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Pillow pets promote proper sleep

Stuffed Animal PillowPillow pets are a unique stuffable animals that combines a plush pillow with a stuffed animal. It’s a brilliant design that is meant to engage both the very young, and the very young at heart. Pillow pets foster a sense of playfulness while promoting sleep, which can be very handy when trying to tuck a youngster into bed.

 

Pillow pets appeal to any animal lover. From the beloved monkey and colorful bears, to a lovable ladybug and friendly husky, these animals are sure to comfort even the toughest sleepers.

 

Night sleeping is some of the healthiest times for toddlers and young children. Sleep helps restore the brain. Think of the brain as a battery. When you give it a rest, it recharges. Kids need that break to have energy and power for the next day. Even rest times are important to give kids a boost so they can tackle the rest of the day. Pillow pets make a great companion for the sleep or rest period.

 

Stuffed Animal PillowPillow pets are made of chenille and have Velcro bands that allow them to be changed from a flat pillow into a 3-D stuffed animal. It starts in pillow position, and when the strap fastens to the other side, it transforms into a stuffed toy. If the strap is unfastened again, the pet can again be used as a pillow.

 

Zoo Factory products are made from top-tier plush and are durable. We understand when a little one loves their stuffed animal or pillow pet intensely, the animal can get a little dirty at times. With a little light cleaning and TLC, your child’s pillow pet is as good as new. In addition, Zoo Factory’s designs are about bringing character and personality to the pillow pets. When they get a little messy, it is okay! Animals in the wild don’t mind!

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Why we love stuffed animals

From the dawn of child’s play, there has been one toy that has stood out among the rest: the stuffed animal.  Kids everywhere go nuts for these soft, stuffed creatures.

 

Stuffable Teddy BearIn a study published by Time Magazine, which listed the most popular toys by decade throughout the past century, the one toy that appeared in almost every decade was – you guess it – a stuffed animal. The 1980s saw a sustained interest in stuffed animals, from regular stuffable animals and trademarked television show animals to wild animals and domestic pets. There is no doubt about it; children love stuffed animals.

 

But what is it about stuffed animals that is so appealing? Is it their likeness to real animals that makes us to cuddle them? Is it our instilled sense of nurturing that tells us we should cradle our stuffed animals, treat them as if they were real and care for them like no other?

 

Perhaps it’s because real pets – or wild animals brought down to stuffed animal proportions – would never stand for constant petting, cradling, poking, prodding and toting. By caring for our stuffed animals, we get a chance to know what it would be like to care for a rhino, lion, buffalo , monkey or other beast.

 

Stuffable BuffaloMost children have very little control over their day-to-day matters. So when a child plays with a stuffed animal, they are often all too happy to assign roles, play boss, make up scenarios and be in charge.  Through interaction with a stuffed animal – something that never talks back, or acts controlling – a child is learning how to work through life situations, find comfort, grow and develop.

 

For something that is typically just, stuffing and stitches, a stuffed animal might be the best thing every made. It’s a soft, comforting toy that can teach life skills and create lasting bonds and memories for children.

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Stuffed animal sleepover in Chicago

The River Forest Public Library is hosting a slumber partyUnique Stuffed Animal. Not for children, though, but for their little stuffed animal friends.

Starting at 6 p.m. next Friday, children will bring their little stuffable animals to the library and listen to a few bedtime stories before leaving their friends for the night. What will the stuffed animals do? Well have a party of course!

The announcement in the Riverforest Sun Times said the animals will be occupied by hearing more bedtime stories, playing dress up, dancing and playing games. It’s a chance for the stuffed animals to let loose and tell stories with their other stuffed animal friends.

“It is fun to be in the library after hours,” Susan Quinn, head of Children’s Services, told the newspaper. “It will be perfectly acceptable for the animals to get a little louder in the library at night because they will be the only ones there besides our staff and the Teen Volunteer Team.”

Stuffed Animal PandaWhen the children come to pick up their favorite stuffed animal friends, they will be greeted with a light breakfast and a slide show to see all the fun they had over night the announcement said.

It’s a unique way to see how your children react to a night without their stuffed animals, and a fun way to keep the children involved with their local library. I’m curious to see the fun the stuffed animals next week!

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Kids need Stuffed Animals Now More Than Ever

Golden Retriever stuffed animalThe tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut has affected us more than ever. It’s hard to look at a young child, a kindergartener, first-grader, second-grader, see how innocent they are and think their life was taken away in a fashion that was unimaginable until last Friday.

As everyone mourns — parents, relatives and people across the nation – children do too. Parents can look for comfort by hugging their children and keeping them close, but who do children seek comfort in? Their first best friend, and one that never lets them down – their stuffed animals. Much like children are the rock of their parents lives, stuffed animals play a major role in being the rock of their lives.

People know this, and just like how people donated stuffed animals for Superstorm Sandy, people are starting to set up stuffable animal drives for the children and families in Newtown, Conn.

In Hudson, NH, two workers set up a stuffed animal drive through the Someone Who Loves You project.

Snowman stuffed animalIn a story that appeared that appeared in the Nashua Telegraph, Ashleigh Homon and Jenna Selfridge started the idea when Ashleigh said she wanted to “hug and give teddy bears to all of the children of the school,” Selfridge told the Telegraph.

We certainly feel the same way.

Selfridge said an aunt of Homon’s fiancé “was a volunteer in the Sandy Hook School District for years and have been working together to coordinate the drive,” as read in the newspaper.

Donation centers have been made in multiple states across the country.

 

 

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Rescuing misfit toys and making them better

Stuffable AnimalsThe Island of Misfit Toys has always held a certain mystique around the holidays.  Although an integral part to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the island is also such a perfect symbol for loneliness and the feeling that you’re an outcast, feelings that for many are unavoidable during the holidays.  Stuffed animals are not just cherished toys meant for children, but also symbols of the human experience.  Not many toys, in my opinion, possess such cultural cache.  Stuffed animals represent the BEST aspects of living.

Silver Spring Township, PA resident Jane Kreitzer recognizes the deeper meaning behind stuffed animals.

In the feature article “Silver Spring Township woman dresses, gives dolls, and stuffed animals to charity,” Tammie Gitt of The Sentinel writes “Each year, the Silver Spring Township woman buys dolls and stuffed animals at the Dollar Store or Walmart when they are discounted after holidays. Then, she takes them home and crochets dresses, sweaters, hats, and even underwear for them.”

Kreitzer’s a rescuer of stuffable animals that time forgets and makes them better!

We’ve all seen the discount bins after the holidays and how sad the racks and bins look. It’s almost as if you want to reach out to the toys and comfort them, tell them that there’s always next year.  For many of these toys and stuffed animals, there isn’t a next year.

What of the children that may need them?  Jane has that covered as well!  Gitt writes, “She called a local minister who gladly took [the stuffed animals].  Her donations continued for another six years in Florida including one year when some were given to a nursing home.”

Everyone can use a stuffed animal for that little extra cheer.  Around this time of the year, we can all use that. Never forget the power of a stuffed animal.

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Stuffed animal drives for Superstorm Sandy victims held nationwide

Sometimes all it takes is a stuffable animal to feel better.

Stuffed animal EagleNationwide, people have been showing their support for those affected the most by Superstorm Sandy by holding stuffed animal drives.

In Kansas City, a four-year old girl told her parents she wanted to help the children who were affected after hearing tales of children her age losing stuffed animals forever. Little Katherine Schell helped spearhead a drive that accumulated 1,800 stuffed animals, called “Project Daisy” after her favorite stuffed animals. Her and her parents flew to Stanton Island to deliver the load to happy children.

In New Bern, NC, on the coast of North Carolina, a second-grader also helped lead a drive for stuffed animal drive for those in need in the New Jersey and New York area. Jordyn Goodwin told ABC affiliate WCTI that she wanted to start the drive because she knew they would need the stuffed animals the most. “They can feel safe with their stuffed animal like I feel every night,” Goodwin said. “All of my stuffed animals are my best friends.”

Pink bear stuffed animalOther stuffed animal drives in the news have been found in Iowa, Eastern Arizona and other parts of the country.

It was just released that damage in New York by Superstrom Sandy reached a staggering $32 billion dollars.

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Build a stuffed animal party!

Looking for an inexpensive birthday party for your child where his friends and guests can enjoy and take home gifts? How about a stuffable animal birthday party!

Pick a litter of 8-inch stuffed animal kittens for $26.95, add on some apparel for the customizable animals and some accessories and have a fun build a stuffed animal party where everyone can be involved.

The Zoo Factory has the stuffing, plenty of accessories and apparel to make each animal unique while using your child’s creativity to make something he or she can truly call their own. It’s a way to have fun, be creative at a relatively inexpensive price and something you child and truly be proud of.  The best part about it, the guests can take home their creations too and will be a birthday party they can remember too!

Check out all the unique animals, apparel, and accessories The Zoo Factory has to offer and make your child’s next birthday party, a stuffable animal birthday extravaganza!

Here are the four kittens that come in our litter for a stuffed animal party!

 

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Who said stuffed animals aren’t important?

Check out this story in the Boston Herald in early June about a Boston transit train that was halted, during rush hour, after a fallen stuffable animal fell on the tracks.

Exiting the Orange Line train at the Green Street Station in Jamaica Plain, little 3-year old Riley dropped her bunny stuffable animal, Nummy, on the tracks during a busy 5:30 p.m. commute. Nummy, Riley’s first ever stuffed animal and first ever friend, was now in jeopardy of being run over.

“Everyone saw it. You could hear this huge gasp,” Nummy’s grandmother and Riley’s mother Casey Carey-Brown told the Boston Herald.

With screams and cries for help from scared Riley, Casey took a shot in the dark and told Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority worker about the incident.

“I really expected her to say: ‘No, I’m sorry. It’s rush hour. There’s nothing that can be done,’” Casey told the Boston Herald. “And, that would be the end of the story.”

But what happened next was simple. The attendant phoned ahead to another attendant, who phoned the conductor of the oncoming train in Nunny’s path. The train stopped and the conductor got out and placed Nummy on the edge of the platform for Riley to never let go of again.

Listen to the MBTA calls ahead to the conductor here, courtesy of the Jamaica Plain Patch.

Simply incredible.  What would you do if your children’s stuffable animal was in danger of being killed?

Casey Carey-Brown blogs about her life with her daughter Riley, who she calls Roozle, and her wife Michelle, in “Life with Roozle.”

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Welcome to our blog!

Hello everybody and welcome to The Zoo Factory’s Blog! Here you will find interesting factoids about our stuffable animals, gift ideas, special features and industry related news, so make sure you check back often to see what new we have in store.

We one of the largest inventory of 8-inch and 15-inch stuffable animals available on the web.

Here’s how it works. Purchase what precious stuffed animal you want, choose the stuffing and accessories, and start building your friendly stuffable animal! Your child will love their custom stuffed animal, watching them “come to life” while filling the animal with the cotton stuffing. They’ll feel more bonded with their special friend actually making them.

Get them away from the video games and build a stuffed animal!

So browse our inventory and choose what cutie your child will fall in love with and check back with more news from The Zoo Factory!