Sure, we at Gadling talk a lot about travel – but travel for yourself, your loved ones, and your friends. What about sending your stuffed animal on a trip? Tour company Furry Toys Tours is aiming to change that, offering special Paris tour packages just for the special furry loved ones in your life. When you consider a recent survey by British company Travelodge reported on MSNBC that shows up to 35% of adults still sleep with a stuffed animal or “lovie,” well, this may be a potential gift for more people than you think.
In theory, this sounds like a great holiday gift – a “Flat Stanley” type adventure for your precious stuffed animal. The company was founded after being inspired by Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s 2001 movie “Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain“. In the movie, Amélie secretly steals her father’s garden dwarf and sends it travelling the world (thanks to her friend who works as an airline steward). Shortly after the dwarf’s disappearance, the father starts receiving mysterious pictures of it in various locations around the world.
The company website suggests the tour as a way to “reward your cuddly toy, or play a trick (but also offer a wonderful gift) to your kid, partner or friend.” Perhaps for someone who doesn’t own a special toy this might sound like a good idea. But as a writer who also has a furry friend – we’d be livid if someone who purported to be a “loved one” removed our bear without our consent, particularly to send them on a multi-day European jaunt. So … um, perhaps you should ask before doing this.
Your furry friend will enjoy an extensive Parisian tour with optional four-day extension packages, and enjoy photos taken in front of sites including La Tour Eiffel, Les Champs Elysées, L’Arc de Triomphe, La Cathédrale Nôtre Dame and more.
Packages include 30+ photos for Paris Essentials Tours, printed to 9x13cm, glossy, with a white border taken on a 10m pixels digital camera, and will also be saved on CD for further editing. The website promises that photos will also include pictures taken during your cuddly toy’s daily life in Paris, aside from sight visits (relaxing at home, recreational activities) as well as daily e-mails and pictures to keep you updated on your furry toy’s journey. Furries will also be posting on the Paris Furry Toys Tours Facebook Page daily (go social media!). Your friend will also bring back a little Parisian souvenir and the official and personalized Furry toys Tours traveling certificate edited on premium paper.
Friends will begin their tour on the Monday following their arrival and will be returned via a secured and insured parcel. Basic tours cost €100.00 with extra extension tours starting at €50.00, and additional furry friends are allowed to accompany the journey for a reduced fee of 50% off.
What do you think, readers? Is this a holiday gift you’llbe purchasing for you or your children anytime soon? While the trip sounds fun and well-organized, we’re not sure we want to part with our furry friend for that long – or risk the wrath of a loved one if we “borrow” theirs.
We do, however, love this disclaimer: “We carry a fully non-discriminative policy and can accommodate for all kinds of furry friends, no matter their age, species, race, colour, gender, nationality, condition, as well as religious beliefs and practices.”