If you have been following my mindless ramblings between the interesting posts about travel, recipes and gaming, you may have noticed me mention that we have a stuffed animal family. Whilst it might seem weird to you, it is not to us. It is just our way of life now. So what exactly is a stuffed animal family you ask? Well it is essentially soft toys that we have given individual personalities and for intents and purposes are real.

It started about 6 years ago when my parents bought us a Cinsaquil and Chikorita (second gen Pokemon starters for those who don’t know) for Christmas from their trip to Japan. As we weren’t allowed to have a fluffy pet in our 1 bedroom apartment (I don’t want a lap dog and George is allergic to cats) George one day gave Chikorita and Cindaquil personalities to make me laugh. Because it made me laugh so much he kept doing it and soon I was joining in. That was the beginning…

Soon Appa (Avatar the last Airbender – TV show, not that thing they called a movie) joined the family and was given his own personality. A few years later Pabu (Avatar, Legend of Korra) was welcomed with open arms and later on that year George and I adopted Mudkip (third generation Pokemon starter) from a stall at Gold Coast Supernova.

With a family of five stuffed animals we had decided that we would stop there. They can be a handful at times. That was of course till I laid my eyes on Stitch when we were in Disneyworld earlier this year. I couldn’t resist his charms. So now we have six. Each with their own personalities and quirks and I love them all. When we have guests over, they tend to hide in our bedroom. It is just easier that way. Over the next few weeks I’ll give an individual rundown on each member of the family as they have been asking for it. Especially Chikorita. He just loves attention. For now, see the pic below as an introduction.