“It’s a pillow, it’s a pet … It’s a Pillow Pet!”
Ever since elementary school, this catchy jingle has stuck in my ear, after hearing it time and time again in old YouTube ads and Nickelodeon commercials. And every time I remember it, I’m reminded of one of human innovation’s greatest accomplishments — more commonly known as Pillow Pets.
While sleeping with stuffed animals or plushies has always been around, Pillow Pets revolutionized the idea with their fluffy, dual-use companions, which, following their 2003 debut, instantly became a staple of millions of children’s lives, including mine.
Pillow Pets pioneered their first animal plushie, the “Snuggly Puppy,” by combining two of the most crucial aspects of any comfortable retreat: a stuffed animal to curl up with and a supportive headrest for when the drowsiness eventually catches up to you. While at first glance it seems to be no more than a high-quality plushie, the “Snuggly Puppy” instantly turns into a pillow with the opening of a small velcro strap — the mechanism that persists in Pillow Pets to this day.
Now it’s a pillow! In fact, Pillow Pets are legally required to have the infamous “pillow tags” that dangle off of traditional mattresses and pillows.
Since then, the Southern California-based company has expanded to sell a variety of different products, with massive “Jumboz,” their light-up “Sleeptime Lites” and countless collaborations with iconic cartoon characters — ranging from Bluey to Chewbacca to Freddy Fazbear.
As an innocent kindergartener, I received a mini “Rexy T-Rex Pee-Wee” Pillow Pet as one of my first personal stuffed animals, while my brother received a full-sized version of the same character, more than twice as big as mine. Even though neither of us probably could tell that our plushies were supposed to be dinosaurs, our affection toward them as prized possessions was obvious.
My constant play-fights with my brother around our old house remain core memories to this day, and even when my brother grew out of playing with his Pillow Pet, mine still kept me company for almost half of my elementary school years.
I can fondly recall family road trips around California, where my miniature stuffed companion (which, regrettably, I never named) tagged along with me in the backseat, providing me a reliable cushion to rest my head on, as we drove across hours and hours of highway roads.
In fact, just like any other child with a stuffed animal (unfortunately), I eventually toyed with my Pillow Pet to the point where a small hole tore in its side, forcing me to retire it away to the depths of my closet.
But even though it’s been years since I played with it the same way, unearthing it while reorganizing my room instantly brought back all the fond memories I made with it in years past, taking me back to times before SAT scores, AP tests and literary analysis essays.
Now, as I display it alongside all my more recently-obtained plushies, it’s impossible to deny that my Pillow Pet holds the most value out of all of them.
While my newer assortments of merchandise reminds me of the memories and friendships I’ve developed recently, most of those times are easy to access from places like my phone’s camera roll.
My Pillow Pet, on the other hand, is a relic that captures the more subtle experiences of my childhood — from the long, monotonous drives up Highway 80 to the summer days I spent home alone with my siblings — representing a connection to the past that would have otherwise disappeared.
So, in a time when innocent plushies and stuffed animals are making their resurgence despite their tags reading “ages 3 and up,” Pillow Pets should be an essential item for everyone — they’re functional, cute, snuggly and never get old.
