History Main / SentimentalHomemadeToy

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', potential companion/romantic interest [=MacCready=] gives you a handmade toy soldier that his deceased wife Lucy carved and gave to him when they were teenagers. Upon reaching max affinity with him, since he can't offer you something of greater monetary worth after helping to save his son's life, he gives you his most sentimentally valuable item.

Everything is more precious when it's made with love. That goes double when it's a special toy that Mom or Dad (and it's usually Mom) made by hand just for you. (If Mom made it, it's usually a doll or stuffed animal, and if Dad made it, it's often a wooden carving of some sort, due to the association of woodcarving with masculinity and [[TextileWorkIsFeminine sewing with femininity]].) Sure, it's not as fancy as the princess dolls in sparkly gowns or the super-cool, gadget-filled toy robots on the shelves at the grocery store, and you might get teased on the playground about how old and worn it looks. But it's the only one of its kind in the whole world, and it's yours.

Subtrope of ToyBasedCharacterization. Related to SentimentalShabbiness, SecurityBlanket, and CompanionCube. If the giver is dead, the toy may be an OrphansPlotTrinket, TragicKeepsake, and/or MementoMacGuffin. Compare EmpathyDollShot, and see also CrushTheKeepsake, if such an item is callously destroyed.

* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearl'': The episode "[[Recap/PokemonS11E19PokemonRangerAndTheKidnappedRioluPart1 Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu!]]" focuses on a Riolu which has been abducted and taken far from home. It is fearful and suspicious of humans, and only begins to trust Ash after he saves its most prized possession from being swept away in a river--a little wooden Riolu doll that its human caretaker carved for it.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'': Mirabel sews a stuffed jaguar for Antonio, her youngest cousin, as a gift to help him feel less nervous about his gift ceremony because she knows he loves animals. He greatly cherishes the gift. When their house begins to collapse, Antonio lets his uncle [[spoiler:Bruno]] borrow it to calm his nerves.

* ''WebVideo/CriticalRoleCampaignThree'': The [[spoiler:werewolf]] gnome woodcarver Chetney Pock O'Pea is a GrumpyOldMan (over 400, and proportionately grumpy), but as he becomes friends with the PlayerParty, he starts making each of them a personalized wooden toy.
** And Creator/TravisWillingham actually made the physical toys to give to his castmates.

* ''{{Literature/Discworld}}'': Subverted in ''{{Literature/Hogfather}}''. When Albert recounts how he'd gotten a hand-carved wooden horse from his father instead of the huge store-bought rocking horse he'd wanted for Hogswatchnight, Death thinks it was a heartwarming moment, but Albert tells him only adults think like that. Children are greedy little bastards (and besides, his father sold it for booze money a few days later).

* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearl'': The episode "Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu!" focuses on a Riolu which has been abducted and taken far from home. It is fearful and suspicious of humans, and only begins to trust Ash after he saves its most prized possession from being swept away in a river--a little wooden Riolu doll that its human caretaker carved for it.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''{{Literature/Discworld}}'': Subverted in ''{{Literature/Hogfather}}''. When Albert says he'd gotten a hand-carved wooden horse from his father instead of the huge store-bought rocking horse on Hogswatchnight, Death thinks it was a heartwarming moment, but Albert tells him only adults think like that. Children are greedy little bastards (and besides, his father sold it for booze money a few days later).

In the narrative, this toy represents the bond between two characters: the one who made it (usually a parent) and the one it's being given to (usually a child). For extra pathos, the giver is likely to be missing or [[DeceasedParentsAreTheBest dead]], and the toy the only thing the receiver has to remember them by. And to stir up drama, the toy may get lost at some point, causing its owner to panic until it's safely recovered.

* ''Film/{{Babe}}'': [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] when Arthur Hogget makes and gives a homemade dollhouse to his [[SpoiledBrat unnamed granddaughter]]. She rejected it and throws a fit stating that she wants a dollhouse she saw from TV.

* ''{{Literature/Discworld}}'': Subverted in ''{{Literature/Hogfather}}''. When Albert says he'd gotten a hand-carved wooden horse from his father instead of the huge store-bought rocking horse on Hogswatchnight, Death think it was a heartwarming moment, but Albert tells him only adults think like that. Children are greedy little bastards (and besides, his father sold it for booze money a few day later).

* ''Series/LostOllie'': Billy's mother made Ollie the stuffed rabbit for him when he was just a baby. [[MommasBoy Billy is shown to be very close to his mom]], as such, and his friendship with Ollie remains for years to come. Ollie also become a TragicKeepsake for Billy after [[spoiler:his mother [[MissingMom dies from an illness]], at least until he abandons Ollie in an attempt to look mature.]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', potential companion/romantic interest [=MacCready=] gives you a handmade toy soldier that his deceased wife, Lucy, carved and gave it to him when they were teenagers. Upon reaching max affinity with him, since he can't offer you something of greater monetary worth after helping to save his son's life, he gives you his most sentimentally valuable item.
--> '''[=MacCready=]''': "I figure I owe you something... and I always pay my debts. Here... I wanted you to have this. I know a carved toy soldier is a strange reward for risking your life, but this one's special... it means a lot to me."

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'': Ventus carries a wooden replica of his Keyblade, symbolizing his relationship with Terra, Ventus and Aqua during their time training under Master Eraqus. Their falling-out at Radiant Garden deeply affects Ventus, but his visit to Neverland inspires him to leave the trinket behind in the Lost Boys' treasure chest; secure in the knowledge that their friendship transcends the object itself. Tragically, Vanitas gets a hold of the item and [[CrushTheKeepsake cruelly breaks it in front of Aqua]] during her arrival later.

In the narrative, this toy represents the bond between two characters: the one who made it (usually a parent) and the one it's being given to (usually a child). For extra pathos, the giver may be missing or [[DeceasedParentsAreTheBest dead]], and the toy the only thing the receiver has to remember them by. And to stir up drama, the toy may get lost at some point, causing its owner to panic until it's safely recovered.

* ''Literature/AmericanGirlsCollection'': Most of the girls live in historical eras where store-bought toys weren't widely available, or even available at all. A lot of them have special handmade dolls made by their mothers.
** Felicity is usually a tomboy, but also turns out to have a girly streak when she falls in love with a doll at the milliner's shop dressed in a beautiful blue silk gown.

** When Kirsten's family has to store their things in a warehouse for a few months, one of the things that has to be put away is her rag doll, Sari. When Kirsten misses Sari, she creates a makeshift doll from an old stocking filled with milkweed floss and calls it Little Sari.

** When Kirsten's family has to store their things in a warehouse for a few months, one of the things that has to be put away is her rag doll, Sari. When Kirsten misses Sari, she creates a makeshift doll from an old stocking filled with milkweed floss and calls it Little Sari. Besides the dolls, Kirsten and her cousins also have toys made from things in nature, like doll cakes made from mud and doll beds made from woven twigs.

** Addy, a girl growing up in slavery, has a small rag doll named Janie that Mama made for her. Before she and Mama escape but have to leave baby Esther behind, Addy gives Janie to her sister and tells her to hold on to it until they're reunited again. Later when living in freedom, Mama makes another rag doll for Addy as a Christmas present, a beautiful little doll with a purple dress and hoop earrings that she names Ida Bean.
** Josefina's family has a doll named Niña that was made by her deceased mother. Around Christmas, Clara is supposed to hand it down to her, but says she can't find it, and it turns out she's secretly keeping Niña because she misses their mother so much.

'''Indices''': ToyTropes, SympatheticIndex, SadnessTropes, TruthInTelevision

(If this trope is successful, will be migrating examples from ToyBasedCharacterization.)