The Hello Kitty Toaster Is Adorable And Functional

The original Hello Kitty was introduced into the world in 1974 as a decoration for a purse, and now we have everything from a Hello Kitty Toaster to Hello Kitty bedding and jewelry.

The Sanrio Company wanted a character that would appeal to pre-teen girls and Ikuko Shimizu was asked to come up with an idea for such a cartoon character. That was nearly 40 years ago, and although Kitty has neither aged nor grown, the Sanrio Company certainly has.

My granddaughter has everything Hello Kitty, her attire is predictable and has been since she was very small, usually pink with a smattering of Hello Kitty somewhere, even if it's in the form of a coloring book and a purse. At home her mother has bought just about everything Hello Kitty there is, and there was a brand new Hello Kitty toaster in the kitchen last time I visited.

It's cute as, well, a kitten I suppose, and sits on the countertop looking cheerful which is more than can be said for my standard plain white thing. It doesn't even cost a lot more than a normal toaster, but it has a built in way of producing toast with Hello Kitty on it. You will have to feed your kids white toast though, the imprinting doesn't work well with brown bread for some reason - it's not actual printing of course.

The other cool thing about the Hello Kitty toaster, apart from the price, is that it's made really well. I have heard of people who have been using theirs for years and it's still as good as new. Too often these novelty ideas are produced more for looks than anything else, but the two-slice Hello Kitty Toaster is a fully-functioning and durable piece of art that may encourage your kids to eat something before they leave the house in the morning.

Of course all things baking is very pertinent to little Hello Kitty, she loves to make cookies, and her mom is famous for her apple pies. Kitty probably knows that her famous Hello Kitty toaster is large enough to take thick slices of toast and bagels (although you won't get the Hello Kitty imprint on those!) and when you use it, everything comes out just purr-fect.

I wonder if my granddaughter will ever grow out of this fascination for Hello Kitty? Right now she is nearly nine years old and is going through a very quiet phase that worries me - she doesn't say much and has a very strange, blank stare when you speak to her. I guess we will have to see if the proverbial cat still has her tongue by the time she gets interested in boys. Dear Daniel, Kitty's boyfriend needs to start making a few more appearances, being on safari in Africa must get a bit boring at times.

I'm sure when real boys start showing up at my granddaughter's door she might start talking - maybe enough to offer them something for breakfast or at least a snack from her Hello Kitty toaster.