A little bit today on my most long lived obsession… Hello Kitty. It all started when I was around 4 years old and my brother won me this imitation Hello Kitty plush doll at a carnival. It was made of synthetic fabric and stuffed with styrofoam pellets. I loved that thing until it fell apart after being carried around so much and my mom made me throw it away… it was leaking styrofoam pellets 🙁
So in place, she bought me this small Hello Kitty in yellow overalls sitting in her classic side view position. She is about 3 1/2 inches tall and I named her “Baby Kitty”. I know, not very creative, but give me a break, I was only 4.
In the beginning, I didn’t buy much Hello Kitty paraphernalia myself but would receive them as gifts from my many aunts. I was their first niece and they were only in their teens or early-20’s so they also liked Hello Kitty. I was always really excited whenever I got a new Hello Kitty plush.
However, I only really started wanting Hello Kitty stuff on my own when my mom asked me to get my ears pierced. I wasn’t looking forward to the experience but she wanted me to do it so she said after I got them pierced, we’d go to the Sanrio store so she could buy me a present. So I did it and when we walked into the store, the rest is history.
I stopped collecting for a bit during high school because I became interested in other characters like Tweety, Animaniacs, Lion King, Little Mermaid, etc. but it’s something I always go back to. Their motto holds true:
SMALL GIFT, BIG SMILE
The biggest smile was during our wedding. Ron proposed with a solitaire in a plain gold setting but let me know he had a surprise in store for me. Here’s the end product:
Our wedding was also “kittified” with my Hello Kitty wedding veil & gloves, Hello Kitty & Dear Daniel on our limo, Hello Kitty sign-in book & pen, etc.
I still have “Baby Kitty”… she’s safely in storage.