Chad Valley My First Bear

...and he chose the adorable Chad Valley My First Bear in powder blue.


My First Bear-
Chad Valley is a toy range only found in Woolworths stores and so the bear is unique to those stores. Coming in baby pink or powder blue (at the time of purchase) the bear has wonderfully soft "fur", soft and silky like the gentlest lambs wool the plush fabric is warm to the touch and perfect for snuggling. His body is soft with ...
...I said earlier he's a Chad Valley product and can only be found in Woolworths, in the region of £6.99 (that's what he cost my other half) although he's not available via the Woolworths website. Occasionally they do pop up on Ebay so it's worth a look if you're after one at bargain price.


Overall-
This is the perfect bear as a gift for a newborn or young child. Cute, cuddly and durable ( 4 years and perfect condition ... more

As I sit surrounded by mountains of children's toys, each one staring blankly at me waiting patiently to be played with, there is one face that stands out amongst the rest, the oldest and perhaps most loved of all my little boys toys. When we found out we were expecting Christopher 4 years ago my then fiancée, now husband, wanted to buy him his first teddy bear, one that he could keep forever and remember fond times with, working at Woolworths gave him the perfect opportunity to find a suitable bear and he chose the adorable Chad Valley My First Bear in powder blue.

My First Bear-
Chad Valley is a toy range only found in Woolworths stores and so the bear is unique to those stores. Coming in baby pink or powder blue (at the time of purchase) the bear has wonderfully soft "fur", soft and silky like the gentlest lambs wool the plush fabric is warm to the touch and perfect for snuggling. His body is soft with his bottom stuffed with pellets giving him the feel of being extra squishy. With black bead button eyes, embroidered mouth and belly button he, or she, is full of character and the added touch of the foot embroidery "My first bear" just makes the bear all the more special.

The bears stand between 10 and 13 inches tall, this depends really on how the bear has been loved by its owner, but is quite lightweight and easy for babies to hug and toddlers to carry. The bears have seen slight physical changes over the years, sometimes looking shorter and fatter, I've even spotted a few different colour ways including peach, lemon and mint, however no matter what nip or tuck has been made the bears lose none of their appeal.

The bear is made of "all new fabrics" those being polyester, the beads are polypropylene pellets, he is safety and quality tested with the CE mark on his tag.

Christophers Bear-
Ted E Bear is the one toy Christopher cannot be without, there's no getting him to settle at night without Ted and if he loses Ted during the night it'll keep him awake until he's found him. Ted started out in Christophers life as purely ornamental, despite being suitable for all ages I was concerned about the bead eyes and that Christopher might pull or chew them off. It was when Christopher was 1 that I finally let him have Ted in his bed and the 2 have been firm friends ever since.

Now as you can imagine being the best friend, in a stuffed toy fashion at least, of a young boy like Christopher things can get a bit messy. Ted is no exception and has had the misfortune of being covered in all sorts of baby mess and food, the instructions for the bears state that they are only surface washable but more often then not it's simply not sufficient to remove all the smells and stains that can build up. Ted is now a frequent flyer as far as the washing machine is concerned, tied inside a pillow case for a little added protection all he needs is a medium wash to get him sparkling clean and smiling again. It's not easy getting Ted washed and dried before he's needed on a night time so we find sitting him on top a warm radiator or pegging him on the washing line (on a hot day of course) is the best way to get him dry, just don't let your little one see you putting their bear in the machine, Christopher got hysterical the first time he saw Ted spinning round in all the water, so much so I had to take him out to visit his nanny just so he'd forget about it.

It may be 4 years since Ted entered our lives but he looks no less perfect then he always did, he's survived the washes and the day to day turmoil of being a toddlers teddy perfectly, no signs of wear or fading, all his features are as bright and adorable as ever. He's not misshapen in any way, has suffered no splits in his seams and all his embroidery is still perfect. Even his eyes are intact, proving my initial worries were unfounded.

Price & Availability-
Well as I said earlier he's a Chad Valley product and can only be found in Woolworths, in the region of £6.99 (that's what he cost my other half) although he's not available via the Woolworths website. Occasionally they do pop up on Ebay so it's worth a look if you're after one at bargain price.

Overall-
This is the perfect bear as a gift for a newborn or young child. Cute, cuddly and durable ( 4 years and perfect condition can't be bad) it's a bear that will see your child through many years of life. Christopher will not be parted from Ted despite all the wondrous other bears and soft toys he's received over the years. A firm favourite and highly recommended. 

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