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Original poster

Has anyone successfully replaced a soft toy...

40 replies

MBailey99 · 23/08/2023 21:22

Without their child noticing? My 4 year olds favourite toy has disappeared and I'm waiting for a new one in the post, but I have a feeling he's going to notice.... don't even have time to make it look old before I go away! Anyone else experienced the joy that is lost beloved toys? Also slightly nervous the other one is going to turn up and I will be rumbled!

OP posts:
yogasaurus · 23/08/2023 21:23

Yes but they were 2 and the original one was also quite new

EVHead · 23/08/2023 21:25

No - I thought I’d fooled her but she knew all along.

“Want horsey!”
I give her Horsey #2
”Not that horsey, other horsey.”

🤦🏽‍♀️

Original poster
MBailey99 · 23/08/2023 21:26

Nooooo

OP posts:
HewasH20 · 23/08/2023 21:29

Small child threw a brand new large Miffy rabbit in the sea at Portmerion. We could literally see Miffy floating away from the open window we were standing at. Small child could not be consoled.

Whilst she sobbed in a pushchair, I went back to the shop, bought a replacement, put it under a tap in the ladies toilet, stamped on it outside before going back to small child and handing her the Miffy. She firmly believed for several years that the lady in the shop had rowed out to sea & rescued Miffy when she heard about the rabbit's fall from a great height.

Original poster
MBailey99 · 23/08/2023 21:30

HewasH20 · 23/08/2023 21:29

Small child threw a brand new large Miffy rabbit in the sea at Portmerion. We could literally see Miffy floating away from the open window we were standing at. Small child could not be consoled.

Whilst she sobbed in a pushchair, I went back to the shop, bought a replacement, put it under a tap in the ladies toilet, stamped on it outside before going back to small child and handing her the Miffy. She firmly believed for several years that the lady in the shop had rowed out to sea & rescued Miffy when she heard about the rabbit's fall from a great height.

That's very cute

OP posts:
Whatsthepoint1234 · 23/08/2023 21:31

I tried when ds left his Tinky-Winky on the tube (he was probably about 7 but has ASD) - we got an identical Tinky-Winky and even made it dirty. Ds smelt it and knew immediately. To this day he still remembers it!!

Moopyhereagain · 23/08/2023 21:32

Pulled it off twice with a Harry the Helmsman rnli toy and a jellybean wolf. Neither noticed. I roughed them up a bit ( seem to remember I rolled one on the grotty floor in the car urgh) Sons are now 18 and 25 none the wiser. Actually I might text them …

UndercoverCop · 23/08/2023 21:32

Yes, a pilot from the airport amazon successfully found, looked after and then posted back a toy crab lost on the way to a holiday. He came with a note from the pilot explaining the crab had been very helpful and assisted him on several journeys while we were away.

HewasH20 · 23/08/2023 21:33

We worried about her Pinga toy getting lost at nursery, so I bought two on a business trip and swapped them every couple of days. She never knew.

Changethetoner · 23/08/2023 21:34

Yes. managed to order a replacement from Amazon. Told child that teddy had been to a health farm, which was why he was so "healthy" aka new looking. It seemed to work. Child was under three, so possibly easier to fool than older ones.

BetsyBobbins · 23/08/2023 21:34

My DS used to bite through his soft toys and he's had more Iggle Piggles than I can remember. I used to tell him old Iggle Piggle went on holiday because he was tired and "holey" and came back from the Bahamas thoroughly rejuvenated.

YukoandHiro · 23/08/2023 21:36

HewasH20 · 23/08/2023 21:29

Small child threw a brand new large Miffy rabbit in the sea at Portmerion. We could literally see Miffy floating away from the open window we were standing at. Small child could not be consoled.

Whilst she sobbed in a pushchair, I went back to the shop, bought a replacement, put it under a tap in the ladies toilet, stamped on it outside before going back to small child and handing her the Miffy. She firmly believed for several years that the lady in the shop had rowed out to sea & rescued Miffy when she heard about the rabbit's fall from a great height.

That made my evening ❤️

HewasH20 · 23/08/2023 21:37

When she hit the Build a Bear years she had a beloved black labrador called Bob Dog. We found a second black labrador for 99p on eBay. This one had a bark and we called him Nob Dog. We would freak her out by swapping the dogs over so sometimes Bob would bark and on other days he couldn't. Hours of amusement for us. She's got over it now.

Ducksurprise · 23/08/2023 21:37

Another that said he'd gone to get better and that the doctors and nurses had washed him and mended him so he could look after his human.

Also haven't told adult DS, DH wants to but I think that is cruel.

HewasH20 · 23/08/2023 21:40

My grandparents had a small holding and always have a couple of pigs. It took years for me to realise the bacon, sausages and roast pork always arrived a little while after Pinky & Perky had shrunk back to piglet size. Nothing to do with Grampy putting them on a diet.

LulooLemon · 23/08/2023 21:42

" Told child that teddy had been to a health farm, which was why he was so "healthy" "

This has really made me laugh 😂

YouCantBeSadHoldingACupcake · 23/08/2023 21:54

I haven't, but I remember my mum telling my little sister her doll had grown in the washing machine. Really poor Jim had fallen to pieces in the washing machine. She must have been 3 or 4 (I was a teenager).

Original poster
MBailey99 · 23/08/2023 21:58

Question is, should I be honest and say this is teddy number 2?

OP posts:
StripyHorse · 23/08/2023 22:02

DD1 was about 2 and fell asleep in her buggy with her chimpanzee hand puppet still on her hand. Of course it fell off. DM felt so bad she hadn't taken it off. We persuaded DD that he had just gone back to the zoo to visit his family. My brother somehow became implicated (DD suggested uncle drove him there).

Queue a lunch hour trip to the zoo shop and a replacement.

DD is 16 in a couple of weeks and she still doesn't know exactly what happened. The story of the chimp visiting his family has become a family story, and she obviously knows he didn't go on his own - but we have never told her the full story. It's too funny keeping her guessing.

As with other toys upthread though, she was really young and the toy was relatively new.

SpaceRaiders · 23/08/2023 22:21

Dd1 wasn’t particularly enamoured by soft toys her pink rabbit that she’d had since birth was often found tossed in her cot, that’s until DD2 came along! Dou dou quickly became her rabbit. Eventually I managed to track down a spare on eBay, similar but slightly different arms and legs. Dd2 has always been aware she has two and could tell between them in the night by how they smelt. Bleurgh!

Dou dou 1 has traveled all over the world. It memorably was dropped in piss water as we ran to catch a ferry on a remote beach in Bali. And then got lost in a tiny sea side town in Cornwall. Dou dou was eventually found after a frantic post on a local facebook page. It arrived in the post with a postcard with a funny tale of its adventures and sweeties. Dd is 9 now, the now scraggly 13 year old dou dou is still her favourite. She still talks about the time Dou dou went on holiday in Cornwall.

Hufflepods · 23/08/2023 22:23

Yes but I wash soft toys regularly so they aren’t all grubby and gross anyway.

Sennelier1 · 15/10/2023 19:18

My 3 grandchildren all have at least 8 of their favourite soft toy, whereoff one is staying with me for emergencies and one in the car. Oh yes, they know which one is the "real" one but have learned to accept the others as good replacements when their Wawa1 is in the laundry or got forgotten at daycare.

PJ04JCW · 15/10/2023 19:25

🤣 I had my bear 'refurbished' when I was about 5, and my grandma admitted it to me when I was about 10.
My daughter had a Paw Patrol Skye which 'flew' in the kitchen and landed on the hob. We had a chat to Santa who 'fixed' Skye and put her in DD's stocking a few weeks later.

Mumaway · 15/10/2023 19:50

I'm definitely not an expert parent, but with DD2 bought 3 of the same, and have rotated them. She's now 8 and still has Owly every night. Or so she thinks.....

SaltySeaAir · 15/10/2023 19:56

Yes, just the other day we had to replace my 7 year olds much loved teddy. New one arrived (after much expense 😫) from eBay. I put it straight in the wash. I then took it to him straight out the washer, exclaiming - "look what I found!!" Basically I told him it must have been stuck in the washing machine for a couple weeks, and was now super clean 🤣 He fell for it completely ❤️