Review: Best Freds Forever

I love super adorable cuteness. The Mister occasionally thinks that I like super adorable cuteness too much for a grown woman, but I have found that having two small children gives me an excellent excuse to hunt for super adorable cuteness to surround them with. It was in this quest that I came across Best Freds Forever (aka "Original Dreampuffs").

Best Freds Forever creates squeeable little fluffy buddies, called Freds, that are harder to lose as they are connected to elastics, allowing you to secure them to things or even around a child's wrist.

Freds come in a large variety of colors and designs, from pink and black fluffballs to furry music notes, penguins, and even veggies! Each Fred is 100% handmade and because of some small components (like the googly eyes) are not recommended for kids under 3.  While most Freds are $5.00, the Big Freds are $15.00.

The creator behind Best Freds Forever, Kirsten, actually made her first Freds during childhood for herself, but didn't return to making them until she had children of her own. Worried about her girls losing their new Freds, Kirsten had decided to attach them to elastics.

My own box of Freds arrived and I was extremely excited to dive right in! I had gotten a variety of adorable, from tiny Freds in easter eggs to a shark Fred to a bigFred! I maybe had a little too much fun while unboxing all of the cute new Freds for my kids to love on. Most Freds came in their own little clear plastic boxes, which would be perfect for wrapping up!

My personal favorite would have to be the large music note, which I instantly decided needed to be in my car.

I'm going to be honest, even though I was super excited for these, Mischief was not quite as enthusiastic to just play with them right out of the box. Charlotte, on the other hand, was trying to grab at them immediately, and if she had been of the right age, I think she may have taken them all from me!

As it was, I decided to spread the adorable around! While I did leave the Big Fred in Mischief's toy drawer in the living room, most of the Freds I used for decoration.

My first was to put the ice cream cone Fred on my Roller Derby bag, as a cute little reminder that if I train hard, I can have ice cream (and give a mean hip check!).

Most of the others I put in the car to keep an eye on my kiddos during long trips (when you live in the middle of nowhere, every trip is a long trip!) on the road.


While I had already decided to put the music note up by the radio, I had the kids help me choose which ones would keep them company. Mischief chose the camo and reindeer Freds while Charlotte kept reaching for the polar bear and rainbow Freds. 

 

My very favorite aspect of Best Freds Forever, though, has to be Kirsten's donations to Lurie's Children's Hospital in Chicago. She donates Freds to be distributed among the patients to let them have a friend during their stay or as a playful distraction for potentially painful procedures. Her daughter had had a brain tumor removed in April there, and while her little one has made a full recovery, she realized that not every child had such a good outcome as hers did, and these donations are her way of acknowledging that. As a mom, this touches me deeply.

Although my Mischief isn't quite as enthralled with these as playthings as I had initially hoped, I still highly recommend Freds from Best Freds Forever. They are adorable and make it so easy to add a personal touch to things your children use every day, such as in the car, a backpack, or jacket zipper. Their elastics help keep these Freds in place as they keep your kids company! I know that I'll be getting them for friend's kid's gifts!

Best Freds Forver on Facebook

Best Freds Forever (Original Dreampuffs) Website