Spread Some Cheer With the Care Bears Vending Machine Toys

Ever since I was little, I've loved stopping at the toy vending machines that tend to be positioned in the entryways of stores like K-Mart and Tops. Up until recently, I could count on my quarters buying me something completely random and probably pretty junky. But the past five years or so has seen a great improvement in these vending machine toys. Now, most machines contain only one type of toy, so you're guaranteed to get a bouncy ball or a Peek-a-Pooh or a Lord of the Rings mini-bust... or a Care Bear. At the mall where I have spent several seasons as a kiosk attendant, there used to be an enormously tall machine filled with plastic Care Bears for fifty cents each. I often stopped by after work to buy one, and I was sad when I returned one year to find the machine gone.

The machine invited Care Bears enthusiasts to collect all 32 bears, which I never managed to do. However, it's really just eight different bears in four poses each. I did manage to get one of each bear, so that was good enough for me, though I've since given away most of my duplicate bears and wish I had easy access to another supply, as they make great little just-because presents. To paraphrase A. A. Milne, no one can be un-cheered by a Care Bear. Just to be on the safe side, however, the makers of this collection omitted Grumpy Bear, a standout among his perpetually smiling pals because of the stormcloud on his tummy and the scowl on his face. Like Eeyore, he grumbles a lot, but he's lovable nonetheless, and I wish he had been included. Indeed, it would be great if there really were 32 different bears, not to mention the Care Bear Cousins. Maybe they'll consider another line in the future; Peek-a-Pooh is still going strong after about 20 sets.

The eight bears available in this set are Friend Bear, Wish Bear, Cheer Bear, Share Bear, Love-a-Lot Bear, Good Luck Bear, Bedtime Bear and Funshine Bear. Each of the bears is a different color, though their snouts and stomachs are white. Their noses and the pads of their paws are heart-shaped and a darker shade of their fur color. Each also has a red heart located near his or her tail. My favorite is Good Luck Bear, who is green and has a four-leaf clover on his tummy. This is the one I was most excited to get, and though my Dad and brother aren't exactly the Care Bear enthusiasts I am, each of them gladly accepted one of these as token of luck and Irish heritage.

Wish Bear is halfway between green and blue, a pastel sort of sea green. She has a shooting star on her tummy. Bedtime Bear is all blue with a dark blue crescent moon on his tummy. Share Bear is pinky-purple, with interlocking heart-stamped lollipops on her tummy, while Love-a-Lot Bear is dark pink with two hearts on her tummy. Pale pink Cheer Bear has a rainbow on her tummy. Orange Friend Bear has interlocking flowers on her tummy, and yellow Funshine Bear sports a smiling sun on his. Each one wears a happy expression, with differing degrees of the smiling mouth exposed.

All of the bears are in seated positions, and there is no articulation to them. The biggest variation among the poses involves the arms. Two of the poses have both arms stretched out, though in one, the bear looks straight ahead, while in the other, his or her head is turned to the left. In the other two poses, the left arm is outstretched, but in one, the right paw rests on the knee, while in the other it rests near the mouth in a pensive position. I don't know that I can say I prefer one pose over the others; all are equally cute. These figures stand on their own with no trouble. I keep them in a cluster on my piano, though I will occasionally move them elsewhere in order to entertain myself with them. I especially had fun last week when we had a downpour that lasted all morning. I brought out several props from my Pooh's Friendly Places play sets, as the tiny figures of Pooh, Piglet and pals that came with those sets are fairly comparable in size to these one and a half inch-tall bears. I especially had fun placing pairs of bears in Piglet's ornate bathtub and sending them to float along in our neighbor's front-yard lake.

Because of their diminutive size I can't really recommend these toys for anyone under the age of four or so, but older children ought to have fun with them, as they are sturdy, colorful and just plain fun. They make terrific add-ons to birthday presents - just tape one to the package - or random pick-me-uppers to be send through the mail or given in person. You could also place them on top of a cake if you wanted to, or stick them in Easter eggs and make a hunt extra fun. Or hand them over to an aspiring juggler and see how he manages with them. There are all sorts of possibilities with these little bears, and if you don't happen to have a vending machine in your area that sells them, they're pretty easy to find online. A set containing one of each is available on Amazon for four dollars; another containing a random assortment of 50 goes for $25. If I ever find myself stuck for a fun giveaway item for a party or event, I may spring for that. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the ten bears I have and contemplate who could do with a little extra cheer in her day. One of my remaining duplicates is Friend Bear, the other Love-a-Lot. Both are poised to be a little plastic stand-in for an in-person hug, because spreading goodwill is what Care Bears do best.

Add Some Cheer to Your Celebration With Care Bears Napkins

I have been a fan of Care Bears for as long as I can remember. They were almost an essential ingredient for an 80s childhood, along with Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite and My Little Pony. I loved them all, but I've always had a special soft spot for bears, as one can tell by glancing at the photographs of three-year-old me assembling a tea party to which all of my ursine friends were invited.

As much as I loved Care Bears, though, they fell by the wayside a bit over the years. I'd think about them now and then, particularly when popular TV shows like Captain Planet or Power Rangers would engage in a maneuver reminding me of the Care Bear Stare, in which the bears united the characteristics symbolized on their white bellies in order to overcome forces of destruction and despair. But it wasn't until college that I found myself truly falling in love with them again, when the 80s started to become big again and I found those cheerful faces peeking at me from all sorts of surprising places.

My Care Bear fandom hit its high point in 2003, my senior year of college. I needed a distraction from all the stress of my last semester, and along with American Idol, Care Bears fit the bill nicely. My 22nd birthday, which fell in February, reflected that. I received several Care Bears-related gifts, including a small container of glittery green kiwi-flavored lip gloss inspired by Good Luck Bear, my favorite of the bears, and a small plush version of the same. I also celebrated with cake eaten on Care Bears plates, next to which were set Care Bears napkins that were so cute, I hated to use them.

That's the main problem with novelty napkins of any kind, of course. It seems a shame to sully them with tidbits of food when the pictures are so endearing. But a good compromise is to set aside one or two and save them as mementos of the occasion. Same goes for paper plates. Several months ago, I was delighted to discover a paper plate featuring Ewoks hiding in the back of the closet. I don't have any recollection of using these plates, but given my love of the much-maligned Return of the Jedi teddy bears, I assume they were purchased in my honor. That plate now hangs in my room.

One of the most recognizable elements of Care Bears is the vibrant colors used to depict them. The bears live in a sort of utopian cloudland, and their fur covers the spectrum of the rainbow. These particular napkins show only one bear, Friend Bear. This orange bear with entwined flowers on her belly is shown squeezing the stuffing out of a smiling star while another looks on, perhaps waiting for its turn. I'm a little surprised that blue-green Wish Bear, whose emblem is a shooting star, is not featured instead, but since birthday parties are generally occasions for the gathering of friends, Friend Bear is most appropriate too.

She is set against a starry backdrop, though the color of the atmosphere is a daytime shade of sky blue, and the napkin's border features blocks of color ranging from green to pink and back to green. The napkins are of a generous size and certainly hardy enough for the average cake eater. They come in packs of 16, so depending on the size of the guest list, it may be a good idea to get two packs. One was more than enough for my little gathering, with a couple to spare. No doubt these are designed primarily with the under-10 set in mind, but if you are a nostalgic child of the 80s like I am, chances are you will find them a beary enjoyable addition to your birthday.

Care Bear Stare!

Care Bears is one of the cartoons that I grew up with. The concept is rather strange -- a community of multi-colored bears with symbols on their stomachs who live in a kingdom in the clouds. But hey, it works. Each bear is especially talented in a particular area. The green bear with a shamrock his stomach is good luck. The yellow one with the sun is cheerful. Each bear's stomach is white, and the symbol is centered within it. When something happens that needs an extra lot of love, they all join together for the Care Bear Stare, during which their symbols shoot out rays of color and the rays merge.

The kingdom in which they live is called Care-a-lot. It is made of clouds. They drive cloud cars which trail rainbows behind them. They take care not to run off the edge of a cloud and fall down to earth. They spend most of their time tending to the daily duties of their kingdom, but when the alarm sounds, they head off to earth to make a bad situation turn out all right. Sometimes they don't even show themselves. The Care Bears are, perhaps, Disney's answer to angels. Care-a-lot is the type of kingdom many children imagine Heaven to be. The main thing to take away from the show is that someone is watching over us, ready to come to our aid if we need it.