Posted on July 7, 2014 by The Zoo Factory — Leave a comment

Make Your Animal Friends Talk!

Although we all know that stuffed animals are the best things in the world anyway, there is one thing that could make them even better… don’t you remember being a kid and wishing more than anything that your stuffed animal would come to life? Wishing they could talk?

A great way to make your kids’ dreams come true is to give them the gift of a talking stuffed animal. Though that may sound far-fetched, we can make that happen. We sell sound chips that can be put inside an already existing toy or that can be purchased along with our darling stuffable animals.

Whether your son or daughter wants their buddy to be able to talk like them or like the animal they are, we know that our sound chips will give your child a whole new realm for play. What a great surprise a talking friend will make!

If the selection of sound chips that we have doesn’t suit the voice of your child’s toy, we have 10 and 20 second recordable sound chips that you can customize yourself so you can really make your child’s dream come true.

Another really sweet idea is to record your baby’s heartbeat so that they will have an extra special connection to their stuffed animal as they grow. We hope that you will tell us all about that adventures that your kid and his/her buddy goes on!

Need some inspiration? Check out this video of some talking animals- they are sure to make you laugh!

Posted on June 30, 2014 by The Zoo Factory — Leave a comment

Stuffed Animals as Healers

When you were sick as a kid your mom would keep you home from school and give you chicken noodle soup. She would also make sure you were tucked in tight with your favorite stuffed animal. Not because she wanted you to have him but because you wanted to have him. You felt safe and secure when your friend was around. Some kids feel more comfortable around their stuffed animals than they do around other people.

Why do stuffed animals make us feel so secure? They don’t judge us, and they provide comfort. They are there when we need them and they don’t tell us anything we did was wrong. They are the best of all worlds, especially when you have an imagination and can have a conversation with them while playing with your tea set. These reasons are why stuffed animals are great healers as well. They are not doctors or nurses and they do not actually provide medical healing but they do provide metal healing. If there is a sick child in the hospital, chances are they have a stuffed animal nearby. When they want to cry stuffed animals can wipe their tears dry. When they want to be alone, they don’t actually have to be alone.

Stuffed animals can provide more comfort than you could ever describe. This is why children become so attached to their stuffed animals. Being so young children cannot always convoy their emotions to an adult, but a stuffed animal can listen and they can say anything they want, they don’t have to censor their anger or their sadness.

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Posted on June 4, 2014 by The Zoo Factory — Leave a comment

Giving Your Child “The Best Birthday Ever”

Birthdays only come once a year, which feels like a decade to children. Each and every birthday should be celebrated to the full extent and treated like a once in a lifetime day, (except once a year)! When your children are young, their birthdays should be even more exciting. You are not only celebrating the day they were born, you are celebrating the 9 months that lead up to your miracle coming into the world, and because of their bad days you are celebrating not sending them away to military school. Make sure you celebrate the whole day and not just at the party, there are fun and inexpensive ways to make sure your little guy or girl feels special all day long, below are some of our favorite to keep the excitement going all day.

Balloon wall- after your child goes to sleep tape crepe paper to the door frame and fill it in with balloons. When your child wakes up and opens their door they will be greeted with a balloon wall!
Pancake…cake? – it already has cake in the name so why not use it to start the day?! Make a short stack and top it with a birthday candle, who says you only get to sing happy birthday once?
Lunch surprise- pack their favorite lunch with a special birthday note, don’t stop there wrap each part of the lunch like tiny little presents, unwrapping presents is one of the best parts to a birthday.
Decorate your vehicle- use washable window paint to let all the other drivers on the road know you have the birthday kid on board!
Pets can get in on the fun- if you have pet that would cooperate make a birthday hat for them to join on the fun
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Posted on April 23, 2014 by The Zoo Factory — Leave a comment

A Child’s Emotional Connection with a Stuffed Animal

Watching your children interact with their stuff animals is more than just child’s play. They can form an emotional bond and attachment to a non living object. Children say and think the funniest things and have the wildest imaginations so it is not far-fetched that they create relationships in their heads.

Children have the best imaginations and they can create anything in their mind if they try hard enough. Most children will name their favorite stuffed animals and even give them personalities. If they create a good personality for their stuffed animal they can create an unbreakable bond with them.

These stuffed animals serve as a security blanket for your child. No matter where they go they are taking someone with them they like and get along with. It is important to note that it is normal for your child to have stuffed friends, but also encourage them to make living breathing friends. If they are extremely shy maybe start with a pet, then gradually work up to human children. But always allow them to have time with their stuffed animal friend. If you try to take away their stuffed friends before they are ready they may have serious emotional problems down the road due to what they think is abandonment. Although their animal hasn’t left them, they will feel lonely if you take them away too soon. Nothing puts a smile on you child’s face like that stuffed animal, just remember to them that stuffed animal is real.

Posted on March 18, 2014 by The Zoo Factory — Leave a comment

Don’t Hinder your Child’s Imagination

Do you remember the moment you realized you were grown and no longer could have the imagination and creativity you once did? For most of us, that was a defining moment and probably a little bit sad and depressing. Did you ever take a moment to understand how you got to that point? Well it probably started when your parents told you to start growing up.

One of the first things you think about when you think about small children and their creativity is when they don’t have friends around and they start playing with their toys. Those toys are what fuels their mind and creativity. Children cannot let their imagination grow if those things are taken away from them. There is no good reason to take away your children’s stuffed animals at any age. Let them decide when it is ok to stop sleeping without boo boo bunny. After all you were the one who let them sleep with it in the first place. Wouldn’t it be a little bit contradictory to take them away now?

Children need their stuffed animals not only for their imagination to grow but for their own sense of security. Yes, you as their guardian provide security and protection but the stuffed companions they have are something they can control in their life. If you were to take away something so precious to them they may no flourish in the social department, instead feel lonely and lost. When your child begins to go to school it may be a good idea to start leaving their stuffed friends at home and playing with living breathing friends at school. That does not mean they will forget about their stuffed friend and not look for it when they come home. They will always want that sense of security and some people may hold onto those things well into adulthood but that isn’t a bad thing. Emotions are high when it comes to their prized possession.

Don’t take away something so important to them; let them decide when it is time to stop sleeping with boo boo bunny. Let them decide when it is time to start growing up.

Posted on February 10, 2014 by The Zoo Factory — Leave a comment

Unique, Whimsical, and Personalized Sorority Gifts

Sororities create long-lasting friendships and global communities. Sorority sisters connect from colleges to Universities, town to town, and across the States. Pledges never forget their time as new members, and forever remember the gifts and mementos exchanged during the pledging process. Special gifts that are given to the sorority by a new chapter member, or received by the pledge from their new chapter, are keepsakes for a lifetime; and personalized gifts mean that much more to those who receive them.

Personalized gifts can be fun and whimsical, be specific to one person, or uniquely represent a whole organization. Here are a few creative and personal gift ideas that pledges can give to their new sorority chapters, or that sorority chapter presidents can offer to successful new members.

Stuffed Animals with Personalized T-shirts

Stuffed animals are loved by just about everyone, even “big girls” living the college life. How many times have we seen our dorm mates with their favorite stuffed animals, or even carried our own life-long stuffed animal friends to school with us. Many dorm rooms are decorated with stuffed animals that were once childhood buddies. Customizing a stuffed animal with personalized t-shirts with the sorority chapter name on it, is a creative and unique gift for pledges to offer to the sorority as a new chapter member. That cute furry little mascot will always be connected to that pledge, and remembered by all.

Jewelry and Teddy Bear Bling

Teddy bears are always welcomed gifts; from beauty queens to class presidents, even superstar college jocks, can be caught with their favorite one. Whether big and fluffy or small and cute, teddy bears make wonderful sorority gifts. But teddy bears with their own jewelry, accessories, and bling, are even cooler. It would be great fun for each local campus member to own identical teddy bears with matching jewelry accessories. Upon entering your dorm room, everyone will see that you are a part of a great Greek chapter tradition, by seeing your personalized sorority teddy bear on your pillow. Whimsical matching ladybug or pink flamingo necklaces for all of the local pledges, also makes a great gift.

Personalized Talking Stuffed Animals

With easy to order “record your own voice” kits, you can have a sorority craft party, making personalized stuffed animal gifts, while recording a special “thank you” from new chapter members, or a “welcome to our chapter” message for successful pledges. Wouldn’t it be fun to re-create those old childhood craft making parties, with an adult flair. Sorority sisters can order pizza, watch the latest chick flick, while creating stuffed animals for everyone. With sentimental recorded messages in them, these unique gifts will remind everyone of that significant time in their lives, for years to come.

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Posted on January 27, 2014 by The Zoo Factory — 3 Comments

How to Care for American Girl Dolls and Other 18″ Dolls

Most little girls love to play with their dolls. They imitate their mothers and things that they see portrayed in family TV shows. What little girl hasn’t fed her “dolly” real food and drink, and loved her almost to death? So there is bound to be a certain amount of wear and tear and the occasional stains and grime. Caring for your American Girl doll is not difficult, and if you perform regular maintenance, your doll will stay “healthy” for years.

Caring for the skin

The skin of your American Girl doll is made of a soft, porous vinyl, which will absorb stains, so follow these cleaning tips.

Cover the doll’s eyes so they do not get wet and remember to protect the soft, fabric body and the hair as well as you can.
With a damp, lukewarm cloth, wipe down the doll’s skin
Make a paste with warm water and baking soda and gently apply the paste with your cloth, in a circular motion
After you have removed the stain or grime use a clean damp cloth to wipe off the paste, and pat the skin dry with a towel.
NEVER submerge the doll in water.

Caring for the hair

For styling, never use human hair care products such as mousses, shampoos or styling gels, and never use hot rollers, curling irons, hair straightening irons, or blow dryers. Just lightly mist the hair to make it more manageable for styling and, for best results, use our Doll Hairbrush and Sparkly Hair Pick. For a detailed how-to, refer to our earlier blog: How to Wash and Style Your American Girl Doll’s Hair.

Caring for clothes

Know beforehand if the clothes are color fast. As washing machines are not gentle for doll clothes, hand wash them in the sink using either a mild soap or equal parts water and vinegar. Don’t wring the clothes dry, but pat them dry with a towel and then lay them flat to finish drying. For wool clothing always hand wash in cold water and use a wool cleaner like Woolite or a mild baby shampoo.

Caring for your American Girl doll can be a fun activity for you and your child, and with just a little love and care your American Girl doll will last for years.

Posted on January 20, 2014 by The Zoo Factory — Leave a comment

Prevent Bullying in Classrooms with Stuffable Animals

Teachers of today face a new task on top of their traditional teaching chores. In addition to activities, field trips and lesson plans, teachers now need to work in ways to prevent bullying in their classrooms. Many people think that there’s little you can do about bullies, but that’s actually very far from true. It could be difficult if a child doesn’t learn consequences at home, but it can be done. A great way to combat bullying is to bring children together in a project, like a stuffable animal party.

Here’s what you do….

First, remember that this isn’t a birthday party, so you’re not dealing with a group of kids that are friends. Some are the “in” kids, while others are the outcasts; your goal is to leave no outcasts, and nobody feeling bad at the end of it.

Then, choose one stuffed animal, because there could be fighting over the lion or the pig; just eliminate that problem before it’s even an issue.

Now, observe. Don’t let the kids know this is a bullying assignment. Some of the worst bullies are the kinds that pay attention to supervision and act innocent. Pretend to be engrossed in a book while the kids stuff their animals. Observe who breaks off into groups, and notice the instigators. Also, look for the kids who say rude things and poke fun at the others.

Finally, when the kids have all of their animals together, have a concluding discussion. At this time, use the kids’ animals to act out some of the behaviors you’ve noticed. After that, grab two students, who had nothing to do with the bullying and ask them to act out different skits. When kids see their peers being mistreated it strikes something in them. They see one of their friends being mistreated, and they become less likely to do it to others. One of the best examples of this can be seen on Jimmy Kimmel’s show. He often has celebrities come on the show, to read aloud, some of the things people say and tweet about them online. Albeit comical, you can actually see how people’s feelings get hurt with just a few words.

Some bullies are mean people, and some are misunderstood kids but they all have something in common, they don’t realize how much they hurt the other person. Find a way to stop bullying in your classroom, in whatever way that works best for you. All you have to do is find a way to show the bullies how damaging their behavior is and they are likely to cease the rude behavior.

Some of today’s kindest doctors, public figures, and scientists are yesterday’s bullies, reformed. Bullies aren’t villains; they just need a little guidance from teachers who inspire them.

Year: 2014