A comprehensive assortment of new products will offer parents and gift givers a raft of playful new nurturing dolls and accessories to choose from this autumn/winter.
The new Baby born Magic Boy doll
Toy World’s exclusive first look at Zapf Creation‘s upcoming launches reveals the new dolls, bedtime and bath time toys that will help kids develop their social skills, empathy and understanding of routines.
Zapf Creation’s flagship brands Baby born and Baby Annabell remain household names. The latest arrival to join the Baby born family is the new Baby born Magic Boy doll. With 10 lifelike functions, including new magic eyes, this doll can go in the bath, drink water, cry tears and use the toilet after eating. With 10 baby care accessories, the Magic dolls are ideal for encouraging creativity among children aged 3+.
With Baby born celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the brand is refreshing the popular Sister and Brother range and has added a new Baby born Sister to the group. The siblings’ long hair inspires creative hair play for older children aged 4+, and they each have six lifelike functions. The dolls can also stand their own and have flexible knees, offering older children who enjoy styling and dressing up their dolls a new play pattern to enjoy.
Baby born Sister Styling Mermaid Head
Keeping with the theme of hair play, the new Baby born Sister Styling Mermaid Head combines styling fun with water play. Suction cups let kids attach the head to the bottom of the bath, while removing the seashell-shaped shower head from its holder activates the water pump. The styling head comes with six hair clips and a mini tiara, and the base of the Sister Styling Mermaid Head is also elevated, meaning children can sit comfortably and safely around it as they style.
The popular Baby born Bath range welcomes the new Walk in Shower. Expanding Baby born’s water play options, children can clip their doll into the shower and turn the duck to activate real water, which flows from the shower head. The shower is also height adjustable, meaning it can fit all Baby born dolls from 36-43cm.
The Happy Birthday Party Table is part of the brand’s limited edition birthday range. Decorated in fun birthday motifs, the table and chairs come in a modern wood-effect, while the two-tier birthday cake plays a happy birthday melody. The Good Night Bassinet is ideal for bath and bed routines or all-day-play; kids can lay their Baby born down and let them watch the stars and planet mobile above. The modern, wood-effect frame sits on four pink wheels and can be pushed around the house. It also comes with a fabric canopy and bedding.
Baby Annabell Let’s Play Bath Time
Baby Annabell continues to hold the No. 1 position in the nurturing doll market. Baby Annabell Little Sweet Princess joined the family in spring, proving a success from the off. Autumn/winter will see the princess doll gain deeper distribution and cement her position as an ideal doll for gifting, with cheeks that blush when kissed, a soft body and sleeping eyes when she lies down. The doll comes with a dress, shoes, tiara and hairbrush.
Nap Time Cloud is launching as part of the Sweet Dreams range. The cloud-shaped mattress rocks from side-to-side or back-and-forth, without the need for batteries. Among the most exciting arrivals for this season is the Baby Annabell Let’s Play Bath Time, a bathtub perfect for pretend play. While bath time play has never been possible for this soft bodied and battery powered doll, the new bath, with its realistic water effects, allows Baby Annabell to enjoy the bath and bed routine for the first time. The special ‘water’ effect will rise on both sides of the tub to reveal an under-the-sea pattern and the side panels light-up. Tapping the heart-shaped button on the shower triggers splashing-in-the-tub sounds, and pressing it again lights up the shower head, giving the illusion of water. A third press will reverse the water effect, as if the bath were draining.
Baby born Surprise Mini Babies
Baby born Surprise, Zapf Creation’s collectible brand, continues to expand. Each 6cm Baby born Surprise Mini Babies doll, launched in late spring, is bursting with surprises. Blind packed in a crib, kids open the package to discover which swaddle the dolls are wrapped in. Inside each swaddle lies the next surprise – is it twins or triplets? Once the dolls are uncovered, collectors can find out their birthday, their star sign and what outfit they’re dressed in. The cribs can be stacked, too – when the whole collection is complete, the bunks will be nine beds high and home to 21 Baby born Surprise Mini Babies.
The Baby born Surprise Mini Babies Bus Playset, which launches this autumn, will bolster the new Mini Babies range as it transforms from a bus on-the-go into a full playground. The set comes with a pair of exclusive Mini Babies twins in a carrot swaddle and fits up to 20 of Baby born Surprise Mini Babies.
Zapf Creation is gearing up for the season ahead with heavyweight marketing investment in TV, digital and PR campaigns, targeting a mix of children, parents and gift givers.
