Popular Christmas presents in Japan: What do Japanese children want for Christmas?

When it comes to Christmas presents for children, there are many recommendations online you can choose from.

Depending on the trend, age, your kids' hobbies, it can get quite difficult to pick a gift for Christmas.

I remember the times I was a kid; most of the presents I was asking for were lego, puzzles, Tamagotchi, or plushies.

Well, nowadays, that won’t do anymore.

Even if they ask for Lego or puzzles, not any kind of puzzle would do. There are so many characters out there: we have princesses, Ghibli, Kimetsu no Yaiba, and so much more, so it can be quite troubling and time-consuming for parents when buying a present.

In Japan, especially, there are so many games and gifts available, so recently I started to wonder what Japanese children want for this Christmas.

With that in mind, I searched for the most popular Christmas gifts for children on Rakuten, Amazon Japan, and also asked my Japanese friends that have children, what they want as presents for this year.

After a lot of research, I put together a list of the most popular five Christmas gifts ideas for children in 2020:

1. Tanjiro’s Sword

It came as no surprise that the little ones want something related to Demon Slayer for Christmas.

Many children watched the anime series with their parents here in Japan.

Whenever I go outside, I always see kids cosplaying their favorite characters, wearing Kimetsu no Yaiba-themed masks, or other items related to the anime.

It seems that Tanjiro’s Sword occupies the top spot when it comes to Christmas gifts this year, and if you want to, you can buy it on Amazon Japan.

Unfortunately, it is so popular, that it is out of stock for now. They will, however, get new stock from December 28th, for those still interested.

It seems that adults also buy it for their collection, so it is a popular item for every generation.

My friends’ children also seemed to want the Kamen Rider Saber, from the Reiwa Series 2 that can be purchased here. Fortunately, it is still in stock, so better hurry if you want to get it ready for Christmas.

2. Sumikko Gurashi Computer

A bit on the expensive side, the Sumikko Gurashi characters computer is another present idea for this year.

It is also a great way to learn many things, play, and discover many new things in a fun way.

The appearance is also cute, and it seems that the computer is popular among elementary to middle school children in Japan.

You can find it here.

3. Lego Super Mario Set

Lego is always going to be very popular as a gift for children, and it seems that many of my friends’ kids wanted the Super Mario Set, which consists of 231 pieces.

It seems that Mario remained one of every generation’s favorite characters.

I asked my friends if there is anything special about this set, and they told me that they connect the lego pieces via Bluetooth.

You will then get the sound effects, background music from the game, but the course will be a lego course.

How I wished we had it when I was younger too!

You can see more information or purchase it here.

4. Sewing Machine

The Felty Sewing Machine, again with the Sumikko Gurashi characters, can be used without a thread, and it only needs batteries to start.

My friend has two children, a boy, and a girl, and it seems that both of them wanted it for Christmas.

She also told me that many of the kids’ classmates were talking about it, so she decided to buy it for them on Christmas.

It is small, cute, and it can be a great item to improve creativity, as well. You can find it here. I love crafts a lot, so even I was interested after hearing how it works.