Getting a gift for someone whose likes and dislikes you don't know very well can be incredibly difficult. Sure, you could always fall back on the old standard of gift cards or cash in an envelope, but what if you want to give something with more meaning?

I had this dilemma myself not too long ago. It was just days before my cousin's birthday party, and my sister and I hadn't gotten him anything yet. We had very little time to find a great present, and didn't know a whole lot about what kind of things he preferred. Still, as he was our cousin, we wanted to make sure we got him something that would be both meaningful and personal. We started to scour the internet for great ideas, and it wasn't long before we located stuffed animals. We quickly realized that a plush octopus could make a unique and meaningful gift. One thing we did know about our cousin was that he was a handy guy, constantly fixing and constructing things around his home. All of that "handiness," meant that his wife would swear that he had eight arms (pardon the pun) with which to fix things before she even knew that they were broken. While searching for a suitable stuffed octopus, we found that some of them were "posable." My sister was confused on what made these toys different from a regular stuffed animal. I proceeded to explain the difference.

Posable stuffed animals are bendable. You can take their arms or legs and move them into any position you desire. For example, if you have a stuffed monkey, you could bend his arms so that he hung off your neck without you having to hold him. They are as fluffy and soft as regular plush toys, with the added bonus of maneuverability. Traditional, non-posable stuffed animals on the other hand don't have this same flexibility. The position they are in is the one you are stuck with. Still soft and fluffy, these toys are great for collecting or decorating, and are the ones most likely to end up in a gift basket. They could hold flowers or a box of chocolates if already positioned in a stance with which to do so, and because they're not bendable they are sturdier for that kind of gift holding.

For the purpose of our cousin's birthday, a posable octopus had more meaning than a traditional one. Its flexibility better mirrored his busy maneuvers around the house! Keep this example in mind when you want to get something more personal than cash or gift cards. Should your stuffed animal gift be posable, or traditional? Think carefully over what gives more meaning to the gift.