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Pictured is Christian, owner of Jester Games, which makes one of the finest diabolos money can buy. Amazon sells a variety of spin-offs at lower prices, but the quality unfortunately doesn’t match up to this Huntington Beach, Calif. company’s product.

Are you looking for a great Christmas gift for kids (or even adults)? While the diabolo (dee-AB-uh-loh) is by no means a new toy and has waxed and waned in popularity through time, it’s seen a resurgence as we can attest, having watched kids playing with the toy recently on our local street.

The Chinese are credited with inventing the yo-yo, which this item is similar to, though diabolo’s origins are not reliably cited in the current literature. It was popular in 1812 and the craze lasted for around 50 years, then nearly disappeared.

In the early 1900s French engineer Gustave Phillippart developed the modern version, and gave it the name, diabolo. In Greek “dia bolo” loosely translates to “throw across.”

I’m pretty sure I know where the neighborhood kids got their toy as I’ve met another Frenchman and HB local, Christian, who created Diabolofest. He and his “jesters” go to schools throughout the United States, hosting a full day of diabolo demos complete with  music, games and fun. If you want to have a Diabolofest at your business, school or other place, check out jestergames.com for details. Or contact them about getting your own diabolo. Their online instruction videos offer tips to get you started.

It’s old fashioned–and ideal to get people back in the game of having fun this holiday season–and beyond!