I'm an adult ... but I own a teddy bear! (Light-hearted (ish!))

[Goneforaride]

I'm an adult, fully functioning female. Retired from a professional job, but with a good social life, active hobbies, a dog, an unwell DH to care for (vascular dementia plus other health issues), a home to look after and all the usual life admin and other stuff going on.

So, I have come on an anonymous on-line forum to confess that I own several stuffed toys - teddy bears, a fluffy sheep, a fluffy unicorn and other kids toys which I am very fond of and which I have no intention of parting with any time soon. Some of them live in our spare room - the space where I keep my clothes etc, and some of them live in my little home office - the place I used to use to wfh before I retired, and which remains my little retreat from the rest of the house.

I know I really need to grow up and consign them all to the local charity shop, but can anyone make me feel a bit better about this awful confession, and tell me they too have a fluffy little pal that just won't part with?

@poppym12 when is he due back and will you please let us know how he is?

As long as you manage them yourself and don’t do a prince andrew it’s fine.
A collection of dolls would be freaky though.

Is the dog not real?!

I am a sucker for soft toys. I have 3 kids who aren’t even that bothered by them, but I still find myself buying them, on the pretence of it being for them! Especially some of the super soft jelly cat ones and more unusual animals, they’re just gorgeous!

I buy soft toys for myself a lot. I’m in bed with 4 at the moment!

@Medschoolmum I have done the same with DS3's collection to the point that neither of us can get rid of them now! We have shy ones, nervous types, an inventor, 3 mischief makers, the super kind one, the talkative one etc etc.

Ive just been brushing one on my knee!

I have two bears by my bed. One is a Steiff and the other is a Loved Before bear that was in John Lewis that I just couldn't leave behind.

My auntie used to have a bear on her chair arm and she would talk to him about the tv etc. I think people of all ages can derive great comfort from having a bear.

Thinking of getting a care bear. (Am 43 and my mum decluttered before decluttering was a thing)

I have a display cabinet of collectible bears and I have one I sleep with and have done so for 35 years.

Please don't get rid of them op, just enjoy them.
I still have my childhood soft toy and I actually like teddies much more now than I did as a child. I also like dolls.
Not that it matters what others might think but you don't have to look far online to see there are many, many adults who collect and enjoy a huge variety of soft toys.

One of the reasons I knew OH was right for me was he talked to my cuddly toys and when I went to his place he had his own teddies that he talked to.

So happy to read about so many teddies-lovers! My husband (M40) and I (F34) live in London, both with professional jobs, active social life, lovers of a good party, interested in culture and knowledge, close to our parents etc. also shamelessly love teddies. We have quite a few and they all have names. We love being silly and having fun - it's such an important part of our 11+ year relationship! Our friends no longer think it is weird (they have given up and have kinda embraced them too....)

We're clearly on the same wavelength @AFingerofFudge. It's astonishing how believable these characters can become!

Absoutely love the idea of inventor! We don't have one of those but we do have a couple of particularly quirky characters that I haven't shared on here because they would be so instantly and unmistakably recognisable to dd!

@Medschoolmum - Colin, our inventor has just made a super whizzy pick and mix machine for the shop where in true Wonka style the sweets come whizzing down tubes and into the bag!

This is Badge.He comes with me on my walks.(long story,all to do with our online group) he gets chatted to quite a lot.
I also have Ted that sits on my bed to guard it from intruders 😁he often sneaks in with me at night too,much nicer than a man!

I still sleep with my cuddley toy from childhood. It comes on holiday with me and weekends away.

My ex bf hated me sleeping with it, and banned it from his house.

My DH found out that I had my cuddly and on the first night I went over, he reminded me to bring it. I married him 9 months later.

I collect bears. For a while it was Me to You bears. Then it was TY beanie boos. And now it’s squish mellows

I love them all

I have a small 7 inch bear who has more outfits than I do and travels the world with me. I also have the teddy I was given as a baby but he is too big and too fragile to travel with me. I should add that my mother frequently tried to get rid of my larger bear and I would have to rescue him from the bin when I got home from school. Alas, my German doll went before I could rescue it. I’m sure it would be worth some money now.

Love it! ❤

I can't sleep without cuddling one of mine, I'm 43. I'm not ashamed.

Life is too short! Enjoy your teddies/toys 😊.

Quite recently, I had a huge Jellycat collection. I have always loved them from afar, but once I bought the first one just for me, it started an addiction.

I worried how my collection would look to others outside of my immediate family, and I was concerned that I would look childish. I also struggled to know how to display them, with my main worry being that I didn’t want it to look like I lived in a nursery! I have sold a large proportion of them, but I have kept several back that I won’t sell on (I particularly love the plants!).

Was I wrong to be concerned about how others viewed me and my collection? Quite possibly, yes.

In a spare bedroom I have a Golly, old bear, rag doll, Trumpy bear and a camel!

I have a collection of ty beanie buddy cats.
A shelf unit specifically for all my other soft toys.
I have 2 plushie cats that are used as arm rests in bed and a seal plushie floating around the edge of my bed.
I'm 51 and as far as I'm concerned anybody who thinks it's weird can find a hole and dive in it.

I have lots of soft toys, some from childhood and some bought as an adult, that including one special one who I can’t really sleep without.