The pandemic of 2020 has turned our world upside down. It’s been hard to find bright spots in all of the uncertainty.
Teddy Bears Give Comfort
It’s well known that teddy bears give comfort to young and old in stressful times. It’s why organizations like Good Bears of the World exist to provide teddy bears to emergency responders of all kinds – police, firefighters, medical professionals – to comfort people in distress. Teddy bears are a universal symbols of love.
Bears in Windows
I was heartened recently to hear of people putting teddy bears in their windows so that children walking or riding by could spot them. In this weird time in history, teddy bears are contributing to the delight and distraction of children in a massive bear hunt across the world!
Of course, there are bears to be seen at our house. I am going to try to mix it up a bit since a lot of people walk by our house and I am seeing a lot more families strolling by since people are staying at home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Perhaps my bears can be a point of light in this darkness.
Making a Neighborhood Bear Hunt Fun
Children are going to see a variety of bears on their neighborhood bear hunts. To spice things up, families can try a variation of license plate games we used to play on car trips. Assign points for different kinds of bears they might see based on rarity. For example:
| Type of Bear | Points |
|---|---|
| Traditional Stuffed Brown/Tan bear | 1 |
| Panda Bear | 3 |
| Unusual Colored Bear (Red, Blue, Green…) | 5 |
| Advertising Bear | 7 |
| Carved Wood Bear | 10 |
| Realistic Bear | 15 |
Of course, the prize for the most points could be just the satisfaction of finding the most bears, but wouldn’t it be fun to reward the hunt with some kind of bear? Gummy bears, bear stickers, or some other teddy bear trinket would do.
You might want to make it a family affair, especially if you have small children. When someone spies a bear, take a photo of it and print them out to make a craft when you get home.
Other activities might be a teddy bear picnic in the back yard, simple teddy bear face cutouts that children can color, or a teddy bear parade around the neighborhood.
Teddy Bear Collecting Starts with the Young at Heart
Those of you who know me or have followed me for a while know that my whole bear hunt/teddy bear journey started when I was very young. A lot of our future collecting is based on things we were attracted to, loved, treasured or wished for when we were young.
I hope these children remember the bear hunts and continue the tradition for generations to come.