here's another thought. I was asked my a church member to sew bears out of their favorite uncles shirts. Each niece and nephew had a flannel shirt dedicated to their bears, Simplicity pattern I believe. makes an 18 or 24 inch bear. One long sleeved shirt was more than enough for a 24 inch bear.
Another family had grandpa's bowling shirts and pants made into clothes for bears. Each child had grandpa's embroidered name on the shirt, with either grey, black or navy blue pants. grandpa was a avid bowler, and each team had matching shirts with names embroidered on them. some teams would get new ones each year.
Bears are huggable, but can be placed as a pillow on the bed or in any room. :)