MadeForMums Toy Awards 2024 Winners: Best dolls, pets and soft toys

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• Best doll (3-6 years)
• Best doll (6+)
• Best pet toy
• Best soft toy

Best doll (3-6 years)

A doll is a classic pretend-play toy for children of all ages. From realistic baby dolls to bring out their nurturing side, to colourful mini fashion dolls to dress up, a good quality doll can provide hours of make-believe play for preschoolers and young children.

We called in the help of some fantastic child testers to try out a range of the best dolls for ages 3 to 6 years. Focusing on quality, attention to detail, whether it came with any clothes or accessories, how easy the doll was to dress and undress, as well as the play potential it offered, our mini testers and their parents rated each doll carefully to help pick their overall winners. These are the ones that came out top.

Gold: BABY born Emma 43cm doll

My daughter has thoroughly enjoyed playing with baby Emma. She has been played with independently, with other dolls, by my daughter alone, and also with her sisters. Since arriving she has been taken to bed each night.

Silver: Babycorns Interactive Baby Doll Series 1 Large by ZURU

Emilia’s eyes lit up with excitement as soon as she saw the doll and she has even asked if Santa can bring her another one! She really loved all the little surprise toys, even down to the stickers in the story book which she used to decorate crib! She even enjoyed it even more once we put battery’s in and found that the doll talked, sang and lit up!

Bronze: Yummiland Large Doll

Amber will be 6 in a few weeks and I would say this was perfect for her age. She has been playing with the doll a lot, taking it out and about with her and regularly applying the lipgloss. She has also been putting the crown on herself and the doll. Amber loved the pink hair and has enjoyed brushing the hair and playing various role play games.

Editor's Choice: L.O.L Surprise! Big Party Surprise

There are so many surprises and lots of messy stuff, like the soft and fluffy cloud. The sand was so pretty in the water and I loved swirling it around. I got FOUR dolls with lots of clothes and pretty shoes. Me and my sister can play together as there are enough dolls. The doll with blue and pink hair is my favourite, as her hair looks like bubblegum. I am going to play with them everyday!

Best doll (6+)

Fashion dolls reign supreme for children aged 6 and over. With cool outfits, hair to brush and style, accessories to play with and clever interactive features to up the excitement-factor, there’s a lot to love and explore.

Our enthusiastic team of child testers got hands-on, testing out the dolls to share their true feelings. They were concerned with the choice of outfits and accessories, how easy hair was to style, and any fun extras, while they parents kept an eye on quality, how often they played with the doll and whether it was good value. Here are our award winners.

Gold: Magic Mixies Pixie Supremes Magic Mirror with Doll

I love the beginning where you make the potion and have to shout MAGICUS MIXAMUS and Luna just pops out! The confetti is the best and if I pick it all up I can put it back in. I like that I can ask her questions and she talks to me.

Silver: Rainbow High™ Littles

My daughter adores this doll! It’s her absolute favourite, and different to the other Barbies etc we have – she’s the cool doll in the gang! It’s a firm favourite and I think will be adding more in the future.

Bronze: Rainbow High™ Winter Wonderland Fashion Dolls

I love her clothes, and I think her hair is so beautiful. I wish I could redo her skirt again because it was very fun but hard to do. I like doing fashion shows with Bella and doing her hair. I like her make-up too and I love her style. I would play with this doll again because it is very good.

Editor's Choice: Miraculous Hero Switch Ladybug Fashion Doll

My daughter isn’t a Miraculous fan. However, the novelty of the fashion switch immediately won her over to the doll. The mechanism has lasted well with relentless switching between the two outfits! A good imagination quickly moved play away from Miraculous and superheroes to lots of other scenarios.

Best pet toy

If you’ve got an animal-mad child, an interactive pet toy is sure to be a hit. Helping to teach empathy, responsibility and encourage nurturing skills, a sweet pet toy can almost be as good as the real thing. And there’s more to choose from than ever before.

To find the very best pet toy, our child testers walked, fed, cuddled, cleaned, brushed and cared for a dazzling array of interactive pets from kittens to monkeys. Our testers, along with their parents, rated each toy on how easy it was to set up, all the interactive features, how much play potential the toy offered, the all-important cute factor and whether it was a toy that would stand the test of time. Here are the worthy winners.

Joint Gold: BABY born My Lucky Dog

Pearl has absolutley LOVED playing with My Lucky Dog! She would love a real dog, but this is the next best thing! She laughed so much when his tongue came out and he began to drink. Then with a press of a button he cocked his leg and went to the toilet... she screamed with laughter! She enjoyed holding the bone for him to chase and could control him easily. My Lucky Dog is perfect for Pearl’s age.

Joint Gold: Little Live Pets My Really Real Puppy: Patches The Beagle

I have named my puppy Star because she has a star birth mark on her tummy. Star is a brilliant toy and loves coming to the park with me and my sister. I love it when she goes to sleep and starts snoring because it is so funny. Star loves me and I love Star.

Silver: Teksta Purro Interactive Kitten

My daughter was instantly drawn to Purro’s adorable appearance and her face lit up once Purro came to life and started meowing with glowing cheeks and bright eyes. Purro has multiple features and accessories so whether it be brushing her tail, feeding her, or dancing along to her music, there is a lot of fun to be had.

Bronze: Pets Alive Mama Duck Surprise by ZURU

My 5-year-old son Chester played with this toy for days, and I know this is a toy he will keep coming back to. He loved the baby ducklings and was very nurturing with them. One feature he particularly enjoyed was the baby ducks magnetically attaching to Mummy duck, allowing them to waddle around with her – he spent hours doing this. He now wants more Live Pets to add to his collection.”

Editor's Choice: Pixel Petz

I love these two sweet little babies, they are best friends and I can play games on them! I can feed them and this one is being silly. He even clips onto my bag.

Best soft toy

Whether a traditional teddy bear or cute talking plush toy, every child, whatever their age, needs a beautiful and cuddly soft toy in their life. If you’re looking to add to your child’s collection as a birthday treat or Christmas gift, we’ve done the hard work for you.

Our child testers snuggled their way through a whole array of soft toys to pick the cuddliest of the bunch. They rated each toy on its cute appeal, how soft it was and how much play potential it offered, while our parent testers looked at quality, materials, design and price, as well as which toys were returned to again and again. Here are our MadeForMums Toy Awards 2024 winners.

Gold: Hug-A-Lumps by ZURU

My son loved how cute this teddy was on first impressions. once he realised it was weighted I explained how this can help him regulate his feelings and he enjoyed the weight of it on his stomach. It's good for relaxation, comfort, cuddling and my son even arranged a party with all of his teddies and this toy was able to join in.

Silver: cuddle+kind - Amelia the Cow

My daughter was absolutely ecstatic. Everything from the dress, flowers and character are amazing and add to the overall toy. My little one loved that she had a name and a birthday too. Amelia the Cow has been her new best friend, being taken everywhere (she even tried to take her to the swimming pool).

Available from cuddle + kind (from £71)

Bronze: My 1st Years Personalised Octopus Plush Toy

My 2-month-old baby smiles at the toy, makes noises and kicks his legs when he touches the material and squeezes the tentacles, showing he is enjoying playing with it! He’s really intrigued by the octopus when I wiggle it in front of his face and it has really encouraged him to reach out to touch it, it’s great for his development.

Available from My 1st Years (£27)

Editor's Choice: Ro the rabbit rechargeable baby soother with sound and light

My son is 3 months old, and recently he has been waking up 40 minutes into his nap. Sometimes he couldn’t self soothe himself back to sleep, or it took him a long time, but with this toy, once the cry sensor is activated, it only takes him 5 minutes. I will definitely be using this to help him have longer naps!

Coming soon to ZAZU

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