Jelly cats... have I missed the memo?!

[makemineadecaf]

I bought these for my kids as babies. Yet so many threads on here are about jellycats for teens. What's the hype?! I've clearly missed something!! My girls are 10 and 14.

My 2.5yo has asked me for the skateboard every night at bedtime for about three months since seeing it in the garden centre. Tells me every night how good she's been (ha!) and why she should have it.

It's bloody £40!

Have sent the link to grandad, he's the only one daft enough to indulge her at Christmas to that extent - in the meantime, she continues to dream and haggle!

I’ve bought mine one each for Xmas, about £25 each. They like the more traditional animal style than the quirky ones. I liked the look of the plants but couldn’t justify the price! I’m just glad my teenager is asking for jellycats and not air force ones 😆

I bought my twins one each of the succulant/cacti ones when they went to uni last year. They have several real versions at home that they couln't take with them (and I am now in charge of...) and it seemed fitting for them to have a jelly cat one each. They has jelly cat toys throughiut their childhood too so it was a nice connection.

Adults collect them too. It's definitely a thing.

At the end of the day it’s just another toy manufactured in China, albeit with a piss take mark up.

We’re obsessed with them in this house … DS9 has more than I can count but DH and I have some too 😀 my favourites are the popcorn and the watermelon!

I got a tiny cute mussel one and it cost me £20 on eBay 😂

I do more or less agree with this, and yet, my four year old utterly adores her bunny, and I can see why - it does have an extra softness/ fluffiness that none of her other cuddly toys do. I don't know how that's done!

Yep, DD likes the more traditional type so Bartholomew Bear is currently on his way to us for Christmas, he was £25, so pricey, but not bonkers!

DS has the one he's had since he was a baby, I had also missed that this was now a thing for teenagers!

I’d say medium to smaller ones , DD 13 has the cauliflower , French pastries , bubble tea, ramen,
Ruler.

honestly think they are worth the money, it’s the kind of thing that stays for years without breaking or look like tat.
still remember the LOL fad , they only lasted less than a minute and cost £££.

Don't go to the Fenwick Christmas section. The one near me has a Christmas tree decorated fully and only with jelly cat decorations. They are £15 each!

They've been a thing for years! I had my first one (after much pleading with my mum) when I was 17. I'm 38 now 😲 we've got lobsters, an octopus, a monkey and some dinosaurs. I love my octopus but I'm holding out for a large one as the small one is just a bit small for cuddling. Love the idea of a fruit bowl might have to steal that

I was in the Bullring on Friday and the new Jellycat concession there was so busy that it had people manning a queue, with a proper queuing system, and while we were there, someone spent £2k on a giant special edition teddy... I think a rainbow?! It was massive, but wow.

There was EVERYONE in there, though, kids, tourists, pregnant people, families, students. There's clearly a lot of appeal - and a lot of money in it - right now.

I suspect it's to do with the current trend for nostalgia and the comfort of things that feel like they were from a simpler/less chaotic time, and Jelly Cat are filling the void from thinks like Beanie Babies.

We were there as two-year-old DS has a Jellycat that he has loved since birth, so we wanted one for his sibling too, although they're a decent amount more expensive now 😆

@YouveGotAFastCar I saw that pop up in social media....I may have pondered taking my girls (from London) is it as big as it looks....?

My 8 year old absolutely loves them, she's collecting the bunnies

If it’s the one in Selfridges then no, it’s very small! Just an area in the middle of the kids section.

I think we had a good few years of brands having a looser grip in general. Generic pj's with unicorns on, kids being less bothered with branding of clothes etc.

Now the brands are fighting back! Nike, white fox, those cylinder shaped 'plushies' I can't think of the name of right now. It’s like the tackler side of the 90s again with Kappa or all the kids wanting 'Spliffy' coats before they even knew what it meant!

I collect the Vivacious Vegetables... And have started on the Christmas ones.. I bought a mince pie recently..
I am 53...

The fruit and veg are very cute. I keep toying with buying myself the vine tomatoes. And this is from someone who is doing a mid-life Swedish Death Clean 😁.

@FrothyCothy thanks - I suspected that may be the case.....

SD asked for a pink dragon last year (aged 14). They are really, really soft and she's sensory seeking, so it makes sense!

I have a lot of the veg, specifically the avocado, beetroot, aubergine, carrot, broccoli, peanut, croissant, peas in a pod, cactus and the cute little tennis ball guy. DH rolls his eyes every time I buy one. I'm far too old (50s) for them but can't help myself.

If you can make something collectable you will sell more. If you can also target an adult market you will also sell more and to people with disposable income.

It's as simple as that!

Back in the 90s and early 2000s it was TY Beanie Babies.

I think a lot of human personality types are easily addicted to collecting things (especially children teens and young adults) and if a business has clever marketing and can take advantage of that they improve sales and profitability. Until the next collectable comes along and takes its place....

I'd be like you but I've identified that I'm addicted to collecting and so use STOP, to stop myself. It's not easy.

As a child I collected mugs. I'm in my 50s now and have busted that by making myself use them! As they break I take more out! Apart from my singing Smiths Crisps mug - which amazingly still works!

Even now that I do art I seem to collect more supplies and books than I do use them! I have to shout STOP in my head to not buy more.

I think it's our personality, or maybe all.humans are a bit like this, but we have to work to control it - unless we want to, of course. If they are small and affordable, they aren't doing any harm!