“Funiture” and Organization

There are good gifts, and not so good gifts. Gifts that are oh-so-cute and not-so-useful—like stuffed animals. As much as I love a few furry and cuddly ones, I’m fairly certain that of the dozens and dozens… and dozens of stuffed animals, my husband and I purchased none of them. And, as cute as they are, they cause an organization and neatness problem. Where do you put all of those cuddlies?
After receiving an Animal Bag by Boon, finally, all the animals have a place to call their own, and its not stacked on top of my sons’ pillows or at the bottom of their closet. No longer will we find life-size Simba roaming the hallway, or Doby the Beanie Baby® hiding under our bed.
Boon, known for their clever, useful, modern children’s items, recently introduced the Animal Bag. Available in a variety of colors and shapes, this stuffed animal storage and soft seat is a furry, large bag, with zippered holes (we have the oval, and it has 4 holes.) These holes open and stuffed animals of most shapes and sizes can be stuffed inside. When full, or even partially full, the Animal Bag takes on several uses:
1. a bean-bag pillow, large enough for the kids to climb, cuddle and relax
2. a super large stuffed “animal”—furry enough to snuggle with, especially because it holds all of the beloved animals
3. my favorite, a place that holds all of the stuffed animals, dolls, toys, etc, in our house
The zipper tabs are large enough for my 3-year-old to open and close. And with the holes scattered all over the bag, all the animals are accessible for whatever the need (like suddenly feeling inclined to portray a showing of The Lion King in our playroom.) This bag is strictly for plush toys. When we first received it, we stuffed in pseudo-plushes, those that are part plush, part hard-plastic. Not such a good idea when your children are going to jump, head-first, onto the Animal Bag. And when you get yours, don’t make the mistake I made: make sure you turn off all sound-making stuffed animals. There’s nothing as “lovely” as hearing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, as sung by a big yellow duck, over and over and over, because another animal is laying on it. Of course, it was at this time that it became difficult for me to access that animal.
The bag, when full, is not the typical bean bag chair of our childhood. It doesn’t move to conform to your size and shape. It’s a bit lumpy. Of course, if life-size Dora is in an uncomfortable spot, you can reach in and move her around a bit.
Overall, Boon Inc’s Animal Bag is a clever idea. It gives parents a relief of organization, finally, for all those animals, without having to stealthily send them to “another place.” And it uses the beloved animals to create a piece of “funiture” for the kids.
So, maybe my hope of not finding Doby under the bed was a little unrealistic. Perhaps, as we saw today, Simba will, once in a while, break out and we’ll trip over him in the hall. But, usually, now that we have our Animal Bag, they’ll be in their home.