What to Do with Stuffed Animals - New Caney,TX

Mom, if she is ok with giving them up and they are in good shape take them to a thrift store like Goodwill or even a local food bank as a donation. They will be very appreciative and it will make a young child happy to get one.

Most of my repsonses have been covered. Police & fire dept will accept new/almost new stuffed animals. I've been told that Goodwill & Salvation Army are very particular about toys/animals recently with so many recalls. For more worn out ones you could try a local zoo or animal shelter.
Congrats on lightening the moving load

My local thrift stores always have lots of stuffed animals for sale, some in great condition and some not so good. They typically put a few in a bag and sell the whole bag for cheap. I asked the cashier about it once and she said that almost all the people who buy the bags are buying them for toys for their dogs. So what shape the toys are in might not be so important.

Well its the perfect time of year to give them away. Check with your local fire department I think they collect them up this time of year for disadvantaged children or orphanage. Also your local police station as well. I think someone else already posted that before but they give those away to the unfortunate child that has to be a witness to one of their patrol calls no matter what the situation is.

Your local Goodwill should take them. My dd's Daisy troop did a field trip to our Goodwill last year. They told us they have a spray that they use on all the stuffed animals to disinfect them.

I use to collect stuffed Teddy Bears from the time I was a little child. When it was time to part with them I gave them to the Child Advocacy Center in my area. I would ask your local law enforcement agency if they have one in your area. This is an agency that interviews children that have been victims of any crime or witnesses. The stuffed animals help them feel safe and gives them a new friend to take home.

All used stores and consignment shops will take them unless looking really ratty or dirty.

In some communities the police department will take them. Officers keep them on hand in case they have to take a child into custody.

Check with your local childrens hospital

I had the same delimma but it was for me, my animals just kept accumulating & I even had one a secret pal for Christmas gave me in 10th grade! (I'm 38 now) so what I did, while I'm always sentimental abt things ppl give me, I just had to say to myself, 'what am I going to do w/them?' & just pony up & donate them & I donated them to the toy drive HEB has every year for the needy. While I realize my toys were 'used' they were in perfect condition & really WERE new & left it up to the recipiant to decide whether to keep them or not. It was just a large box or barrel set up to take toy donations so there was no one there to 'man' the box so donating to a toy drive is always an option. My cousin & me went to the fair one year & racked up on all these stuffed animal prizes & she took hers to the hospital for young children to enjoy. I know when I got my tonsils out as a child, the nurses let me have one gift from a box & that was my prize for 'being good' at the hospital so that's always an option. If they're in really good condition, I'd hate for you to throw them away. Donate them to the needy or have a yard sale. Hope this helps, good luck!

Call your nearest fire department and ask if they collect good-condition used stuffed animals. They give them to children who are somehow a part of their patrol calls and need something to hug. Sometimes, when I do yard-sale jaunts in the summer, I find nearly-new stuffed animals for peanuts (well, no, it's still money); I fill up a box with them and take them to the fire station. Some hospitals take them for their pediatric patients, so that's another place you can try.

We have a clinic in a financially challenged part of my town that accepts smaller stuffed animals to give to children when they come in for treatment. By the way, I understand that most stuffed animals can be washed in the washing machine, tumbled dry and they come out looking great. For the smaller or more fragile ones, I'd probably put them into a mesh lingerie bag. Yes, it is the perfect time of year to do this. Good luck with your move.

Many police departments often have stuffed animal drives to collect gently used animals to give to children involved in crisis. So when the officer responds he can give the child some comfort in the form of a stuffed animal.

I'm sure any local family homeless shelters will also take them and you can check with local churches to see if they would accept any donations. I donated about 3 trashbags full a few years ago to the Houston Police.

Try Pumpkin Patch, Austin Children's Shelter, Helping Hands

Lupus just took a bunch of my old toys and stuffed animals. Go to gooddonor.com and you can schedule a pick up with a variety of charities, you can pick by the date or by charity. Plus, you can write it off.

I would suggest that you set a great photo op of your daughter and the toys and save the picture for scrapbook memories. Then it might be easier for her to give them up. All of the other suggestions are great.

We used to have a ton, my husband loved to play those crane games and was really, really good at it. My mom (before she retired) and sister took them off of our hands. They were/are teachers. They used them as prizes in their classroom and my sister even gave one to each student as a Christmas present one year.

So, do you know a teacher that could use them in their treasure chest?

Donate them to either a church or the fire department.

I heard that sprinkling a little baking soda on each of them freshens them up. You can check out your local freecycle network, and post them to give away. I've seen posts giving away stuffed animals. Just google "freecycle," and it will have a place where you can find your local network. I also know that Goodwill takes donations of stuffed animals, because I saw an Elmo at one recently, among other stuffed animals. I like the other ideas on here. The clinic would be great, or a children's hospital (if the stuffed animals are not worn and can be cleaned well). I did find someone looking for stuffed animals for their dog on freecycle, and I gave them some of our really worn ones. So that is also a possibility, rather than contributing to a landfill. I appreciate your concern for the environment, and for also wanting to help others out. Good luck with your move!

Give the really worn ones to your neighbor's dog. Most dogs go thru stuffed animals real quick.

II found that there are many restrictions on giving and selling (at consignment) stuffed toys. We put ours into "zippered turtle" we found at a toy store so all the animals make a stuffed turtle bean bag type chair for lounging. My daughters love it and it keeps their favorites near but re purposes them. I have also seen people install a small shelf railing around the top part of a bedroom or playroom wall and put special stuffed animals, tropies, etc.Good luck!

I like Marcela's recommendation on the child advocacy center. ANY type of children's shelter would love them. Many of those kids come in with the clothes on their back.

Police departments have a "teddy bear" program BUT they will take ANY type of stuffed animal. Call the "non emergency" phone line for your local department and they should be able to tell you where to drop the items.

We donated a bunch to a pediatric ward once, not sure if they still allow that, but I'd call and ask ;)

Take them to your local goodwill donation site - they will definitely take them.

Haave you heard of freecycle.org its a website similar to craigslist but its by towns and people offer items they no longer need for free and someone else responds to you if interetsed by email. Very simple to join