Plush Toy

Stuffed animal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Plush toy)
This article is about toy animals. For preserved dead animals or hunting trophies, see Taxidermy.
"Plush toy" and "Plushie" redirect here. For other uses, see Plush (disambiguation).

Duck stuffed animals
Soft toys are not necessarily animal shaped.
Soft toys come in all varieties of animals.A stuffed animal is toy animal sewn from cloth, plush, or other textiles, and stuffed with straw, beans, plastic pellets, cotton, synthetic fibers, or other similar materials. Stuffed animals are also known as plush toys (U.S English) from the plush outer material used, and soft toys or cuddly toys (British English). They are made in many different forms, some resembling real animals, some in a caricature with emphasis on different features, some in the form of Legendary creatures or Cartoon characters.

Some stuffed animals are very old – home made cloth dolls stuffed with straw go back to at least the 1830s, perhaps much older. The most well known type of stuffed toy is likely the teddy bear. They are often used as comfort objects.

History
Stuffed animals in the past were used for random stuffing of the evacuated skins of hunted animals. The phrase is still sometimes used to refer to examples of taxidermy. However, with modern technology it is now possible to produce them with synthetic materials. For this reason, plush toy or plushie (U.S. English) or soft toy (British English) may be more appropriate names for modern synthetic stuffed animals.

The first commercial concern to create stuffed toys is apparently the Steiff company, founded in 1880 in Giengen an der Brenz, Germany.

Among the most popular types of classic stuffed animals are teddy bears and sock monkeys.

Today
Stuffed animals are bought for a variety of reasons. Some are bought for display in home or a work place. They can also be given as gifts, such as for graduation, Valentine's Day, other special days, or just as an expression of thought.

Rescue Pets

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rescue Pets are a plush toy series manufactured and marketed by MGA Entertainment. They are mainly dogs, but can be other animals such as a cat or penguin. The series was released in 2006 with the first Rescue Pets and Rescue Pets Puppies. Their expressions often make them look sad or pitiful to make them look cute. For a time, the television spots were produced by Image Line Media.

Some Rescue Pets, known as "MyePets", include a secret code that can be entered online, enabling those who buy the toys to play games and take care of their pets online at the MyePets site [1]. You can visit several locations including the Spa, the Flea Market, the Vet, the Diner, the Arcade, the pet show, the park and the user's house. MyePets are very similar to Webkinz in many ways.

Kinds of Webkinz

There are many types of Webkinz. Some normal pets, some wild animals, some mythical creatures, and some completely made up.


Gameplay
Each Webkinz stuffed animal and Webkinz accessory comes with an 8-character code. By registering this code on the Webkinz website, you "adopt" this pet in the virtual Webkinz World. Without the Secret Code, the user may not get access to the Webkinz world. Toy animals that are missing tags are not supposed to be sold by retailers, and removal of the tags without purchasing the animal is considered shoplifting. If a user forgets a login name and password, they can always go back to the Secret Code to gain access. Without the Secret Code, a user cannot recover a lost account. Currently, accounts expire within one year, unless another Webkinz animal is purchased, and that animal added to the user account.

The Webkins World is an online play area with its own economy. The user receives money (called KinzCash) by adopting new pets, playing online games, answering general knowledge questions, and through daily activities like clicking "I love my Webkinz!", spinning the Wheel of WOW, playing Wishing Well 2, or completing jobs (minigames) available once every 8 hours. Each day, there is a Game of the Day which can be played for bonus KinzCash, and other bonuses are available each hour, full days on weekends and afternoons only on weekdays. With each Webkinz toy purchased, more money, rooms, and items are added to the user's account.

Users can spend their KinzCash at what is called the W Shop, where they can purchase food and clothing for their pet, items for their pet's room or to build additional rooms onto their house, or outdoors areas etc. Users can decorate a room for their pet with pre-made themes, or mix and match their own furniture.

The online world also contains many rare or exclusive items. Some of these items require developing a friendship with the Curio Shop owner to purchase, while others you get for registering other Webkinz accessories you purchase in the real world. Each type of pet gets a special food available exclusively for them. Also, a Pet of the Month is announced at the beginning of each month. If a person registers the announced pet in that month, they will receive other exclusive items.

Many of the tasks in Webkinz World involve collecting items. For example, recipes are released for the players through cookbooks you can purchase or one of the TV Shows called The Secret Chef. Gems can be mined once a day at the Curio Shop, with a full set of gems being turned into the Webkinz Crown of Wonder and buy exclusive items. A similar feature, called Alyssa's Star Hunt, involves users clicking on colored stars to find valuable stars. You can also go to Dr. Quack for a check up on your Webkinz' health.

Some other features of Webkinz include:

The ability for players to create their own shows with the Webkinz Studio, and enter to be chosen to appear on the Webkinz television.
Buying a swimming pool, where you can have your Webkinz swim around. This increases their health.
Sending gifts or letters to friends on a peer-to-peer network.
Invite a friend over to your house, where you can chat and interact with some board games and items.
Participate in the hourly events, which can earn you prizes, KinzCash, and coupons, among other things.
Play Wacky Bingoz, a form of Bingo where you get one, two, and three ball games every day.[2]
Brushing your pets teeth, hair, washing paws/feathers/feet etc, bathing.
This article frome wikipedia

Webkinz Charms - Trading Cards and More by Michael Brown

Webkinz Charms have been a hot item for a long time. In fact they continue to be one of the best selling items in the toy market. In the beginning 24 Charms were released but that begs the question: Are anymore Webkinz Charms going to come out on the market? The answer would be, probably. As with all other Webkinz products, Ganz produces a second series or add ons to the current series for their fans.
The original 24 Webkinz Charms are still in popular demand and they show no sign of slowing down at all. The reason they are still highly purchased items is because the way they tie in to Webkinz. Each Webkinz Charm comes with a secret code that unlocks a secret in the Webkinz game. This has made them a very valuable and important item to those who play. It seems that nearly everyone who does play, will end up with at least one of the much sought after Webkinz Charms. They are very inexpensive items which makes owning one even easier.

Coming off the popularity of the first series of Webkinz Trading Cards, series 2 is on the way. The first series was hot and demanded nearly three hundred dollars a box for awhile. This was due to the fact that supply could not meet demand and the hype that surrounded the importance of owning the popular trading cards. Before the actual release date, merchants everywhere, including eBay pushed the prices as high as possible. Many parents were pulling out their credit cards and shelling out big bucks, most buying more than one box at a time.

This year's Webkinz Trading Cards Series 2 may vary slightly. Ganz, aware of the shortage issue last year has realized that had they met demand early on many people would not have lost interest and purchased earlier. This would have made last years batch even hotter in the industry, for Ganz. However, the consumer would have benefited as well by not paying such high prices in the beginning.

Many more products will be coming out of the Webkinz camp this year. Like Webkinz Charms and Series 2 Trading Cards, normally expect them to be a hot commodity every season. Popularity continues to climb no just for Webkinz but all the additional products that are created. Over the next few years, the products impact on the toy industry may falter but will not decrease to the same effect that Beanie Babies did many years back. Consequently, you can expect additional series of Webkinz Trading Cards and Webkinz Charms in the next coming years.

Welcome to Webkinz World

What is a Webkinz? A Webkinz is a Plush Pet that has access to a kid safe online interactive environment where the plush is transformed into a pet. Each Webkinz arrives with its own unique special tag and Webkinz secret code. This code is the password into Webkinz World, an interactive, educational, online environment created for your entire family to enjoy and interact in. After logging in, the adoption process begins and kids can name and learn all about their new Webkinz pet and print their adoption certificate. It is a wonderful world of learning activities. There are rooms to build and design, trivia challenges to play, and lots of arcade games, too. You can shop for clothes, food, toys and furniture at the W shop. Members of the family can challenge each other in the arcade and be assured that kids are in an Internet Safe environment. No one can contact your child for personal information. It is all age appropriate and tons of fun! April 29, 2007 was the 2nd year anniversary of the Webkinz!
Guide to Purchasing - Webkinz are 8-1/2 inch pets and Lil Kinz are 6-1/2 inch pets. When searching on Ebay for Webkinz beware of claims that Webkinz are retired. Although all of the Webkinz and Lil Kinz can be extremely hard to find in most Brick & Mortar Locations, the only officially retired Webkinz at this time (updated 12/12/07) are the Cheeky Dog, Cheeky Cat, Pegasus, Horse, Basset Hound, Gold & White Cat, White Unicorn, Gray & White Cat and the newly retired Gorilla. The lil' Kinz has finally retired a couple - the Gorilla and the Unicorn. The Love Puppy, The Sherbet Bunny, Love Frog, Black Cat and The Reindeer are Seasonal items. The Alley Cat, Cheeky Monkey & Black & White Cat are speculated to retire soon based on thier age but I have seen some stores that are still taking orders for these. Basically, the company tries very hard to keep the retirements secret and until they officially put a retired stamp across thier picture it is just a guessing game. You can go to Webkinz.com & click on Webkinz catalog for a complete list of Webkinz and to print off a wish list. You can also take a virtual tour of the website.
Rare items to look for - Some Webkinz do not have a Magic W's on them The Ganz Company said "When we made our very first Webkinz pets, they did not have Magic Ws on their paws. When we ran out of those pets and made more, we started adding Magic W's. " Another rare find would be a Webkinz with double Magic W's, those were a factory mistake. Also, there are some that have a nice embroidered tush tag with a red heart and the name Ganz in red, instead of the standard black and white tag that most of the Webkinz have. All of the striped Alley Cats have one blue and one green eye this is not a sign of rarity.
New Releases - Some recently released were the Black Lab, Koala Bear, Dalmatian & Clydesdale Horse. Look for upcoming releases of a Black Cat for Halloween and a Reindeer for Christmas. There are some sellers taking pre-orders for a new Black Stallion, German Shepard and a Love Frog which may replace the Love Puppy this Valentines Day. I have only seen a picture of these but they seem like they are of a different quality plush. I could not find anything about an official release date from Ganz so you will have to take the sellers word for when they will be available. Also be careful because some presales are for a coupon that you redeem for the Webkinz - Do you redeem it at your local retailer? Will they have any available? Or will the seller be the one that you redeem the coupon with? Please make sure before bidding. Most good sellers welcome questions and will reply in a timely manner.
May 2007 - Ganz officially added the Beagle and Spotted Frog to the website! June 2007 - Ganz has now officially added the Husky and the Raccoon to the website! July 2007 - An adorable Chocolate Lab and a Black Stallion Horse are now part of Webkinz World! December 2007 - It is getting hard for me to keep up with all of the new releases and the growing product line. Some of the new releases are Pinto Pony, German Shepard, A "Gorgeous" Collie, Charcoal Cat, Penguin and I just saw a Turtle added to the Ganz Website.
Webkinz Trading Cards - Webkinz has started to release trading cards! The first released set includes 80 base set cards featuring Webkinz Pets, Characters, items and recipes. There are also 3 Subsets: Challenge Cards - Challenge a friend to play against - there are 15 of these to collect. Curio Shop Curiosities - See rare items up close with these 8 different FOIL cards. Webkinz Doodlez Cards - 8 FOIL Cards of never before seen sketches by Webkinz Artists. Each deck also includes one card with up to 5 feature codes to type into the new Code Shop & Unlock a virtual prize for your Webkinz Pets.
Webkinz Charms - Webkinz is now selling Charm Bracelets and Charms. Each charm comes with a feature code to enter into the Code Shop. Once the code is entered a new area in Webkinz World will be opened up to you - The Magical Charm Forest! In the Forest you will find Good Fairies which will have Pixie Pods that carry Forest Charms and other prizes. The Good Fairies also sometimes drop keys which will open hidden doors in the forest where you will find more Pixie Pods. Along the way you will also find Bad Fairies that will try to try to trick you and prevent you from finding more Pixie Pods. Collect 8 different Webkinz Charms to unlock all 40 of the Forest Charms!
Webkinz EVERYTHING - Webkinz (Ganz) no longer just has plush stuffed animals. First they added Trading Cards which was a logical step, then came the Charms, now they also have a line of Body Spritz and Lip Gloss, An entire Webkinz Clothing Line, Knapsacks, Purses, Mouse Pads, Gift Bags, Stickers and Bookmarks. Of course, almost everything has its own secret code to unlock things on the website. I was a little disappointed in the bookmarks as I was expecting what I deem as a "normal size" bookmark but they are actually on the small side, not quite an inch and a half across and about four inches long and they are magnetic (not sure why a bookmark should be magnetic)? The magnet is located in the bottom of the bookmark but mine had a weak magnet and it just kept sliding down the fridge! I only paid $1 for the bookmark and my daughter got her "code" so it was O.K for the money.

Parenting and Webkinz by Steve Cantellini

I can't remember the first time I remember seeing a Webkinz. I vaguely remember hearing talk about them between my daughter and a few of her friends. I recall not really paying attention to it until I heard one of Marisa's friends mention she had 12 out of the 18 Webkinz that were out. One of the other girls said she had 8, another 6 and my daughter said she had one that she received for a birthday gift. I thought to myself that this was crazy and these girls must be a bit more then a little spoiled. As time went on, all I heard from Marisa was talk about her Golden Retriever Webkinz that she named Barkley. She constantly carried "him" around or was constantly on the Webkinz web site. Finally I figured that after hearing all the hype I would check this out. I bought Marisa a new Spotted Frog and off to Webkinz World I went. I wasn’t expecting much, but I figured I would at least have some quality time with my daughter.
In spite of my skepticism, I was very happily surprised. I couldn’t believe everything that was involved. First we had to register our new family member. We decided to name him Henry. We bought Henry food and clothes and furniture for his room. Most of all, we had to play with him and give him attention so he knew he was loved. I couldn't imagine that a toy like this would be able to teach a child such responsibility. Furthermore, some of the games on the Webkinz website were very educational. They were not typical Internet or video games, but actually made Marisa think and learn. Two hours had passed and it seemed to fly by. Webkinz had a new fan and he was well into his thirties.
I can now tell you my daughter is one of those kids who owns an extensive collection of Webkinz. Each one of them has given Marisa much joy and entertainment. Because of the Webkinz she has a much better understanding of responsibility and a better appreciation for education. Today, when I hear Marisa and her friends talking about their Webkinz, I smile to myself. I know she is in a world that makes her feel good about herself. I also know the Webkinz world teaches her responsibility in its own way while keeping her happy. What more could a parent what?
About the Author
Steve Cantellini is an executive moonlighting as a writer on various topics concerning parenting and how children benefit from leisure activities and relationships including Webkinz. For more information on Webkinz please click Majestic Webkinz or Majestic Housewares Webkinz Store

Webkinz Pets - What A Toy With Virtual Reality by Carmen Vj

These webkinz pets are taking the stores by storm. They have been flying off the shelves and are growing in popularity. The webkinz pets have double lives. When you buy a webkinz, you will also have a virtual pet for online. The real experience is the virtual experience. A secret code will come with your webkinz and you will use this secret code to adopt your webkinz and have access to the webkinz world.
Online with your webkinz virtual pet, there will be a meter to let you know how your pet is doing. If you are not taking care of your pet, the meter levels of happiness, health and hunger will decrease. The meter levels will increase by keeping your pet happy, well fed, healthy and clean.
Play arcade games and taking quizzes at webkinz world will earn you kinzcash. You will need this cash to take care of your webkinz properly.
At webkinz world when you enter the secret code, you will find out your webkinz birthday and what they favorite food is. You will also be asked to give your webkinz a name and indicate if your webkinz is a boy or girl.
Make sure you save your secret code tags from any of your webkinz and keep them in a safe place. Do not loose any of the secret code tags because you will not be able to get another one. Put these secret codes under lock and key.
Webkinz toys are a winner from iParenting Media Awards. This is the only international certified product evaluations system. iParenting Media gives awards for outstanding achievement in a child's marketplace letting you know that this is a marketplace that is safe. iParenting Media has approved webkinz.
The webkinz world is a wonderful place to care for your webkinz. It is a safe imaginative environment for your child to enjoy. A great idea is to use playing at webkinz world with your virtual pet a reward. Let your child enjoy playtime online after homework and the chores for the day are done. Consider letting your child have more offline interactive time with the webkinz plush toy.
About the Author
Carmen Vj and the webkinz gang will always have available the latest in webkinz information Get the latest webkinz news today. Adopt a webkinz.