Friday, October 26, 2012

Generations of Kids have said Gotta Getta GUND!

When I was a child, I had over 50 GUND stuffed animals. I wouldn’t say that I was a collector but my parents would give them to me for Easter, Halloween and other holidays in lieu of candy.

No, I don’t like candy!?

Did you know that GUND was founded in 1898? I had no idea. Here are a few more interesting facts:

GUND is the leading soft toy manufacturer in the U.S.A, and also the oldest. GUND was founded by German immigrant Adolph Gund in Norwalk, Connecticut in 1898. GUND was one of the first companies to design and produce teddy bears in the early 1900’s. Today, the company manufactures an extensive collection of unique characters and licensed plush under the GUND, and babyGUND brands.

Rabbit was my favourite of the bunch because he had four moveable limbs. I had a wide variety of animals with various functions including a Kangaroo with a removeable “kid” and a grasshopper rattle. All of them were really well-made and robust. While I did take care of them, they still look almost as new today as they did back then.

GUND Giraffe Grasshopper Rooster Kids ToysIt’s a Zoo!

I know this last point to be true because Nanna recently kicked all my belongings out of her house returned all my animals to me. Seeing them again brought back so many fond memories (Rabbit must have fallen down the hole with Alice).

However, none of them were quite like “Lolly the Giraffe” Keywind Musical Baby GUND.

Lolly sure fits the term “plush toy”. She is super soft and light even though she has quite the guts inside. Not only is she a stuffed animal but she also plays a song and moves her head! When fully wound, “Hush Little Baby” plays for 2 minutes 10 seconds which is plenty long enough to hold the attention of any young infant.


Gotta Getta Lolly!

As in the past, Lolly came with a name tag, the country of manufacture (used to be Korea, now it’s China) and care instructions. It says that Lolly is surface washable and although I didn’t test it out, I imagine that you could take a very damp cloth to her and all would be fine.
Lolly is destined for great things.

This will be the third November where Maximilian and Artemis will learn about charity by giving gifts to children in Alexander’s Memory.

After hearing Cathy Loblaw, President and CEO, Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada speak at ShesConnected 2012, I knew that Ronald McDonald House Ottawa (near CHEO) would be this years recipient.

Also at the conference, TELUS was kind enough to give out little GUND stuffed animals. These adorable creatures will also find their way into the loving arms of deserving kids.

Lolly and all her new GUND friends will continue to bring smiles to childrens faces just like they have for 114 years… and counting.

Connect with GUND Website | Facebook | Twitter

Disclosure. Journeys of The Zoo received a copy of this product that enabled us to complete this review. No other compensation was provided.

28 thoughts on “Generations of Kids have said Gotta Getta GUND!

  1. Monica

    I love GUND animals they are super soft and cuddly. How wonderful that you have a tradition to have Maximilian and Artemis learn about charity by giving gifts to children in Alexander’s Memory!!

    Reply
  2. Cheryl

    Lolly looks really cute. That’s a great idea to give back. I was actually starting to cry a little during the Ronald McDonald House speech when they were reading the letter from the Dad that wrote about his sons.

    Reply
  3. LaVonne @ Long Wait

    Lolly is cute! Thanks for sharing. My 4 year old loves stuffed animals right now. We would like to do something this season besides picking a gift to give a child under the tree at our local bank. We are looking for volunteer opps that work for a 4 year old.

    Reply
  4. Melissa L

    oh I have always loved Gund. Since my uncle was a zookeeper, it has been in my life always 🙂
    Following you back from the weekend blog hop!
    Looking forward to getting to know you!

    Happy Crafting!
    ~Melissa
    ♥ ♥ My Watermelon Moon ♥ ♥

    Reply
  5. Icar

    Such a good cause, my daughter love plushies at her age now calling them her "babies"…

    Good that you were able to keep yours when you were little…

    Reply

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