Whenever I am not sleeping with my husband (e.g. when we had a long-distance relationship for 2 years, before we got married), I sleep with a little stuffed dog that he surprised me with one day. And on his headboard, during our distance, he also stored a handful of little stuffed animals that I gave him over time. We are both unapologetic fans of cute stuffed animals.
I also grew up sleeping with one favorite animal in bed... I could NOT sleep without it. (The starring animal varied from bear to bunny to beaver
to sheep to puppy...)