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Do you have stuffed animals, as a adult?


DawnM
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Ones that you keep on your bed?  Do you still "play" with them?  Use them?  Do they have names?  Do they have personalities?

 

I  have a friend.  We get along great and I like her, but I just find it odd that her bed (which she shares with  her husband of almost 25 years) is full of stuffed animals. And she has named them, and often lines them up to watch a show with her, or whatever.

 

I am guessing this started when her daughter was younger and she is just continuing it?  But now I wonder if it has just always been like this for her.

 

Maybe more people do this than I think?

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The stuffed animals that I have are from childhood. They have names that I still remember from that time. My kids played with them but I have kept them because of nostalgia. I do not sleep with them. I guess you could say that I Ă¢â‚¬Å“display Ă¢â‚¬Å“ them but only on the sense that they are stuck in an out of the way place and havenĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t been thrown out or donated.

 

 

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I'm in the "display" camp. I have a cat my mom brought from Germany and gave to my daughter. She never took to it, but I like putting it out on the sofa or bed. Unfortunately my cat wants to wrestle with it so it's put away now. 

 

 

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I have one that DH gave me in college.  It has a name and hung out on/in/around the bed for several years after we got married (which was technically during college).  I never played with stuffed animals though; it's the cuddle factor.  Since I've had 3 babies/toddlers/kids and two big dogs to cuddle, the stuffed animal just kind of sits on a shelf.  I haven't had enough coffee for self-psychoanalysis, though.  :D

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No, but mostly because of allergy issues.  I don't want to deal with them collecting dust.

 

The kids still have quite a few.

 

I don't think I'd "play" with them exactly, but I do like cutesy things.  DH has one that he displays on his desk.  It's a pig with a soccer ball body.  He loves soccer and I thought he'd get a kick out of it.  He also has a stuffed animal that belonged to his mother.  All the ones he took with him he gave to the kids. 

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I have a few that were special in childhood that I passed on to my kids.  A really lovely bear my Nana gave me, and a hand-made Eeyore.

 

The only thing I have kept is a very non-politically correct but also rare stuffy that was my favourite as a kid.  I don't really want leave him where people might see him and he's also kind of delicate.  He's on my dresser in my room, mostly because I don't really know what to do with him.

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I have a stuffed animal somewhere. I think under the bed. So not on display. My DD (10 at that time) gave it to me 10 years ago, when our family was on our only trip to WDW during my birthday. It is Eeyore. DD knew Eeyore is my favorite, so she spent her souvenir money on a present for me.

 

I have a very much Eeyore personality. Also the fact that Eeyore has ended up under the bed is fitting. He'll get pulled out dusted off and set on a shelf when I stumble across him while getting wrapping paper (stored under my bed).

 

No I don't cover my bed with stuffed animals. I don't play with them. I do like the Eeyore my DD gave me.

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I have about 5-6 including a Cabbage Patch Doll that my oldest dd bought for me years ago when she was a child. All of my animals have names. Only a few are displayed and the rest sit on a shelf in my closet. My headboard is a bookshelf and I keep my favorite stuffed animal by my head when I sleep. I don't play with him but I do use him as a neck pillow sometimes. 

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Rocky the Raccoon lives on my bed, and at night helps wedge me into a side-sleeping position. He vanished when I was in rehab after the car crash when my bed was stripped for laundry, so my adult kids bought me Rocky 2.

 

I love sloths. So the "kids" have decided Mom's go-to Christmas gift is a stuffed sloth. I have three now hanging upsidedown from the curtain rods in the living room.

 

I bought myself Joy, Sorrow and Anger from the Inside Out film since they were so dang cute (and they talk!)They sit on a shelf in my bedroom.

 

My long-suffering,now bald gray teddy from toddlerhood, Gray Whiskers, is wrapped in a small quilt I made as a teen and napping in a lower dresser drawer. He has a handmade pillow, too. Apparently I hated naps and bit by bit pulled all his fur off.

 

But other than that....nope, no childish stuffed animals here, nope, not at all. :-)

Edited by JFSinIL
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I only have one, a teddy bear that was mine as a kid and then my kids played with him, too. He's in my closet.

 

I did know a woman who had a huge collection of stuffed animals and was very attached to them. She and her husband had never had children and she referred to her stuffed animals as her babies.

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I have about 5-6 including a Cabbage Patch Doll that my oldest dd bought for me years ago when she was a child. All of my animals have names. Only a few are displayed and the rest sit on a shelf in my closet. My headboard is a bookshelf and I keep my favorite stuffed animal by my head when I sleep. I don't play with him but I do use him as a neck pillow sometimes. 

 

I confess that I bought my first kid a Cabbage Patch doll because I so very badly wanted one as a kid.  He still has it. 

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I do have some that I have had since I was a kid.  But I can't tell you where they all are right now.  Probably in boxes in the attic.  There is a Mickey my son wants to get rid of right now and I can't bring myself to do it.

But I don't have them on my bed.  I don't name them or give them "personalities," or even display them.  

 

 

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I remember there was a thread on this a few years ago, and I was really surprised by the number of people who still have stuffed animals, sleep with them, and even take them on trips!

 

I have a few from my childhood that were special to me.  I let my kids play with them when they were little, and now they live in our attic.

 

I do have a friend who has a number of dolls that she keeps in a display case in her living room.  She said she often takes them out at night and changes their clothes and combs their hair.  She has all sons, so maybe it helps fulfill some daughter-thing!

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Ones that you keep on your bed?  Do you still "play" with them?  Use them?  Do they have names?  Do they have personalities?

 

I  have a friend.  We get along great and I like her, but I just find it odd that her bed (which she shares with  her husband of almost 25 years) is full of stuffed animals. And she has named them, and often lines them up to watch a show with her, or whatever.

 

I am guessing this started when her daughter was younger and she is just continuing it?  But now I wonder if it has just always been like this for her.

 

Maybe more people do this than I think?

 

Well, of course they have personalities! What an insulting question  :laugh:

 

I'm going to guess that the stuffed animals on the bed are treated like extra pillows - they are on the bed during the day, and taken off at night. That's what I used to do. My stuffed animals came with me into marriage and predated my kids. They were on the bed, on the dresser, pretty much any flat surface.

 

I don't think I have ever specifically lined them up to watch a show with me, but that doesn't mean I never had one sitting in the chair with me. 

 

I actually got rid of most of mine when I had kids and then they had dozens of their own. I needed the space, and I could always cuddle theirs (or the actual kid, lol). I have bought a few as an adult. I have a teddy bear in my craft room, holding scrapbook tools I bought at Build A Bear. And a flamingo, which I possibly stole from one of my children. There is a small monkey on our computer desk, we bought him for dh a long time ago because he couldn't have a real monkey. 

 

I'm pretty sure oldest dd is going to have one in the marriage bed with her, bc she's had him since before she was born and she uses him as an actual pillow. Youngest dd will probably have about 972 like I did. 

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I have quire a few around the room. Some from childhood, some that DD outgrew, and some that IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢ve purchased.

 

There is one special one that lives on the bed. HeĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s BrianĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s dragon-Brian being our son who died due to my developing HELLP syndrome at 22 weeks of pregnancy. When we found out I was pregnant, the first thing we purchased was a dragon toy with a raffle in it-the start of a planned castle themed nursery. That toy was buried with Brian.

 

DH bought me the big dragon, a big version of the one with Brian, so I would have something to hold and cuddle early on. He went with me to the funeral and through the months of recovery. For awhile, he went with me to the weekly therapy group. If IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m under stress, he gets cuddled more. He doenĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t usually go on vacation, but if weĂ¢â‚¬â„¢re traveling to a funeral, heĂ¢â‚¬â„¢ll probably go along.

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I have many of my animals from childhood, plus some acquired as an adult. :-)   Most of them are on a shelf thingy that's at the head of my bed, but some are in other locations as well.  I occasionally sleep with one of them.  A stuffed animal that's been loved is like a pet and is not very easy to get rid of.  My younger son is having this problem right now, and he is 15!  Among others, he has two large stuffed animals, and he doesn't really want them anymore, but he can't bear to just throw them in the trash, and most donation places won't take stuffed animals.  What to do, what to do.  

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I am always tempted to answer this question (it does seem to come up here semi-regularly), but I really don't need to be told that I'm weird or immature, so I never do.

 

:laugh:

 

I haven't ever seen it here before. I  guess I haven't paid attention.

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I am always tempted to answer this question (it does seem to come up here semi-regularly), but I really don't need to be told that I'm weird or immature, so I never do.

 

Be weird with us! 

 

   A stuffed animal that's been loved is like a pet and is not very easy to get rid of.  My younger son is having this problem right now, and he is 15!   

 

I mentioned getting rid of some of mine in a post above. It's possible that, before doing so, I explained to them that it was time to move on and make someone else happy  :o

 

 Search "donate used stuffed animals" and you may find a local place that accepts them. Our fire department takes them. Of course, they need to be gently used, not about to fall apart, but even ones showing a bit of wear can often be made like new with a proper cleaning and fluffing in the dryer. 

 

Failing that, offer them on Facebook or let him have a 'free' garage sale. We often get rid of items by putting them out front with a "free" sign on them. He could do the same, he'll just need a table to set them on. 

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My friend's grandmother just passed away.  One of the daughters (of the grandmother, grown woman) used to always give her stuffed animals as gifts.  Grandma told my friend she really didn't like them at all, but had to keep them out because her daughter gave them to her.  Now the daughter wants the last stuffed animal she gave her to go in the coffin with the grandma. 

 

We both just found this really ironic!  Communication, people, communication!

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I have stuffies that are special to me from childhood but they live in a closet. I don't think it's necessarily weird for someone to still be amused by stuffies. My grandmother had a special mouse stuffy that she used to decorate for every holiday and season. Her friend had a big wardrobe and a bunch of accessories and furniture and there would always be a cute little display at the house. It was a fun little hobby for her and we all enjoyed it. I think some people have a sense of play and whimsy that lasts longer or doesn't evolve into something non-toy related. IMO, it's no different but much cheaper than men who used to play with remote control cars who now play with remote control drones! 

 

I know several older women with doll collections and displays too. 

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I do have some that I have had since I was a kid.  But I can't tell you where they all are right now.  Probably in boxes in the attic.  There is a Mickey my son wants to get rid of right now and I can't bring myself to do it.

 

But I don't have them on my bed.  I don't name them or give them "personalities," or even display them.

 

Definitely keep Mickey. Your son may not want him now, but if Mickey was a childhood favorite, your son may be happy to have him for sentimental value when he gets older, and it might be fun to show Mickey to his own kids one day. :)

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I have one in a box in the closet. ItĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s a 1964 Snoopy, so Ă¢â‚¬Å“bornĂ¢â‚¬ before I was. It is the stuffed animal I loved most as a child, and knows all my childish secrets.

 

ItĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s pretty ragged, I keep it for the nostalgia.

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I've got at least three that are special.

 

No, make that 4.

 

The squid that lives (mostly) on our bed (whose name just slipped my mine)

 

The long blue dog that goes camping with me.

 

The colorful Tye dye poodle that lives on my desk at work

 

And the Douglas kitty named "K,T," that lives in my car's windshield. (replacing the previous stuffed kitty I had had there since the Nisqually earthquake in 2001)

 

I'm sure I have a few more that are not as frequently used.

 

Edited by vonfirmath
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I haven't had a stuffed animal I was remotely attached to since elementary school.  I think I got a few small teddy bears as gifts in highschool, but I wasn't attached to them so they went away as soon as the boyfriend did.

 

DD19 on the other hand still has a bunch in the attic and keeps the IKEA shark on her bed.  The shark is used as a body pillow because she has shoulder issues.  She lives at her boyfriends and she has one both here in her bedroom at home and one at her boyfriends too.  If it wasn't for her shoulder I don't think it would live on her bed any longer. There is a large, realistic polar bear that lives in the top of her closet that her brother bought her in early elementary. That is her favorite of all time and I don't think she will get rid of it any time soon. :0)

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I have one from years ago, which is usually up in my closet because I don't really care.  :P  I bring it down as a Christmas decoration.  However, my kid has given it a name and steals it from time to time.

 

I also have a few others that my kids have bought me.  I don't personally play with them, but I display them because it makes my kids happy.

 

That said - I do talk to my kids' favorite doll and bear.  Even when my kids are not home.  :leaving:

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I still have some from my childhood, but they are pretty delicate now so they stay safely in a box in my closet.  

 

I have a couple of plush otters that my daughter bought for me (I love otters!) which sit in a chair in my bedroom.  But I don't name them or play with them, I just look at them and think they're cute, and remember that my sweet, thoughtful daughter bought them for me.  I also have a beautiful Vermont Teddy Bear that my husband bought me when we first started dating.  It sits on my bookshelf, next to some photos and other mementos, and like the otters, reminds me that I am loved.

 

When I was a kid, my stuffed animals were very real (alive) to me.  I'm sure most people think it's odd, but I actually think it's kind of sweet that your friend has retained that bit of innocent wonder and imagination from her childhood.  I think the world could use more of that!

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Does the three-foot tall stuffed polar who lives on our hall bench count??? Oh, and the tarantula who sits on the shoulder of our "naked lady" statue in our other hallway. It's only one bre@$t that's showing, so the tarantula's legs cover up the nakedness and keep the teenaged boys from staring at her. Maybe I should knit her a bikini top...

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All right, I'll be weird and share the story of Albert (my children think I should write a book about him, btw).

 

When I went away to college, I missed my dog, a black poodle I had had since I was 10. I got it into to my head to go looking for a black Pound Puppy at Toys R Us, because I knew they had made black labs, at least, and I wanted something to remind me of her when I was away from home.

 

Well, I couldn't find one, and I wasn't really interested in a different stuffed animal, because I really loved Pound Puppies (I had when when I was little), so I let it go. And not too long into my freshman year, I met the man who would become dh, and we started dating. Hanging out in his dorm room, I discovered that the stuffed animal he had brought to college with him was...you guessed it, a black lab Pound Puppy. His parents had given it to him when he was a toddler and the family dog died, and he kept it all those years and brought it to college with him.

 

The following spring, he was going on choir tour over spring break, so he gave me his stuffed dog to remind me of him while we were apart, and I've had it ever since. He didn't have a name back then, so I named him Albert (I had a thing for using names that ended in "Bert" when I was in college.)

 

The dog has been a fixture on the bed ever since. When dh is out of town for work, I put the dog on dh's pillow, kind of like he's guarding me, but mostly to take up some of the space dh leaves behind. And I've made up stories about Albert to amuse my children ever since they were small. Too many allergies in our family means we can't have a real dog, so Albert has taken on quite a personality, and we all love to add to his, if you'll pardon the pun, "tale."

 

So, yes, I have a stuffed animal on my bed. And he does happen to have a personality. And while I don't play with him exactly, sometimes when I'm stressed, I like to rub his ears, because they're soft and smooth, and made even softer and smoother over the last almost-35-years of being loved.

 

I'm a weirdo, but that's hardly the only reason. I don't really care to be mocked for it, though, or told I'm immature, so if you could keep that to a minimum, I would appreciate it. ;)

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The stuffed animals that I have are from childhood. They have names that I still remember from that time. My kids played with them but I have kept them because of nostalgia. I do not sleep with them. I guess you could say that I Ă¢â‚¬Å“display Ă¢â‚¬Å“ them but only on the sense that they are stuck in an out of the way place and havenĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t been thrown out or donated.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

Same here. I have a bear that I got when I was two and at the time he was taller than I was. My grandmother (who has long passed) knitted many outfits for him. I loaned the bear to my mil who has a spare room with bears and dolls sitting around a table "having tea."

I hear he is happy there. :)

 

If he could not stay there, I'd want him back because so many memories are tied up with him. He never had a name other than "Bear." I would not put him in my bed though. :)

Edited by Liz CA
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I have 2 stuffed animals from my childhood that were special to me.  They now live in my kids' room.  I love watching them play with Max and Spot.  They have not had a place on my bed since I was in college and still living at home.  Even then I usually slept on the living room couch and I'm pretty sure I would take them off the bed when I went to sleep.

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I'm a weirdo, but that's hardly the only reason. I don't really care to be mocked for it, though, or told I'm immature, so if you could keep that to a minimum, I would appreciate it. ;)

 

No, don't think of that as weird at all.  It is sweet.

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I still have a few from my childhood. Every once in awhile I end up with a geek themed one somehow or other so I've got a couple of those too. I don't play with them though. They sit on shelves. Occasionally they get played with by the kids or used as props in movies or something, I guess.

 

Nothing against people who are into them though. I feel like it's like any collectable.

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I still have some from my childhood. They all have names and personalities. They are not on my bed, though. They are displayed in my kids rooms.

Okay, I will admit to sometimes giving my teddy bear, Theodora,a snuggle.

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I have a couple that my kids or dh bought for me. I think alpacas are really funny animals and dh bought me a very small stuffed alpaca made from alpaca fur. He's given me some others that relate to an inside joke. One of my kids was in another part of the world and, since I love animals, I teased him about bringing back an unusual local animal. For Christmas, he gave me a Beanie Baby version of that animal. I display them in my bedroom, but I don't name them, play with them, or give them personalities.

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My friend's grandmother just passed away.  One of the daughters (of the grandmother, grown woman) used to always give her stuffed animals as gifts.  Grandma told my friend she really didn't like them at all, but had to keep them out because her daughter gave them to her.  Now the daughter wants the last stuffed animal she gave her to go in the coffin with the grandma. 

 

We both just found this really ironic!  Communication, people, communication!

 

:lol:

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No. It sounds weird to me, but people probably think I'm weird because I have a custom made Scandinavian dragon's head for my kayak that my brother made for me. (Yes, family lore says we're of Norwegian descent on Dad's side. )  When we went on the moonlight paddle last summer I wore a Viking helmet with red and blue flashing lights in the horns and waterproof lights hot glued to my cockpit and yep, Drekki (the name of my dragon which is Old Norse for Dragon) got her red glowing eyes and a glow in the dark petina on her head so she would have a ghostly glow in the moonlight. (All the paddlers are encouraged to wear as many glow in the dark and lighted items as possible.)  I christened her with a bottle of Viking Blod (a Danish Meade) on her maiden voyage complete with a speech, "Thank you for joining me as we christen this ship Drekki.  May she track true and endure rough waters."  Then we drank in her honor and poured the Meade on her.  So I'm obviously very comfortable with weird stuff. 

And yes, I'm totally and completely serious when I instruct my family that I will be cremated with her.  It will send me on my last and greatest adventure (my brother and I have had many adventures together in our lifetime) which I will spend with Jesus.

So all you weird people, enjoy your stuffed animals or whatever.  I get being weird for fun and sentimental reasons. 

 

 

 

 

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I have one little guy, Poonie (I wanted to name him Cootie like the game but my family couldnĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t understand me) that lives in my nightstand drawer. He was on top of the nightstand but weĂ¢â‚¬â„¢re thinking about selling our house so IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m clearing all surfaces.

PoonieĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s parents, Henry and Henrietta are in with my kidsĂ¢â‚¬â„¢ stuffed animals and I might have a few more in a bin in the garage.

Edited by kitten18
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