Ooshies are taking the country and Canberra by storm, with many families on the search for their missing pieces. Photo: Woolworths.
If you have shopped at a Woolworths store in the last few weeks, you may have been given a little extra something in your weekly shop.
With every $30 spent at the supermarket, shoppers are also given an Ooshie, a small, squishy plastic toy that resembles a famous movie or TV character. In this case, Disney.
What started as a simple promotion has turned into a major craze for kids and shoppers alike, with many eagerly hunting for the final few figures to complete their 40-character set.
Recently, a bidding war on eBay saw a supposed bid for a fleeced Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh go for $100,000,000. While it has since been dismissed, there are still plenty of other cases of people spending thousands on their missing pieces.
Mother of four and avid Ooshies collector Annette Palmer said the search is something that she and her family look forward to every time they go shopping.
“We’ve collected the Ooshies every time they’ve run them, but this year does seem to be a bit more full-on,” she said.
“I think this time around, the Disney theme has really stuck out. There are a lot of characters from Toy Story, Star Wars and even superheroes. Each of my kids has one that they like more than others.
“We’re definitely not the only ones that are going crazy for them either. They take them to school and have been trading them and giving them away. I think we only need two or three more for a complete set.”
The search has become so popular that, right here in Canberra, community members are hosting swap days for toys.
Woolworths supermarkets have even hosted swap days for families to bring in their double-ups.
Volunteer organisations like the Canberra Street Cat Alliance are also taking advantage of the trend by offering to swap Ooshies in return for tins of cat food.
President Vanessa Parton said the Alliance has held swap days in previous years, which have generated over 400 cans of food to feed up to 200 cats.
She said that if this year’s event can replicate those numbers, it will be a successful turnout.
“It started as just an idea I had because I think I was trying to complete sets for my grandkids at the time. Other people in the community were doing the same thing, so I thought, how can we make this a win-win for everyone?” she said.
“We’ve got hundreds of Ooshies ready to go, all you have to do is bring in a can of cat food and swap it for the one you’re after.”
The Alliance will be at both Belconnen Westfield and South.Point on 22-23 August and 29-30 August. See Facebook for further details.
