fun. For example, a cute orange droid suitcase? Yes, please and thank you.
For office secret santas and Christmas stocking gifts, there’s a coffee mug. For music lovers, there are BB-8 headphones. There are even BB-8 Christmas tree ornaments, although we really should have predicted that already, considering BB-8’s bauble-shaped body and colorful paint job.
Fashion
BB-8’s instantly recognizable orange-and-white color scheme makes her a perfect choice for cosplay and accessories. And so, unsurprisingly, Etsy is already full of BB-8 fashion ideas, from crocheted hats to party dresses to wedding rings.
Etsy
The Force Awakens is the first Star Wars film to come out after geek fashion went mainstream, so we’ve been deluged with options for everyday cosplay. The Force 4 Fashion project enlisted designers like Diane Von Furstenberg and Rag & Bone to contribute designs inspired by the movie, although Gold Bubble and Hot Topic are obviously more affordable.
To be honest we’re not blown away by Hot Topic’s BB-8 bomber jacket, but Gold Bubble’s BB-8-inspired leggings and minidress are basically the platonic ideal of cute, geeky fashion.
Over on Etsy, you could spend all day scrolling through BB-8 outfits and not run out of material, so here are a few highlights: a BB-8 kimono, a delightful vintage-inspired apron, and a range of crocheted hats that we’re certain will be a fixture at conventions from now on.
Now, we only have to hope that BB-8 doesn’t turn out to be a villain or a secret droid douchebag in the actual movie. Although to be fair, that would be a pretty hilarious plot twist.
Photo via Star Wars
