I've realised that as we get older, we don't really "grow up". We change, we grow, but to banish all childish tendencies is to die. I go to this program to help me finish school, and I get a pretty decent allowance from that place... so what do I do with that money? Well, once I've forked over some for the grocery bill, I use it to buy stuff I never had as a kid. Like Calico Critters / Sylvanian Families.

I call them Calico Critters, even though their name everywhere except for North America is Sylvanian Families and all my boxes say Sylvanian Families, because:

1. It's a better name. Alliteration, cuteness, it suits them better, even if "Sylvanian Families" makes sense because they're families that live in Sylvania.

2. I grew up on that side of the world, that's what child me knew and wanted SO BADLY.

As a kid, I'd sometimes go into the mall with my baby sitter. We'd usually go to the book store and the food court, but sometimes we'd go to toy stores and places like that! There was this one store that had little tables of toys that they were selling, all unpackaged so kids could try them out. There were Weebles, plastic farm animals, toy trains, and of course, a table with a Calico Critter playset. I remember there being a chocolate rabbit and a white cat. These toys are the reason why I'm a furry- I mean these toys really captured my imagination. They had these beautiful little houses, adorable vintage-inspired fashions, a really soft texture, and they were just the cutest thing ever. But I never asked for them, since my baby sitter said they were expensive and my family didn't have a lot of money growing up.

One day, I was shopping in a Dealz and they had imported blind bags of Calico Critters. SPECIFICALLY Calico Critters. Had the North American branding on top! I went nuts. I was so happy to see them, so I had to get one. I got Jason Cuddle Bear from the Baby Band Blind Bag series and I was so happy about it! I'd vowed to collect more, but unfortunately, all of the blind bags were gone by the next week...

Fast forward a couple years to a stressful holiday season. I remember having a particularly down day, so I walked into Easons, because I'd recently learned that it was a toy store. I never planned to buy anything, but I could mentally mock the new fashion dolls, or maybe see how an old toy I grew up with has evolved. Never did I expect to see... Sylvanian Families. Sets of them all lined up, their adorable faces staring at me, with whole playsets down below for, I'll be honest, an absolute fortune. A fair fortune? I bet. But €60 for a doll house-
That's not the point. I decided that I was going to treat myself. I was going to get a little family of these adorable creatures, and ended up with the Persian Cat family.

A small part of me was not impressed with myself, but most of me was overjoyed. I had just bought happiness for €24, happiness in the form of soft, sweet, nostalgic anthro cats. I displayed them in my room and read the little story they came with (which I will definitely scan and post at some point, because if it isn't pure adorableness, then what is?) and spent the rest of my day in a good mood. My little sister really enjoyed them too.

Time went on, the grocery store I regularly shop at had a deal on 3-packs of my little Critters, and so I ended up with another 3 boxes of Critters! Unfortunately, they had to all be taken off their display because a problem in my house ate the wall and little shelf they all lived on, my SPMs are in their boxes on the floor because of that too...

The moral of this story is: some of us, maybe all of us, will never grow up. Be mature where you need to be and have fun where you can. Also, if you're an adult collector of Calico Critters / Sylvanian Families, hi! Any advice on getting more would be great, since of course Eason's only stocks so much and there's a set I really have my eyes on. Unfortunately, I can't get any more yet.

Images will be added to this post soon!