Open Thread: Stuffed Animals

Hosted by a stuffed hippo

I'm not ashamed to admit it: I'm a grown woman, and I like stuffed animals.

I like that they're cute.  I like that they're soft and huggable.  I like their big sad plastic eyes.

One of the hardest things about becoming a grown-up was realizing that my collection of about a million and a half stuffed animals had to be pared down to the handful that had the most sentimental value, and the rest given away.  But I still have my favorites, including Muffin, the plushie cat that was widely believed to be a good luck charm for particularly difficult calculus tests in high school.  And now we're building the collection back up, including a stuffed Sully from Monsters, Inc., a life-sized plush golden retriever, and a giant bear big enough to flop onto and take a nap!

Open thread!  What was your favorite stuffed animal or other toy as a kid?  Do you still have any of your childhood toys?  Do you have any funny stories about stuffed animals (yours or anyone else's)?  If there are kids in your life, have you ever given into the urge to buy a stuffed toy for them because you secretly want it for yourself?  (Not... that I have any experience with that impulse, I'm just asking... ahem...)
 ~ Kristycat

Wednesday Reminder!  Open threads are meant to be fun, chatty places to discuss anything that doesn’t “fit” into a deconstruction or other regular thread.  This can be something totally off-the-wall and random, or it can be something interesting that a deconstruction prompted you to think of, but which would be derailing to get into in the deconstruction thread.  When in doubt, move it over here - that’s what it’s for!  

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