From the moment on, that our daughter Anna ( will be 5 in February) first saw an advert for Zapf's Baby Annabell she kept on begging to have one. As christmas came closer her only worry seemed to that Santa might not know that "all she ever wanted" was Baby Annabell.
So my husband and me ... Read review
Advantages: She is so cute you just have to love her Disadvantages: The accessories are extremely expensive
...The list of accessories that Zapf offers in the Baby Annabell range is nearly endless and contains about anything you could buy for a real baby.
There are beds, a wardrobe, a changing table, pram, a comfort seat, a baby-gym, a baby-carrier, a car-seat, a changing bag, a sleeping bag, lots of different sets of outfits, shoes, nappies,...
What all of them have in comon is the sheep emblem, if it doesn't have it, it doesn't belong to Annabell ... ...there is always another christmas... Zapf delivers you a brochure in the carton which makes sure, that your children are very well informed what is on offer, not only for Annabell, but also for the other Zapf ranges like Baby Born. There is also an offer for your kids to join the Baby Annabell Club, which would provide them with regular newsletters and magazines about what is new on the market for baby Annabell. Mercifully that offer applies only ... more
From the moment on, that our daughter Anna ( will be 5 in February) first saw an advert for Zapf's Baby Annabell she kept on begging to have one. As christmas came closer her only worry seemed to that Santa might not know that "all she ever wanted" was Baby Annabell. So my husband and me decided to have a word with the man himself and a few days before Christmas we were able to collect the newest addition to our household - from the local Argos store. Now, we do not have one daughter, but two, and as Melis (3 1/2) always wants the same as her older sister, we didn't go to pick up one baby, but two.
The delivery was swift and easy. We gave our order numbers to the counter, paid 34.99 ( per doll) and a considerably higher sum for some off Annabells acccesories, waited in the pre-christmas queue for about half an hour - and voila: we were the proud parents off a brand-new set off twins and packed with carrier bags. Totally painfree !
What the twins look like : When we unpacked the dolls to get them ready for the big day even my husband had to admit, that they are extremely sweet and do look quite real. Baby Annabell has the sweetest baby face I have seen on a doll lately. She comes with beautiful blue baby eyes, surrounded by long dark eyelashes, has a little button nose and a tiny, slightly open mouth which moves when she drinks her bottle and sucks on her dummy. She is soft bodied and her arms,legs and head are plastic.She is wearing a white and pink baby-gro that bears the Baby Annabell sheep emblem and wears a little head.
The first feed: After removing all the carton pieces we had to feed the babies in order to get them work. First with 4 AA batteries per doll, the battery compartement is at the back of the doll under a cover that,s out of the same material as the dolls body. You'll need a small cross-head screwdriver to open it, so that the little ones can't get their hands on the batteries. Then with water out of the supplied sheep-bottle. Baby Annabell needs to drink about 1/4 of the bottle to make the tear funktion work. While she drinks her mouth moves as if she is really sucking, she makes little sucking noises and her eyes start to open and shut. If she is totally full water start to ran out of her mouth. As soon as we took the bottles out of our babies mouths they started to cry. We then had to rub the babies tummies and they let out a loud and clear burb. The babies fell asleep right after this and would have most probably continued snoring ( she really does make a snoring sound when she sleeps) if we wouldn't have laughed to loud. Especially my husband found that burb so hilarious that he couldn't stop laughing and we now found out, that Baby Annabell doesn't like to be desturbed in her beauty sleep. Both dolls started to cry and it took us quite a while to calm them down. Thankfully they come with a dummy as we felt quite foolish to use the other option the manufacturer suggest to calm Baby Annabell down : to sing a song... Anyway, if you don't play with the doll for more then 60 seconds it shuts itself.
Babies cost a lot of money: After we finished wrapping the babies in wrapping paper we started to work on the accessories. Everyone of you who's had a child will surely agree that small babies need a lot of stuff. And Baby Annabell is a very demanding baby...
The list of accessories that Zapf offers in the Baby Annabell range is nearly endless and contains about anything you could buy for a real baby. There are beds, a wardrobe, a changing table, pram, a comfort seat, a baby-gym, a baby-carrier, a car-seat, a changing bag, a sleeping bag, lots of different sets of outfits, shoes, nappies,... What all of them have in comon is the sheep emblem, if it doesn't have it, it doesn't belong to Annabell - and that they are all very,very expensive.
Each outfit costs between 14.99 £ and 19.99 £. It dresses the doll from head to toe, but I still think that this is quite a rip off. As our kids are too small to care about the logo on the clothes, as long as they come in pink and baby Annabell measures a proud 46 cm we decided to go for a cheaper option. I went shopping for real baby clothes in the early baby size and bought some really nice baby-gros, socks, pram shoes and even a dress. They fit perfectly and the twins don't seem to mind either. I couldn't resist to buy the sleeping bag, though. It is pink, has big heart in the middle, a long front zip which allows the girls to pack their babies in easily and an absolutely cute attached cap with sheep ears. And the ever present sheep logo, of course... It cost me 14.99 £ and i didn't tell my husband, as this would have certainly deminished his feelings for our twins, so please don't tell him, too !
As it always is, when there is a new arrival in the family : The grandparents want to help out. What would we do without them...
Our kids got a pram each for their Annabells from my parents. They cost around 40.- £ (EACH !) and you can find them in about every shop that does the Baby Annabell range.The handle height is 76 cm, so if you buy it for a very small girl it might be a bit high.It is pink - what else- and has a shopping net underneath, so that the little mummy can take all of Annabells accesories on her trip. From my husbands family they got the metall canopy beds. It is pink again, comes with matress, curtain, pillow and a duvet with the obligatory sheep on it. The bed costs around 30.- £.
Further accessories weren't on the list, as we wanted to give the girls some non-Annabell-related presents, too. And there is always another christmas... Zapf delivers you a brochure in the carton which makes sure, that your children are very well informed what is on offer, not only for Annabell, but also for the other Zapf ranges like Baby Born. There is also an offer for your kids to join the Baby Annabell Club, which would provide them with regular newsletters and magazines about what is new on the market for baby Annabell. Mercifully that offer applies only to the german market, where the company comes from. I was quite shoked to read that they ask small children a fee of 12.90 € to join this club. As much as I like the doll, I am starting to hate the company who makes it !
The big day : Needless to say that our girls were over them moon when they unpacked their presents. Santa was clever enough to put the other presents in front of the dolls and whatever came with them, so they had to work their way through to reach them. Otherwise they might have just forgotten to open them. The kids played only with them for the rest of the day and ignored whatever else they got. We changed them a hundred times and even our little one became manages to change her dolly all alone by now. They love it to feed the dolls and see real tears running out of their eyes. Even my husband joined in, although I am slightly suspicious that he only does it because he wants to hear the burb that follows. He really has a thing going for it. Men can be strange creatures... So we had lots and lots of tears on christmas and the packet of tissues that came with the dolls didn't even last for half an hour.
So where can you get a Baby Annabell : I knouw for sure that you can get them from Argos, Toys'r'Us and Woolworth. As they are very popular I suppose you'll be able to get them from nearly every shop that does toys
How much do they cost: I've got ours for 34.99 £ from Argos, prices may vary from shop to shop and if you are lucky, you might find a cheaper option.
Are there any variations to choose: Yes. Baby Annabell is also availlable as an ethnic doll. Then there is the First Baby Annabell. This is a smaller version, that costs around 15.- £. First Annabell has the same outfit as its 'big sister' but doesn't have any functions
What comes with the doll: One outfit, a dummy with a dummy ribbon and clip (sheep-shaped - what else) a sheep bottle with an integrated heart shaped rattle to feed Annabell and a very small packet of sheep tissues.
Annabells Birth size : 46 cm
How to keep Baby Annabell clean : Out of the manufacturers handbook: Romper suit : wash by hand Little sheep bottle: use damp cloth Dummy with dummy ribbon and clip : use damp cloth Sheep tissues: can't be cleaned ( well, who would have thought that...???)
Manufacturers web site www.zapf-creation.com/info
Don't forget: To avoid long faces insert the batteries - 4 AA's- before handing over and feeding the baby it's first dossage of water - otherwise it will not work straight away To make sure that the little mummy understands that she should never put anything else then water in her bottle. No matter how much she likes blackcurrant jiuce - one sip just might be lethal for Baby Annabell.
Educational use: Kids learn to understand babies behaviour and it might be a great toy to prepare them for a real new arrival. They also learn how to put clothes on and it does encourage role-play
Our verdict : We just love "our twins" and think they are a great toy for little girls between 3 and 8 years. We had our little nephew around who is 4 years old and he liked to play with them too
Dangers: Don't leave it around if your partner had a drink too much. Otherwise you might just find that usually oh so male subject of your neverending love with blurry eyes, cradling a doll and babbling about how nice it might be to have another real little one around....
Advantages: Any little girl will love her Disadvantages: The accessories are expensive
Baby Annabell was born in our house on Christmas Day 2004. We are arrived down to see if Santa Claus had left any presents for my Daughter and what do you know, there she was lying asleep in her musical crib fast asleep. OK - we all know that she isn't real but my Daughter had been asking Santa Claus for weeks if he would bring her one and who am i to stand between my Daughter and her dreams!
***So What is Baby Annabell?***
Quite simply she is ... ...that and extremely clever. But she is not only that, she is a whole brand. She is the start of a collection. Yes you can buy the doll and never get anything else, but this is not what she was designed to do. She is a little girls introduction to brands and labels.
She measures 46 cms long which is really strange because this was the same length as my Daughter when she was born(she was only little). And she basically looks like a real baby. She is ...
fairygirl12 27.07.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Zapf Creations Baby Annabell
Advantages: great life like doll Disadvantages: can get annoying if left unattended and swtiched on
...is the description given by Zapf when you buy baby Annabel
"Baby Annabel reacts like a real baby. She babbles, gurgles and giggles. Give her a bottle or her pacifier and she sucks on it. She even moves her mouth! After her meal Baby Annabel burps. Then she gets tired, yawns and falls asleep. A loud noise will wake her up and she begins to cry. Talking, singing or shaking her rattle calms her down and she babbles happily again. Sometimes she grizzles ... ...her tummy helps. She burps and is happy again". Dimensions Doll height: 46cm Age range 3 years +
My description and opinion of the doll. The doll is a soft-bodied doll with the normal soft plastic arms, legs and head of most dolls on the market. She does look very life like and in fact we gave our daughter baby Annabel when I went into labour and told her that mummy and daddy were going to get her baby brother or sister and that nanny was coming ...
MiniMe69 03.03.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Zapf Creations Baby Annabell
Advantages: Life like and fun to play with. Disadvantages: You may want to take batteries out.
...Baby Annabell is made by Zapf creations which seem to be the best when it comes to making good quality dolls for your children. This doll is more lifelike than many of the dolls on today's market. She will react like a baby does she will babble, laugh, cry, sucks her dummy with sucking sounds. Baby Annabell reacts to movement and sounds, if you make her jump with loud noises she will cry. If your gentle she will go off to sleep, sing quietly to her ... ...this doll and acts more gentle around her because of the way the doll will react. GOOD NEWS FOR PARENTS you can turn it off at the back because sometimes it can drive you crazy when left on. This doll requires 4 x AA batteries. She is 46cm long and is very cute. This doll is one of my favourites because it really does teach children how to be responsible and gentle with things. I love watching my daughter play with this doll as it really does bring ...
CRAFTYDONNA 05.10.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Zapf Creations Baby Annabell
Advantages: A very life like baby doll that any litle girl would love Disadvantages: The accessories are quite expensive
My daughter has a love of baby dolls and has a rarther large collection of them. She already had Baby Born and Baby Choo Choo and numerous other dolls, but from the first time she saw Baby Annabell she was in love. For months she talked about nothing else. I decided to buy Baby Annabell for my daughter's fourth birthday, nearly a year ago and she still loves her doll as much now as she did then.
Baby Annabell is sound and motion sensitive. She makes ... ...needs you, babbling and giggling when you play with her, yawning and snoring when she's asleep and even burping after being fed! She makes sucking sounds when she has her dummy in her mouth or when drinking from her bottle and even moves her mouth in a sucking motion! She is the most life like baby doll I have ever come across. Baby Annabell switches herself to standby mode if she has not been played with for 60 seconds.
Baby Annabell is an 18 inch ...
nat_the_great 12.03.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Zapf Creations Baby Annabell
Advantages: Keeps them entertained for ages Disadvantages: Noisy and accesories are expensive
My daughter loves playing with dolls so this Christmas, her dad and I decided that she can have a new one for Christmas. She had played with her sisters Baby Annabell and already had My first Baby Annabell and loved it so we decided that she could have a Baby Annabell. There were two models around at Christmas, Baby Annabell II and Baby Annabell III. As she was still young, 2 and a half, and would not know the difference we decided that we would ... ...the price of the new one. Baby Annabell II was about £20 and Baby Annabell III was about £35. The main difference was that Baby Annabell III cries really tears and they had redesigned her accessories.
She loved it from the moment she got it and does not want to play with anything else, but Baby Annabell and is still besotted with her. It seems to be one of those toys that they will play with other and other again and not just for five minutes and ...
ldvda 27.01.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Zapf Creations Baby Annabell
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Advantages: Pretty face, well made, not too noisy Disadvantages: none
My 3-year-old daughter loves dolls. She likes changing them, feeding them, cuddling them and putting them to bed. She already has babyAnnabell but this Christmas I decided to get her Molly.
Molly is a doll from the ZapfCreation range. ZapfCreation is a doll manufacturer also responsible for Baby Born, it’s best selling doll, BabyAnnabell, Chou Chou and Maggie Raggies.
Max and Rosa Zapf established ZapfCreation in Rodental, Germany in 1932. These first dolls were made of papier-mâché by Rosa Zapf and women in and around Rodental and then Max Zapf would go out and about selling them.
In 1958 Brigitte and Willi Zapf, second generation of the Zapf family, expanded the business to include the European markets. In the 1960’s ZapfCreation produced the first dolls made of plastic instead of celluloid.
In 1991 ...
dibalmond 04.01.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Zapf Molly Doll
