Tiny Friends - Gina the Giraffe

Tiny Friends Gina the Giraffe — the tallest of the four, and the easiest to hold

A small soft giraffe with a bell inside, 14cm tall, with a loop on the back leg. From birth, UKCA and CE marked.

Little Big Friends make four of these — a giraffe, a lion, a tiger and an elephant — and the packaging says outright that they are meant to be collected. They are the same toy in four animals, so there is no point pretending otherwise. What differs is the shape, and on a toy this size the shape is the whole thing.

🦒 Three centimetres taller, and all of it neck

Gina is 14cm against 11cm for the lion and tiger and 10cm for the elephant, and the extra is a long narrow neck. That makes her the one a very young baby manages first. Early grasping is a whole-hand business — fingers curl in, the thumb joins later — so what a three-month-old needs is something narrow enough to close a fist around. A neck is exactly that. A round body is not.

It also means she dangles well, which matters for the loop.

🔔 A bell rather than a shaker

There is a bell built into her, not a rattle full of beads, and the sound is softer for it — a gentle chime rather than a dry clatter. For a newborn that is the right way round: sudden loud noises startle, and a quiet sound they can make happen themselves is far more interesting than one that makes them jump.

🪝 The loop on the back leg

There is a fabric loop on one back leg. Little Big Friends don't say what it is for, so we won't invent a purpose — but it takes a clip or a ribbon, and we would use it on a play gym, a pram bar or a car seat handle. That turns a small toy that gets dropped into one that stays where you put it, which is most of the problem with anything this size.

🏠 Also sold as something to look at

The packaging describes these as a toy and a decorative item, which is unusual and, we think, honest. They are small, neat and in the muted colours Little Big Friends use throughout, so they sit on a shelf or hang off a pram without looking like clutter. If you want the nursery to look like a nursery rather than a toy shop, that is a real consideration.

What we like about it

• The long neck is the easiest grip of the four, for a hand that can't grip much
• A built-in bell — a soft chime rather than a startling rattle
• A loop on the back leg, so it can hang off a play gym or a pram instead of hitting the floor
• 14cm, so it goes in a coat pocket
• Small and neat enough that Little Big Friends sell it as decorative too
• Suitable from birth, UKCA and CE marked

Specification

• Suitable from: birth
• Size: 14cm — the tallest of the four Tiny Friends
• Sound: built-in bell
• Attachment: fabric loop on the back leg
• Materials: soft wipe-clean fabric
• Safety: UKCA and CE
• Care: wipe clean only

❓ Frequently asked questions

It's quite small for the money — what am I actually getting?
A fair challenge, and worth answering before you order rather than after. At 14cm this is a rattle, not a cuddly toy: something to grip, chime and hang on a pram, sized for a newborn's hand rather than a toddler's arms. If you want something to actually cuddle, the Tim the Tiger Comforter is flat and huggable, and the musical Gina is 21cm with a music box in her. Buy a Tiny Friend for the first few months and for the pram, not as the main present.

Can it be washed?
Wipe clean only — a damp cloth on the spot, dealt with promptly. That is the whole Little Big Friends range, not just this one, and on a from-birth toy that will be mouthed it is worth knowing. Keep it as a pram and play-gym toy rather than the thing that lives in the cot, and it stays presentable.

What's the difference between the four?
The animal, the height, and one real thing: Jackson the lion has a furry mane, where the other three are all wipe-clean fabric. So the lion has more texture to explore and slightly more to keep clean. Otherwise it is the same bell, the same loop and the same construction, which is why the box says they are good to collect.

From birth — what does a newborn do with it?
Listen, mostly. You shake it gently and they turn towards the sound, which is one of the first things they do deliberately. Grabbing arrives around three to four months, and this is one of the easier shapes to grab. After that it goes in the mouth, like everything else.

Does it make a good gift?
A good small one, and a good second gift. It posts cheaply, it suits a card, and it is the sort of thing people are pleased to receive a second of rather than a duplicate of something big. The four together make an obvious present for a new baby if you want to spend a bit more.

🔍 The four Tiny Friends

Same bell, same loop, same wipe-clean make. Choose on shape, or collect them, which is what the box suggests:

• Gina the Giraffe — this one, 14cm. The tallest, and the easiest of the four for a small hand to hold.
• Jackson the Lion — 11cm, and the only furry one. Two textures instead of one.
• Tim the Tiger — 11cm. Tim is the character the rest of the jungle range is built around, so he matches the most things.
• Vincent the Elephant — 10cm, the smallest. The one that disappears into a changing bag.

🐒 The rest of the Jungle range

Gina also comes bigger, and in two other forms:

• Gina the Musical Giraffe — 21cm, with a mechanical music box that plays "Hush Little Baby"
• Gina the Pull Along Giraffe — the same character for a new walker, from 12 months
• Jungle Activity Spiral — wraps round a pram bar with a mirror and a teether, if the loop idea appeals and you want more of it
• Wooden Activity Arch and the Reversible Playmat — the floor-play pair, and the arch is where the loop earns its keep
• Jungle Baby Gift Box — comforter, rattle and soft book, ready wrapped

The whole lot sits together in our Little Big Friends Jungle Collection.

Our guides to the Little Big Friends jungle collection and the best toys for babies under 6 months go into more detail.

❤️ From our family to yours

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