The object I’m choosing to showcase is my stuffed animal, Frosty. My parents gave him to me in January of 2003, when I was born. They bought him from a department store, but don’t remember which one. His tag, located on the bottom back of his body, has long since worn out, leaving behind a polyester gray loop. He is a snowman, with a large round body, small round head, hat with a pompom, two gloves, scarf, and two feet. Overall, he is 35” tall, 10.75″ wide with the arms spread out, and on average 3.75” deep.

Frosty’s head is approximately 14″ wide, 15” tall, and 3.5” deep. What used to be fuzzy white cotton skin has faded into a grayish white color, changed by dirt and aging. There are small patches of missing fabric on the hat, nose, and cheek, exposing the brown stitching underneath the cotton. The biggest patch is to the bottom right of his nose (from Frosty’s perspective). The nose is a thin piece of blue fabric, doubled over and formed into a triangle. A stitch line is visible on the bottom of the nose, running the full length and showing where the manufacturers sewed. The nose is stuck in an upward position, which prominently shows the stitching.

When I was a toddler, I was very sensory. I chewed on Frosty, which resulted in a big hole on the top right of his nose. Only the top layer of the fabric is broken, so the hole is still covered on the bottom. I also chewed on the white and blue fabric strips of the pompom, resulting in the ends being severely frayed.

His hat is made of blue fabric and has a rim slightly smaller than the nose. Turning Frosty around, the back of his head is fully covered by the hat, which goes down to the scarf around his neck. The hat is loosely placed on the head, attached only at the rim. This causes the hat to not look fully stuffed, becoming wrinkled. His eyes are made of glass, with a blue sclera and black pupil. Both glass eyes are scratched, making it look like he has a twinkle in his eye. Lastly, the mouth is a thin piece of blue yarn, threaded loosely into a smile with two yarns indicating the corners.

Frosty’s body is approximately 10.75″ wide with the arms spread out, 20” tall, and 4” deep. His body without the arms is 6″ wide. The skin is the same white cotton as the face, and the gloves and feet are the same blue fabric as the hat and nose. He has a scarf wrapped once around his neck, with alternating blue and white fabric stripes. The scarf is tied in a knot at the front of his body, leaving the ends to dangle for about 4.5”. The ends of the scarf are composed of the same cotton as the body, but it is colored blue. The arms are approximately 2.25″ wide and 1.25” deep, with the blue glove covering ¾ of the arm. Both gloves have one small thumb at its top in the shape of a circle, and a rim where it meets the skin. His feet are shaped like half circles, two pieces of blue fabric doubled over and attached to the bottom of the body. They’re approximately 2.25″ wide, 1.75” tall, and 0.5” deep.

His body was once firm, but over the years the stuffing dried up, leaving him with areas of flatness. The main locations of this are the neck and the two joints where the arms connect to the body. The head is no longer supported by the neck, and flops over if he is standing. The gloves and feet are the stiffest parts of Frosty. The stuffing has not yet flattened, so the original shape is still maintained.

All over Frosty, signs of wear and tear are visible. Small patches of cotton and fabric are missing on the hat, nose, cheek, and body, exposing the stitches. The nose and pompom are especially worn out, due to chewing on them when I was a toddler. The glass eyes are scratched, and a lot of the stuffing has lost its shape. While some might say it’s damaged, I think these traits are what make Frosty unique and well-loved.