Now that Bella is 6 years old, I can see how she is taking her role as “mother” very seriously when playing with her dolls. It is lovely to see her interact and play with her dolls all day long. She loves them! When Bella found out that she would have the opportunity to review the latest Baby Annabell doll from Zapf Creations, she was super excited.
Baby Annabell Doll Unboxing & Play
Unboxing the Baby Annabell Doll
When we received the Baby Annabell doll, both Bella and I were amazed. It comes in a clear display box, showing off the doll and all her accessories. Bella was desperate to open it, but she had to wait until she returned from a week with her grandparents during the summer holidays.
When she was back, the very first thing we did was film a video of her unboxing and playing with the doll.
Watch the full unboxing and play session here:
First Impressions & Accessories
- A romper suit
- One hat
- One bib
- One bottle
- One dummy
- One fabric necklace with an amulet
- An instruction booklet with details about the full Baby Annabell range
- As you can see from the video, this doll comes with a romper suit, one hat, one bib, one bottle, one dummy and one fabric necklace with an amulet!
To enjoy all of her amazing functions, you’ll need 4 x AA batteries, so keep that in mind when purchasing. Bella quickly decided to name her doll Scarlet, and I can already tell we’ll be visiting stores soon to pick up extra accessories!
Baby Annabell’s Realistic Features
Rocking & Sleeping
Scarlet is so realistic and has the cutest blue eyes! If you rock her gently in your arms, she closes her eyes and falls asleep. When she’s sleeping, she even makes soft breathing sounds (a little like a snore) – it’s hilarious, as you’ll hear in the video.
Feeding Time
When she wakes up, it’s breakfast time! If you give her the bottle, she moves her mouth and eyes while sucking – just like a real baby. She also makes feeding sounds, and if you fill her bottle with water, she drinks it.
Crying Feature
At first, we weren’t sure how to make her cry. We gave her water, but we didn’t see any tears. After a few attempts, we moved on – until Daddy gave it a try. His trick was to squeeze the bottle so that more water went inside the doll, and that worked! She cried so much we needed a towel, LOL!
- Giving her the dummy
- Feeding her
- Stroking her cheek
- Cuddling or rocking her
Burping & Cuddles
If you pat Scarlet on the back after feeding, she burps – Bella loved this feature! She was so proud of herself, gently lifting Scarlet and patting her like a real mum.
Gurgles, Babbles & Cheek Strokes
Scarlet also responds if you stroke her cheek or gently pat her back. She makes adorable gurgles and babbles to let you know she’s happy – another favourite feature of Bella’s.
Playing Together as a Family
When Sienna got home from nursery, she couldn’t wait to join in the fun. She was just as amazed by Scarlet’s features, and it was heart-warming to see the girls playing together.
Honestly, this has been one of the best dolls we’ve ever had at home. Bella takes Scarlet everywhere, even on our family outings. She now has a little pushchair for her, so I officially have three children instead of two, LOL!
Where to Buy Baby Annabell
- Smyths Toys
- John Lewis
- Argos
- Amazon (currently around £44.99)
Final Thoughts
We love Baby Annabell Scarlet and all her realistic features. She’s pretty, interactive, and encourages children to use their nurturing instincts. Bella is completely smitten, and I know Scarlet will be part of our family for a long time to come.
What do you think of this doll? Have you bought a Baby Annabell before? Would your little ones enjoy all of these features?
*Disclosure: We received this Baby Annabell doll in exchange for a video/blog post. However, all opinions and thoughts are my own.
Thanks for stopping by,
Love you all ❤️
Franca 💋
what a gorgeous doll, I love her locket too. Bella is so adorable in the video such a caring little mum
Awww bless Bella! What a fab doll and what a great vlog star Bella is 🙂 #KCACOLS
I love this! This is such a great idea if your child is going to be a big sister or brother. My sister is pregnant and I have bought Cygnet (aged 2) a baby doll to get him used to the idea of being round a small baby. At the moment he just keeps pulling at the dolls eye lashes. I am going to keep a close eye on him when my niece is born. Pen x #KCACOLS
Looks impressive. I’m not a big fan of these realistic baby dolls (too steeped in horror to find them not sinister!) but my daughter is full on into this. She loves unboxing videos so I’m sure she would love yours!
#KCACOLS
*oops!*
The doll looks so life like! Love the vlog – Bella you are a star in the making xx
#KCACOLS
I’ve bought Baby Annabell for Ruby on her 3rd birthday and she love it. I think the interactive feature of it is a bonus, made it realistic, plus it’s really cuddly too, I like hugging it as well. Great Review, lovely video! #KCACOLS.
I had a baby born when I was a child that did some of the stuff Baby Annabel does but they’ve definitely upped their game and it’s almost like a real doll! Now I see why they’re fairly pricey! As usual, thanks for hosting #KCACOLS XX
So happy you did this review. I would have loved doing it too but Baba is a boy who happens to be 7 months old. That would have not worked out! This post reminds me of being a little girl and having that kind of dolls! #KCACOLS.
Wow Bella looks so pleased with her new baby! What a lovely treat for her to receive a baby Annabel in the post! So cute that Sienna is also available to babysit! #KCACOLS
You can’t go wrong with a baby doll! #KCACOLS
Having only boys until now dolls haven’t featured much in our house.
Little Miss OMG was sent a doll by her Grandmother when she was only a few months old. It scared her!
Now though she is starting to play with them. I’m not sure if she is still a bit young for Baby Annabelle yet, but I can definitely see her getting one at some point.
A very thorough review.
Thanks for hosting #KCACOLS
Awesome job on noting the batteries. Why don’t kids things come with the darn batteries? I think we should all have a discount if we are parents on batteries. lol Love this doll so cute!! #KCACOLS
She sounds amazing – just like a real baby! But baby Anabel probably sleeps through the night! #kcacols
Hi Claire, I would really appreciate it if you could tell me if you New Baby Annabelle makes a whirring noise when she closes her ayes. I can’t find any mention of this in any reviews. Is this normal or is there something wrong with the two dolls I have bought? Thank you.
She looks so excited and happy to have such a wonderful doll. You can tell that she’s having such a fab time playing with baby Anabell! #KCACOLS
Oh my goodness her little face <3 She looks proud as punch with her new doll! It's lovely to see their reactions to the excitement of a new toy! xx #KCACOLS
Great review! It also amazes me to see how wonderfully she plays with the doll. My girls have a habit of throwing their dolls around like they are Supermum LOL #KCACOLS
We’ve never had a baby annabell, actually I don’t think Evie has ever had a baby to play with! It looks like the girls enjoyed playing with her though. #kcacols
This doll is equally amazing and creepy. I’d have loved my dolls to do this when I was a little girls but never thought they would ever actually be able to. My daughters would love this though so I may need to try and ignore the creepy part! I strongly suspect this will be coming down our chimney this December.
#KCACOLS
Olivia was never into baby dolls like this. I think the dolls like this are great though and I love how the girls played with them like a real baby xx #kcacols
Oh wow, your daughters look like they’re having a fab time playing with the doll. My little girl is still too little for dolls so it’s been a long time since I’ve been around them, isn’t it amazing what they can do now a days! And to think I was content with a tiny tears! Xx #kcacols
Wow she looks great! We are being sent one next week so I’m really interested to read your review. Mia is so excited as she will be her first doll! Dolls are far more advanced now than they were when I was little!! Lovely photos and great video! 🙂
#KCACOLS
What a great review and the excitement on your daughters face shows just how pleased she was with her new baby. I have 2 daughters…one who loves everything dolly and the other one who likes to roll in the dirt with her older brothers. Thanks so much for hostessing #KCACOLS … I will have to add the badge later as I’m traveling and on my phone.
Aww! This sounds amazing!! Bella is so cute with her. Maybe I should ditch the gender stereotypes and get Ernie one! 🙂 #kcacols
My eldest loves dolls too. She keeps seeing this advertised and I keep saying “for your birthday”. Loved the video by the way. Really great way to show off the product.
We LOVE baby Annabel, my girls have several of these dolls and they are their favourite toys absolutely! I love to see them play with dolls, it’s something I loved at their age and I love seeing them use their imagination and the loving way in which they talk to them, it’s adorable! Your daughter looks so happy to have her baby Annabel, fab review! #kcacols