When I was younger, I was completely obsessed with stuffed plush toys of all sorts. Cartoon characters or random ones that were won at the carnival, I had them all. Now I’m in my 30’s and I’m still a fan.
There’s an undying devotion I have to collecting stuffed animals and toys. If you’re like me, I think you should check out the wide selection of teddy bears and stuffed animals that are now available online. There is such a wide selection that you can literally find any animal that you want.
If you’re looking for a fluffy gift for someone special, plush toys could be the way to go. Have you ever had a terrible day where you just felt like you needed a hug? A stuffed bear or animal of some sort can provide a certain amount of solace that some parents, friends or relatives cannot.
Often times, teddy bears and other plush toys turn into keepsakes that a child will cherish forever. I know that some of my fondest childhood memories are of my memory bears, Bernard and Berniece. So if you’re stumped on ideas, I highly recommend getting someone a good ol’ stuffed animals.
Toy collecting is no joke-at least not to toy enthusiasts. For many collecting toys is more than a fun hobby, it’s an investment. A lot of older toys are hard to find, especially in good condition. Collectors prefer toys that are in good condition and many are willing to pay top dollar for them. Toys that are still in their original packaging are also of high value. Often toys are handed down from generation to generation. In some cases the recipient of the toy admires it so much they start their own collection.
Toys saved from childhood can result in big pays offs later. One woman who saved her original 1959 Barbie Doll fetched $26,000 for it at auction. Many Barbies will sell for hundreds and thousands of dollars. In recent years avid collectors have began to amass Happy Meal toys. Some will spend up to $5 or $10 on certain Happy Meal toys and toys from the 70s and 80s will sell for far more. Although collector’s edition toys are where the big money is, I still have an affinity for toys with a personal touch, like custom teddy bears.
Performing puppet shows at home is entertaining for parents and helps to foster your child’s creativity. In addition, it’s just an all around fun activity in which everyone can participate. To put on your own puppet show, you will need at least two hand puppets (the more the merrier), an object which your children can conceal themselves behind (a couch or portable stage works great), and a few props like paintbrushes, spatulas, rolling pins, etc. Once you have all these items, encourage your children to put on a show for you. Parents will be amazed at all the creative characters and situations children imagine.
Hand puppets come in all kinds of different shapes and sizes, and represent characters from the animal kingdom to the pirates of the Caribbean. Purchase the hand puppets you think your child will identify with the most.
Toddlers can be a bit picky when it comes to toys and gifts, so next time you have to buy something for a little one, nothing is more a certain to satisfy than stuffed animals. Not only do all children love all varieties of wild creatures, but they also are attracted to the soft plush nature of a memory bear or other stuffed animal.
A versatile gift, plush and stuffed animals can be a toddler’s new companion as they begin developing social skills and improving upon their speech. As their new friend, plush animals are also a great way for toddlers to learn the importance of sharing. Purchasing something like a stuffed animal is more than just buying a toy; it’s watching a child’s heart grow.
A stuffed animal is a toy animal stuffed with straw, beans, cotton or other similar materials. Some stuffed animals are very old - home made cloth dolls stuffed with straw go back to at least the 1830s, perhaps much older. Stuffed animals are also known as plush toys and soft toys or cuddly toys. The most well known type of stuffed toy is undoubtedly the teddy bear, and there are even many custom teddy bear variations.
Stuffed animals, in the past, were used for random stuffing of the evacuated skins of hunted animals. The phrase is still sometimes used to refer to examples of taxidermy. However, with modern technology it is now possible to produce them with synthetic materials. For this reason, plush toy or plushie or soft toy may be more appropriate names for modern synthetic stuffed animals.
It seems like everything today is mass-produced from the same mold, and it is difficult to find products that exhibit originality or reflect your personality. When my sister had her first child last spring, I didn’t want to get my new nephew some run-of-the-mill, generic toy from a department store. I decided to look online to see if I could find something more personal.
After some scouring on the internet, I came across a site that offered custom teddy bears. This seemed to be the perfect combination of a traditional gift that still maintained a sense of individuality. I choose a distinct outfit for my nephew and had the bear created in the same attire, which created several memorable photo ops.
One of my favorite childhood memories is when my parents would read me my bedtime story. I could never fall asleep without at least a short tale, but it seems like this time-tested tradition is falling to the wayside. Today kids are content on going to sleep to the glow of their Game Boy or the sounds of their iPod.
Reading to your child is important, as it lays the groundwork for a lifelong devotion to literature and education in general. If your child is resistant to sitting down to listen to a story, try to make it more engaging for them. Read the characters’ voices in a different tone, or try bringing the story to life through the use of hand puppets.
One of the classes I took in college was a media history class with one of the wackiest professors on campus. Everyday he would give us some random fact and, ironically, these are the things that I remember best from that class. Although everyone else in the class already knew this, I learned how the stuffed bear got its current name.
The term teddy bear comes from President Theodore Rooselvelt, commonly referred to as Teddy. While on a hunting trip in Mississippi, Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear that his hunting mates had staged for him. After a flurry of publicity and a detailed political cartoon, shop owners started branding their stuff bears with the President’s nickname.
Like most kids, my favorite toys when I was growing were my stuffed animals. Each one had a name and a distinct personality. I remember being able to sit for hours going on imaginary adventures and expeditions with my stuffed friends. My favorite one was my teddy bear George.
George was one of those one of a kind teddy bears that you could easily pick out of a crowd. He stood over three feet tall and was bigger than I was for most of the time that I was played with him. Today I still have George and plan on passing on the unique bear to my kids someday.