I collected elephants first, then 13 years ago when my husband died I started collecting angels. My first one was a willow tree angel given to me by my daughter in law's mother just as a thoughtful little gift along with a sympathy card. I have all kinds now but probably my most expensive one is a lladro angel given to me by John (falcon) when he visited me once. He's a generous man.
Last month, we were in the S&R supermarket which specializes in imported goods (from the US). It was my husband who spotted a big teddy bear that costs only 600 pesos, that's less than $15. Hmm, not expensive but not cheap either. But when I saw the tag that said B1T1 which means buy-1-take-1, I did not hesitate to buy. It's not really that big but it can occupy one seat in the car just like a human. I gave one to my niece and I kept the beige color for myself which is in our bedroom.
My mom collected angels. I participated in a ceramics class and made 3 cherubs. I thought they were angels back then. Hand painted each one differently and gave them to her as a 'Just because' gift. As I was going through all of her knick knacks that she had in storage for years and found them and started crying.
Hmmmm, wonder if my kids will cry when they go through my stuff. I still have the cheap elephants they gave me 35 years ago. It was always easy to get me a bday or Christmas or Mother's Day gift...an elephant.