Collectable Stuffed Bears

Besides being great toys for kids, many people like to collect stuffed bears and animals. There are some stuffed bears and animals that strike the fancy of collectors and become very popular and/or very valuable. There are also some stuffed animals that are just plain cool for kids and adults.

With the recent release of The Last Mimzy, a science fiction movie in which two children find a box of "toys" including a stuffed bunny named Mimzy and become more intelligent as they play with the "toys", there has been some interest from collectors in having a Mimzy stuffed animal, so an official collector's edition Mimzy stuffed animal as well as a less expensive version for children have been licensed.

Among stuffed bears that have recently been popular with collectors is the Knut stuffed bear. Knut was the first polar bear born in Germany in 30 years at the Berlin Zoo and everyone fell in love with the cute cub. There are a few different sizes of this stuffed bear licensed and created by the German toy company Steiff with the permission of the Berlin Zoo.

One stuffed animal that would be very popular with collectors would be a Hobbes stuffed animal. However, as Bill Watterson does not believe in licensing his characters for use in merchandising, no licensed versions of a Hobbes stuffed animal exist.

Among the choices for stuffed bears and other animals that are just plain cool are the Hansa stuffed animals. This company makes very realistic looking stuffed bears and animals, including some life sized animals and ride on animals. They also make a lot of unusual animals, so if your child wants a stuffed anteater, this is the place to look.

Another choice for a wide variety of stuffed bears and animals is the Animal Alley stuffed animals made by Toys "R" Us and Gund. Some of the animals are more realistic than others, but if you are looking for a relatively inexpensive option these are a great choice.

For those kids that are difficult to buy stuffed animals for due to problems with allergies, a good option is alpaca teddy bears. This fur is hypoallergenic and very soft, so it makes great stuffed bears.

If you want to give your kid a special experience, try making your own stuffed bears. You can go the easiest and most expensive route and do this at the mall at Build A Bear Workshop, or you can have a bear party or order the kits from a variety of companies on the internet.

One of the more popular options for parties to make stuffed animals is the Noah's Ark stuffed animal company. They have a wide variety of options for both stuffed bears and animals and outfits, and they come to your home to help you and your guests make them.

Most kids seem to gather quite a large collection of stuffed bears and animals. Eventually they usually outgrow some or all of these stuffed bears, and a good option for getting rid of those that are not longer in favor is to donate used stuffed animals to an organization that accepts them and redistributes them to other kids in need.