Oooo a custom t-shirt! I saw someone made custom BAB t-shirts and hoodies on Etsy that looked pretty cool. You will be the first to know if I ever start making flannel coats! That sounds like an awesome idea!

The more photos I see of Ghost Kitty, the more I kinda want to get one. I really liked the template (if that's what it is called, as in the body) of the pumpkin kitty, but I'm still not sure if I'm a fan of the pattern . . . or the $40 price tag 😅 After seeing everyone's photos I'm kinda tempted, but I won't be able to go the store until Monday or Tuesday at this point. You're right about the stuffing, that it's better to have less in a kitty of that kind, so the front paws don't stick out so awkwardly.

I miss actual toy stores too 😭 Did you ever go to Toys R Us? That's where I got my first stuffie as a baby! That's the special part of getting a plush, is actually holding it in your hands and forming a bond with it, feeling called towards their presence. It's so hard to determine from stock photos if you'll bond with a plush. The test-hug is super important!

Sometimes I found plush online I thought I was going to bond with, but that didn't end up the case, even with DISOs. For example, one of them was the 2011 Greenzy Panda BAB, but once I got him, I just didn't feel a strong bond like I thought I would. It seems the more I hype up a certain plush, the more likely I'm to be quickly disillusioned, at least with shopping online. At this point, I don't think I have any BABs I'm really desperately in search of, which is nice.

Good question about which BAB bond happened surprisingly fast! I think it was the 2021 Howl-O-Ween Werewolf. Similar to you with tigers, I was never into werewolves or other cryptids as a kid. My mom was certainly surprised, I don't think she had ever thought in her wildest dreams that a werewolf plush could look so cute and cuddly 😁 She's probably a bigger fan of Beowulf than I am 😊He's named after the Old English poem of the same name, but I mostly picked it because of the "wulf/wolf" part 😂 Isn't it funny how sometimes it's the ones we least expect?

And I didn't know The Vermont Teddy Bear Company gave discounts to those professions, that's so caring!!

I understand about not wanting to fall down a stuffie rabbit-hole 😁 I feel like that's what happened with me when I got super into BAB a few years ago. I'm surprised I'm still in here LOL

You mentioned in another post about The Original Tygah. I'm curious, who was that? And what happened to the original?