I was helping my mom do some spring cleaning recently when she went into the closet and pulled out a *mint-condition* version of the stuffed animal that I had for my entire childhood, "Peter the Penguin."
I was genuinely shocked at how original Peter looked compared to his untouched and much cleaner "twin" brother:
So, I scoured the wellworn subreddit, and it looks like a lot of other parents were as clever as my mom (shoutout mom! 💖) and kept back-ups of their kids' favorite toys. Here are some of the most satisfying, endearing, and arguably "gross" before and after photos I found:
1. "New stuffed Pikachu vs. the one that’s been well-loved (and compressed) for close to 10 years."
2. "21 years later, a friend of mine takes this stuffed bear anywhere with her. It is unrecognizable when it's not laid out like this."
3. "My mom bought the same stuffed animal for my sister in case she lost it. After 16 years, we found all four of them."
4. "A tale of two teddy bears. My sister and I both got them at the same time around 18 years ago."
5. "My child’s #1 favorite stuffed animal. Left side was given to them in 2018, right side from eBay just arrived last month (and they could not care less about it)."
6. "We also keep a backup, or three, of our son's favorite stuffed animal."
7. "My 1998 stuffed Pikachu. It was well-loved and given to me by my parents who thought it was a cute mouse and had no idea I liked Pokémon. The second picture is a mint condition one."
8. "My favorite stuffed dog brand new vs. 19 years later of going everywhere with me over the years."
9. "15+-year-old giraffe stuffed animal vs. new giraffe stuffed animal from today! Bought at the same zoo shop. Old is on the right, new on the left."
10. "My sister's 26-year-old stuffed cat vs. a 'new' one from eBay."
11. "My favorite stuffed animal, 21 years later."
12. "A picture of my beloved childhood stuffed rabbit, Bunny, compared to an image of what it would have originally looked like in 1986."
13. "My 15-year-old stuffed animal vs. a new one I saw online."
14. "Slept with this stuffed animal every day for 10 years and finally got my son one of his own."
And finally...
15. "My favorite stuffed animal from 20 years ago versus one in near perfect condition that I ordered for nostalgia."
Now, it's your turn! What was your favorite stuffed animal or toy as a kid? Comment below!
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.