Holiday Gifts for Star Wars characters
A long time ago and in a galaxy far, far away, there's no holiday season. In fact, the only holiday viewers have seen in the Star Wars galaxy has been the Wookiee Celebration of Life Day. Yet seeing as the Skywalker family and the Millennium Falcon crew have saved the galaxy several times, they have certainly earned a gift during our festive season. Since they're far too busy with heroic adventures to deal with the mundane process of shopping for gifts, here are some suggestions to make this group of Rebel Alliance heroes happy for the holidays.
Rey: Workout Gear
Rey is an incredibly resourceful young heroine. Growing up alone on the planet of Jakku, she was forced to learn to feed herself, scavenge for supplies, and essentially raise herself. While Rey is an exceptional fighter and mechanic, she has never managed to accumulate essential material items, including a change of wardrobe. Rey has one outfit to keep her sheltered from the extreme Jakku temperatures, but it isn't suited for the changing weather conditions of her travels throughout the galaxy. Or the tumbles of training to be a Jedi knight.
A great gift for Rey (who already has a historic light saber for training) would be some workout gear. Or at the least a pair of comfortable sneakers! She deserves something to move in while working her lightsaber skills. Wardrobes within Star Wars have never been diverse (Han Solo and Princess Leia joke that Han has kept the same jacket for thirty years), but after a distinct lack of clean clothes on Jakku, Rey would definitely enjoy a clean and comfortable outfit to kick butt in as a Jedi padawan.
Princess Leia: Hair Ornaments
Princess (later General) Leia is a shrewd politician, able to inspire the Rebel Alliance in military manoeuvres and to negotiate with the toughest of diplomats. At the same time she manages to look elegant and impeccable. Whether she's commanding a squadron or awarding two ace pilots who recently destroyed the Death Star, her hair is always twisted into complicated arrangements. General Leia has recently had some difficulties in her personal life (all while commanding a Rebel Alliance and attempting to stop the rise of fascism in the Galaxy). While nothing can heal a broken heart, Leia has always maintained her fashionable attire as a suit of armour through her times of grief. While the noble fight against the First Order will continue, Leia could at least receive some help in brandishing her hair. Lovely hair ornaments could be an easy trick to look confident and commanding in the depths of her despair and struggle, and a thoughtful gift for a grieving wife and mother. Princess Leia, braided buns and all, will continue to embody Ernest Hemingway’s definition of courage: exhibiting grace under fire.
BB8: A tablet
BB8 is a friendly robot. He enjoys human companionship and is fiercely loyal. Despite his pain at having to separate from his pilot, Poe Dameron, he quickly befriends Rey, obtaining her loyalty to the point where she is unwilling to sell BB8 on Jakku, even for some much-needed food rations. The close bond that develops between Rey and BB8 is aided by her ability to understand the droid’s blips and beeps. Both Poe and Rey, who are able to directly communicate with BB8, are incredibly affectionate towards the little rolling droid. While obviously there is something adorable about the droid, even without words, it seems that he is almost indispensible to those who can understand him. How much more would BB8 be able to organise his humans if he didn’t have to rely on translators?
In order to help BB8 speak to those not fluent in droid (specifically his new friend Finn), a tablet would be a great gift. Any droid worth his circuits would enjoy the chance to wire up his communication devices and converse with humans. The sociable BB8 might even enjoy a Facebook page to keep in touch with Poe, Finn, and Rey on their frequent spaceflights. His lack of hands might present a challenge for working any kind of touch screen, but with BB8’s ability to manipulate electronics, it should be no time at all before his tablet is beeping away with messages.
C-3P0: Therapy
It can be hard to remember that plenty of the experiences of the Skywalker family are not just good film, but also quite traumatic. Being encased in carbonite or chained to a giant slug have to leave psychological scars. There is one particular droid who seems to constantly be expressing his distress. C3P0 is of a nervous, anxious disposition and often expresses his desire to live a life without excitement and chaos, a relaxing translation or protocol post, with plenty of spare time to spend with his best friend, R2D2. He has never completely seemed to have made his piece with the constant excitement of having been built into the Skywalker family.
C3P0 clearly has abandonment issues (“R2, don’t leave me!!!”) and trauma, particularly from being found in the trash on Cloud City after being left on Tattoine by Anakin Skywalker. Poor C3P0 has often had times where he wanted to talk or vent but has been told to shut up. What C3P0 needs is an hour to have someone listen to his concerns. Therapy would be an hour all about C3P0. C3P0 seems desperate for an attentive listener. A gift of focused time and attention for this neurotic droid would be a gift that would perhaps help him to work through some of his neuroses before the next big adventure.
