Pillow Pets Make a Soft Landing

They are everywhere. Pillow Pets have taken over stores and they are begging you to buy them.

Pillow Pets, if you haven't ever heard of them, are stuffed animals that fold out into fuzzy pillows when unclipped.

So, why is everyone so obsessed with these simple items?

"The idea for marrying two objects which go together so well--the pillow and the stuffed animal--is so obvious that I regret not thinking of it and not profiting from it myself," Elaine Dasher, mother of two, said.

A manager at the Hickory Flat Publix, even said he was " P.O.-ed he didn't invent it."

Pillow Pets are soft, cute, and come in all different sorts of animals, ranging from a ladybug and a unicorn, to bumble bees and dogs.

Pillow Pets cost just (just?) $19.99 plus tax, making it cheap compared to what children could be asking for for Christmas and expensive for a stuffed animal.

But does that dual function make it worth $20?

The benefits to Pillow Pets? They are child-sized pillows. They are small, making them easy to travel with, and will keep your child happy during car rides. When they are not sleeping on it, they can fold it into an animal and play with it, making it useful almost 24/7, if an odd-shaped animal can keep your child's attention.

"I think my children will love them to pieces, and I mean that literally," Dasher said. "I don't think Pillow Pets are made well enough to withstand my children's devotion for very long."

Which brings us to the downside of Pillow Pets: Pillow Pets are small.

If you really wanted a "pillow" and a "pet", you could buy a real stuffed animal (giant sized, they exist) that is actual pillow sized. When your child grows a little, the animal-used-as-a-pillow will still fit them and be nice and comfortable, rather than a tiny square on their big kid bed.

"I am somewhat dismayed by the manufacturing standards:  the eyes that don't quite line up are rather disconcerting, for instance," Dasher said. "Then there's the Velcro that would hold if it were just a fraction bigger.  And the unicorn looks like it got left out in the rain even though it's brand new,"

She also commented that it would be much better if Pillow Pets were washable.

And then there is the problem of where to get them. They are the same price everywhere, no one is offering discounts on Pillow Pets (though Google ads offered a four dollar cheaper version called a "Pet Animal Pillow"), so where should you buy your pet at?

"I got them from Bed, Bath and Beyond because their Pillow Pets seemed the least crushed," Dasher said. "The unicorn's horn was still somewhat vertical, for instance.  The ladybug's antennae were still mostly upright."

In the days before Christmas, Target still has end racks of dolphin Pillow Pets. Walgreens has a huge display of multiple different pets in the front of their store.

Publix, which only offered dogs and ladybugs, is almost out, even though the manager said, "There have been more oohs and gah-gahs over them than sales."

Walmart, along with many other fuzzy blankets and pillows, had a whole bin of them last week. Many other stores --pretty much any one you enter-- have Pets left too. Since so many stores offer these pets up for sale, you should not have trouble finding them.

If you're looking for something cuddly and creative for your child (or even yourself?) this holiday season, try Pillow Pets.