more small pets

i, as many other people this christmas, recieved several of those cute littlest petshop animals. i think the thing that makes these sweet toys so successful is not the new "bobble head" feature, but the big eyes and very cute faces. almost every store i visited over the holidays was almost completely sold out of these little toys so i thought i would figure out what makes this "new" toy a hit. so first i got out all my old littlest pet shop toys. the old toys had much more variety in size and purpose. these new toys all have the magnetic dot but the old ones had buttons to push or turn to make the animal move. i think this shows that children today are less concerned with functionality and more with what looks good. now littlest pet shops are less concerned with accessories such as small pet foods and more focuesd on the pets themselves. the old littlest pet shop animals were very popular as well and can probably be sold for more than they are worth on ebay at this point. i think another good idea was the expansion to the plush field. now not only can you collect the bigheaded miniature pets but also the immensely soft and fluffy stuffed animals. this also allows younger children to be introduced to this sweet toy without the choking hazard. i believe littlest pet shop will continue to expand and change but i think no matter when they are brought into the lives of children they will be a success because animals are pretty much timeless.