What do you think of adults who collect soft toys?

I collect salt and pepper shakers. They are not on my bed.

I think when it comes to adults with soft toys there is probably a tipping point where it moves from being fine to being over the top. I think a few is ok and they can give some form of comfort or perhaps help bring back some kind of memory of a special time or person, but if it takes you 30 minutes to uncover your bed each night because of them, then that is different.

I have often thought about trying to collect things, but I change my mind about what I would want to focus on, but I think for me its all related to the story behind something and learning the background and trying to get that item you have never seen before. I expect to settle on something rather strange that will certainly lead to raised eyebrows.

@TheProfoundPorcupine Sounds interesting keep us posted!!

We have “kid’s“toys of all sorts, soft and otherwise in our apartment (with no kids, besides visitors). For starters:
We have ten beannie baby rabbits that get costumed as carollers for the xmas season.
There are two handmade polarfleece bears who sit in adirondack chairs, discussing the condition of the world and of their mint juleps.
There is a mini-radioFlyer wagon with a giraffe in it.
Four armadillos sit atop the center-channel speaker (did you know that armadillos always have litters of exactly four armadillo pups?)
There is a Godzilla with a saxophone on a shelf at the front door.
There are little plastic hyenas that migrate from the top of one picture to some other.
There is a 2 inch plastic meerkat in a position near a lamp where he’ll cast a two foot shadow on the wall.
You can diagnose it however you like, we’ll keep collecting toys, and playing with them.

Lighthouses and Carousel horses. They are not in my bed.

They are just for cover. Hidden among the many plush toys are the true reason for the collection: Plush toys that have fleshlights built in.

I have gotten rid of a lot of stuffed animals, but still have several.

@Shippy People who collect soft toys are no more strange than you are. I understand collectors and have some in my family, but I’m not one myself. I’m pretty messy as it is, and a collection of anything would create an impossible environment for me. However, without meaning to, I find I have accumulated a group of birds made of a variety of materials. They are NOT grouped together except the two times I used them all as a centerpiece on the dinner table. No one thought they were charming except me. So they’ll never have the opportunity of being a collection. ever.

Not my idea of decorating. I am really picky about my homes ambiance, for myself, not to impress anyone. I haven’t had stuffed animals in the house since my daughter was a young kid. Not my thing at all.

I went through a phase where I ‘collected’ teddy bears. I didn’t ever see myself as a collector though. I just liked them for some reason. I particularly liked small bears and well made bears with real characters. I haven’t bought or been bought any for many years and they are all somewhere in a box, which feels quite wrong really. I never put them on the bed and didn’t really have a desire to have them ‘displayed’. If I had a window seat or something like that I might put them out.

As to what I think of adults who collect soft toys (or anything else) – I don’t think of them. As with anything, if it becomes a compulsive behaviour and they have toys everywhere then it might be concerning, otherwise I don’t care. If it makes them happy…

Not accusing anyone of anything, but, I was on a jury for an attempted rape/murder. The victim said one of the oddest things was his entire living room and dining room had plush toys everywhere. He was a real sicko.

@zenvelo Ewww…creeeepy, creeeepy, shiver!

Collecting toys? Not so weird.
Stuffed animals on the bed?
Kind of disconcerting.

Also, are we talking technical adults? Like college kids? Or I’ve-got-a-retirement-plan adult?

I do still have my 14 year old pet gooses stuffed duck he slept with as a gosling.
He needed a stuffed friend being raised as a singleton. It went through the wash before being tucked away in a drawer. lol

Many people have the collection bug. (I’m one). How they choose what to collect is typically based upon a connection to something in their past. Not always though. Like @Dutchess_III, our grandmother collected salt and pepper shakers. It started when they had some money and would travel. She’d pick up a set while they were out and about.

Another reason a person may end up with a collection is because they mention that they like something. For example, a friend once mentioned that she liked pigs. A friend gave her a little statue of one. The word got out, and over the years, other friends would give her something pig related. I’m not sure if she ever bought an item herself.

As for stuffed animals, yes, it’s sort of creepy to see an adult’s office or bedroom filled with them. Then again, some are quite valuable, like Steiff. When a collection takes over a person’s home, that’s where the collecting bug needs to be put into check.

“soft toys all over a bed” Is nearly a separate question.
I know someone who’s wife is nuts about pillows. The bed and sofa and big chairs are all overwhelmed with pillows. One has to burrow a spot to sit down.
And between them the bed congestion is a topic of mixed popularity for sure.

I have never collected much of anything. Extensive collections of anything is hard for me to really understand.
I have a couple of Lalaloopsy mini dolls. I have never purchased one, but my friends started buying them as gifts for me.. so I unintentionally became a collector. I like them, they are really adorable, and I keep them in my sewing room (appropriate), but I have no desire to obtain them on my own or even to have any more than what I already have.
I have 3 or 4 friends that are toy collectors, from action figures to Hello Kitty. I don’t really think much of it, but again, I just think that any excessive collecting is a little strange to me.

I have no strong opinions. The only adult I know who had a lot of soft toys was the sister of a lover I had a long time ago. She was bulemic. I don’t know if there was any relation.

Of course, my daughter had a lot. But over the last few years she’s started giving them away and now she has not nearly as many.

I think they look cute and cuddly and could be a fun fetish for someone who was into that. But I don’t have any in my house, except those in my daughter’s room and in the storage room.

My mum has two collections of soft toys. One is just ducks, the other is of knitted Jean Greenhowe dolls. My daughter (who is 24) still has a few soft toys including a polar bear she’s very attached to.

@ragingloli Hah! I nearly snorted out my beer when I re-read your post.
I thought that read ”flash” lights !
I was, like, whu…? Who wants a flashlight built into their hello kitty?

I kinda sorta collect things like Beanie Babies, I just have several in various locations of my room like on my desk and bookcase and what not. Not like an overwhelming amount though. I just can’t help it when I come across a cute Beanie Baby, especially the dogs and pigs. I do have a pig collection though. There’s a corner on my desk dedicated to my precious pig collection where I store just about anything pig related.