As I sit here writing this article, I must confess I just went to my local Costco and screamed in the car when I saw a lady walk by holding a bright pink unicorn squishmallow. I beelined towards Costco’s kids’ toy section and successfully snagged myself my own cute unicorn plushie (and another for my avid squishmallow-hunting friend). There is this feeling, like being an excited little kid again except telling yourself you deserve it and that no grown woman needs confirmation from the parentals. Self-empowerment and self-authority, both of which I’m still working on, especially living at home. On that note, though, a few days ago I purchased a pink and purple tie-dye pegasus squishmallow from eBay (oops, I really did it again). An addiction? Maybe, but at least I have a little family now, including my first squishmallow, a tie-dye blue shark my best friend gifted to me.
So now, what is a squishmallow? A squishmallow is an extremely soft and cuddly pillow created by the company Kelly Toys that has skyrocketed in popularity since the beginning of the pandemic. Like the name suggests, squishmallows are both very squishy and soft like delicious marshmallows. They come in a variety of sizes from as small as 3.5 inches for a key-chain to a massive 24 inches for some serious sleep gains. There are also diverse styles and types from themes of fruits and other foods, creatures, dinosaurs, limited edition holiday themed, huggable style, stackable style, and more. Despite the variety, all squishmallows have the quintessential irresistibly soft texture and a cute smiley face. Squishmallows have become the new Pokemon Go with avid fans running to stores like Costco, Walmart, Aldi, Target, to add to their collection. Even characters from the latest Star Wars movie like Chewbacca and the child (baby Yoda) were squishmallowified! A nice touch to this product is every squishmallow comes with a name and little story that sheds light on their personality. There are even nonbinary squishmallows that use they/them or no pronouns. For those of you trying to obtain a squishmallow, I’d highly recommend from personal frantic-shopping experience, to hit up Costco if you can. They have a great deal where you could get a nice big 16 inch squishmallow for $9.99 which is a steal compared to the prices on eBay (no thank you to $20 shipping).
Why did squishmallows blow up though? I reflected on why I suddenly felt the need to have these adorable pillows in my life when I didn’t even know of their existence a year ago. What changed? When the pandemic hit, a lot of young people returned to living at home with family. And now still in this circumstance a year later I think a lot of us yearn for companionship. If not a pet to keep your days bright, why not a comforting friendly looking pillow? The large eyes, big nose, and very round shaped design of squishmallows may entice a biological instinct in us to protect and care for our squishmallows. However it began, in this time of uncertainty and isolation squishmallows have been a source of comfort and a door for people of all ages to reconnect with their inner child.