The Inner Child at Heart

Healing the Inner Child: a trend or here to stay?

I’m pretty sure you have a collectible or figurine.

Many people have probably heard of the “kidulting” trend. It is popular amongst youths and millennial today, and the appeal of collectibles or figurines is slowly growing. Several micro trends have emerged out of it, such as “purse pals”, small plushies that you can hang on your bag as keychains. Most of us (myself included), can’t resist the appeal of such trends, and with the promotion of such collectibles on social media, it only rises in popularity. Many of us would have bought such items, such as Jellycats, Smiskis or even Calico Critters.

People commonly think that these toys are just for young children, but even youths and adults purchase these toys. These are many telegram channels who organise group buys for Jellycats, Smiskis and Calico Critters. Some examples are Jellycat Group Buy, Smiski Whiski and Teddy;s Market. The list of orders just keep growing and growing.

I’m sure many of you would have seen the rise of such collectibles or figurines on TikTok and Instagram Reels, with many showing off their collection after months of accumulating; and queuing up in stores such as Popmart to buy the toys before they are sold out in a short period of time. These toys are suitable for a variety of occasions, such as a reward or even a birthday present.

Some people may not understand why these toys are so popular, so read on to see the different trends and what makes them so adorable in the first place.

Jellycats

You may be thinking, what sets them apart from normal plushies? Is it because of their faces? Or is it the soft texture of the plushies? Initially, Jellycats were popular because they are committed to ethnical standards in the production process of these Jellycats. But with more people taking photos of their Jellycat collections on social media, it soon turned into a “kidulting” trend and people felt nostalgic and reminiscent about their childhood, where as kids, we would have soft toys at one point in time and even treat them as our “friends”, having conversations with them.

enjoying the sun...

Very soon, people started to see beyond the trend. They saw Jellycats as a stress reliever, to bring them back to their childhood, amidst the stressful adulting life and hectic schedules.

As the trend of Jellycats soon took off, there many variations of such trends, such as visiting Jellycat pop ups and various Jellycat collections. Many people looked forward to such seasonal collections for the different occasions, and they could purchase a new friend to celebrate such occasions together.

Jellycat popup in London

As a youth, it really brought me back to my childhood days and the times where we were more carefree, having less worries about the world. That kind of childhood is something we can only experience once, and I guess Jellycats is one way of relieving such memories and it shows the desire to be a kid again.

Smiskis

Last year, a lot of my friends were collecting a variety of Smiskis from the different series, and the excitement got to me too. When I went to Japan, I bought a lot of them whenever I could find them, and I understood the charm behind it. There was something so intriguing behind the face of the Smiski, despite the fact that it was a simple character with little design but a reflection of our everyday lives.

Waiting at the airport!

Smiskis are in blind boxes, so you don’t know which one you are going to get and you can only shake the boxes to get a feel. There are many different series of Smiskis, from relatable ones like the Exercising series, the Bed series and the bath series. Recently, there was even a Hipper series, where you can stick the Smiski on your phone, and you carry it with you everywhere you go. Another feature of Smiskis is that it glows in the dark at night, so it can be a nightlight for the individual, who knows?

Smiskis reflect our routines of our everyday lives, whether it be sleeping, working, or even exercising. It mimics similar actions as us humans, and it’s interesting to take on a third party perspective in the lives of Smiskis. The face of Smiskis is so fascinating, even though it doesn’t smile, unlike Jellycats. I enjoy the simplicity of it, and the silent humour of it just sitting there but you can see some emotions, some action in the Smiski. People find it relatable and it appeals to them, hence many people would run to stores whenever a new series or collection is released, and many people would purchase in bulk in hopes of finding the special Smiski in each series, in hopes of finding one that reflects them and their daily activities.

Having so many Smiskis makes us realise the many actions we repeat over and over again everyday and it helps us appreciate the simply joys in life, and to find comfort in daily routines and a sense of familiarity. There’s probably a Smiski for every part of your daily routine, and its a new way of visually representing the mundane of everyday life, and turn it into something interesting and appealing.

Calico Critters

Calico Critters are also known as the Sylvanian Families, is a collectible and type of doll. There are dollhouses, beds, tables and chairs customised to their miniature size and it gives off a cozy atmosphere, with everyone in the dollhouse going about their daily activities.

in the garden!

They hopped onto the trend of the thrill of opening blind boxes, and launched their own blind bags, the Blooming Baby Friends series, and the Baby Collectibles Baby Forest Costume Series. These blind bags are appealing because they are small and people find them cute and adorable. With the Calico Critters wearing different types of costumes and clothes, it reminds us of a kid dressing up for a special occasion or for a themed-party.

The Sylvanian Families on display also address the theme of family, and when everyone is together in the dollhouse, giving a sense of everyone living in harmony with each other and helping each other in the house. As kids, we would have played with dolls and enjoyed putting on different clothes on the doll. Every outfit change was for a different occasion. Hence, these dolls reminded us of such play we engaged in as a kid, and perhaps we feel a sense of nostalgia where we used to play for hours after school and enjoyed role-playing activities, with a little bit of imagination.

better get an umbrella, its raining!

I managed to get one of the blind bags, and the figurine was dressed as a strawberry, and I found it cute as part of the garden theme. It was smaller than the size of your palm, and it made me reflect on the times where I wanted to dress up as a princess, but this desire slowly phased out as I got older and focused more on school and studying. It served as a reminder about my childhood days, otherwise soon forgotten as a distant memory.

strawberry Calico Critter!

Conclusion

There are many other collectibles that people enjoy such as Monchhichi, self-made Moru dolls or even Miffy plush toys, and many brands are jumping on the “kidulting” trend by making plush toys such as Milo cup plushies or Magnolia’s ice cream bread blind boxes.

The excitement could be that of meeting your childhood best friend for the first time in such a long time, it feels like a reunion. The joy of seeing them, wanting to talk to them for a long period of time, catching up on all those years and listening to the updates about their lives.

Regardless of whether collecting figurines or collectibles is a trend that is temporary or here to stay, it helps many of us remember the past. While we cannot turn back time, we can hold on to these memories as we continue to live in the present and experience the simple joy of being a kid again.