Review and Giveaway: Douglas Plush Toys
April 7, 2009 by Deb
Filed under Giveaways, Recent Reviews, toys
In the past eight years or so I’ve become quite the connoisseur of plush toys. By virtue of the fact that approximately 304,000 of them have taken up residence in our house during that time period.
Okay, maybe not quite THAT many. But most days it certainly feels like it.
Some of them come from birthdays or other holidays when the girls specifically want a certain animal or character. Some have arrived via garage sales where the girls convince me to let them buy ‘just one thing, mom!’, or our school’s library, which so ‘helpfully’ (not!) does a lottery for gently used stuffed animals every week. As for the rest, I am firmly convinced they’ve either multiplied on their own, or simply appeared out of thin air.
It couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that I’m a sucker for a cute, soft, squishy, huggable stuffed animal too… Nope, not at all. 
The girls have their favorites, of course – as do I. But my criteria for choosing my top picks probably vary slightly from theirs – the plush toys that are small enough to not take up a whole lot of space, preferably washable (we are talking about kids here after all), and for me, the cuter, softer and silkier it is, the bigger chance that it’ll find its way into a pile of presents or an Easter basket. 
One of my new favorites is from Douglas Plush Toys.
What they are:
Douglas is a family-owned company that sells a variety of plush toys and stuffed animals. They’ve been in business for over 50 years and were one of the last companies to manufacture plush in the US. From their website:
Our success comes from our unique designs and high quality materials and craftsmanship. Our animals have gestures and expressions that clearly distinguish them as Douglas. Our faces evoke a sense of endearment.
Douglas’ plush toys include lines of dogs, horses, cats, wildlife and farm animals, sea life, teddy bears, unicorns & dragons, and dinosaurs in a variety of breeds, sizes and styles. They also sell baby plush toys as well as plush bags and purses. 
I was able to choose a plush animal to receive for review, and while it was so hard to choose, I ended up picking a stuffed husky dog for my 6-year-old.
Here’s my our take on them:
As I said above, my girls love their stuffed animals and plush toys. And my 6-year-old has a whole kennel’s worth of stuffed dogs since they’re her favorite animal. But there were a few things that immediately stood out to me when we saw her new husky friend – the toy is so incredibly soft, it just makes you want to hug it close. And, when I looked at the tag, I found out that it’s machine washable! That’s almost unheard of in my experience, and is something that’s much appreciated because trying to surface clean a plush toy that’s been dropped in the mud or worse, is downright impossible. We haven’t needed to wash it (yet), but I am very glad to have the option.
The husky dog is very realistically designed and made and has stood up to everything my girls have done with (and to) it, unlike other plush we’ve had. She’s been named ‘Drusilla’ (don’t ask, I have no idea why) and sleeps every night with my daughter. I know I’ll be looking for a kitty version for my oldest and probably another doggie for my 3-year-old, since she keeps trying to swipe Drusilla from her sister.
The bottom line:
Douglas Plush Toys sells stuffed animals that are not only soft and huggable, but which are incredibly detailed, down to the expressive faces. They’re not only collectible, but perfect companions for kids too. And I can see the baby plush toys they offer being perfect gifts for baby showers or little ones’ birthdays.
Where can you find them?:
You can purchase Douglas Plush Toys directly from their website at http://www.douglascuddletoy.com, or from many retailers in the US and Canada. You can also purchase them online at Amazon
Would you like to try them?:
I have the opportunity to share one of these incredibly soft, cuddly friends from Douglas Plush Toys with a lucky reader! If you would like to choose a plush friend to bring home or give as a gift, here are the rules:
- Enter by visiting the Douglas site and leaving a comment here to let me know which of the animals you would like. Please don’t just say ‘choose me’, or your entry will be discarded.
- The contest will run until Saturday, April 18th at 11:59 pm EST. The winner will be selected through random drawing, contacted by e-mail, listed on this post and also submitted to PRIZEY.Fetch. US entries only, please.
- Please leave a valid e-mail address or other way to contact you! If you don’t wish to leave your e-mail address, please make sure that you leave a unique name and check back with PRIZEYWinners to see if you won. If the winner hasn’t responded within 3 days, an alternate winner will be chosen by random drawing.
- If you’d like extra entries, you can:
- Subscribe to my RSS feed (click on the orange icon in the upper right sidebar) or subscribe via e-mail – leave me a separate comment to let me know.
- Mention this contest on your blog with a link back to this post, and leave a separate comment with the link to your post so I can find it.
- Either Twitter about, ‘Stumble’, ‘Digg’ or ‘Kirtsy’ this post – leave me a separate comment with your username at whichever site(s) you chose (one extra entry per method).
So that’s a total of 7 comments/entries if you do all of the extra entry options.
Good luck!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED – the random number generator has chosen comment #54 as the winner:
Congratulations to Jill L (no blog) who said, “These stuffed animals are so nice. I love Snuffles the Dragon. I know my son would just love him.“! I will be e-mailing you shortly to work out the details.
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The 260 Speckles Monk Seal looks cute!!
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My daughter would go crazy for the Trump Elephant! Thanks!
I’d choose #1348, Caper Lamb, because she’s totally sweet and just the right size for Baby.
The Lil’ Phantom Snowy Owl has just captured my heart!
1913 Bobby Beage pup
Oooh, I LOVE 1895 Mischa Orange Tiger Cat. God bless you.
The giant olive dragon is awesome.
I tweeted: qwills2cats
I think the kids would all agree with the choice of the Marshmallow Polar Bear!
I like Hambone Pig!
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I like the 3773 Elwood Emperor Penguin Chick! Thank you!!
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I would choose earnest the ferrit for my daughter and a monkey for me, we love, love your plush stuffies- [couldn't pick just one] they are ALL so cute..
I like Bernie the Beagle and Noser. Too many cute guys to pick from! Thanks for the giveaway!
I love Mo Floppy Monkey!
My favortie is the stuffed Mermaid. My daughter loves mermaids and fairies. THanks for the chance.
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The 729 Jade Blue Dragon is pretty cool
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I like the Tasha Himalayan Cat.
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Edison Owl is my favorite one.Thanks!
I would choose the mo flo monkey or the trump elephant-so cute!
I like Gabriel Gorilla.
My daughter would love 319 Swift River Poseable Paint Horse!
The jewel Poseable Unicorn is kind of cute
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There are so many cute animals to pick from. When I saw they had a goat I just knew I had to choose that. Buffy Baby Goat is so cute and would be prefect to give my expectant niece who raises goats.
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I love the 2459 Sherman Golden Retriever.. my son loves dogs
1852 James Black Lab
Love the Gretel red dachsund
Bangles Beagle is adorable! We want to get a beagle some day.
The Dolly Blue Dolphin is my daughter’s fave… she loves the dolphins at Sea World, but we’ve escaped the gift shops thus far to require bringing any home!
I like the Max Black Lab
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Wow, what an awesome assortment of stuffed toys! And very hard to choose just one…although Hermy the Hermit Crab with Shell is my choice. Thanks for the chance!
I like the 2030 Puzzle Calico Cat!
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I love the Abracadabra Unicorn!
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I like the 491 Max Black Lab.
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My kids would love the 2466 Duncan Springer Spaniel.
I love the meerkat! How cute