Tiny Friends - Vincent the Elephant

Tiny Friends Vincent the Elephant — the smallest of the four

A small soft elephant with a bell inside, 10cm tall, with a loop on the back leg. From birth, UKCA and CE marked.

Little Big Friends make four of these — an elephant, a lion, a tiger and a giraffe — and the packaging says outright that they are meant to be collected. They are largely the same toy in four animals. Vincent is the smallest of them, at 10cm against 14cm for the giraffe, and on a toy you carry about that is the point.

🐘 Ten centimetres, which is the whole idea

This is the one that lives in the changing bag rather than on the shelf. It takes up no room next to the muslins, it goes in a coat pocket on the school run, and it is light enough that clipping it to a pram bar does not drag the bar down. If you want one small toy that is always with you, this is the one to pick of the four.

The ears help too. They are the flattest, thinnest part of any of these animals, and flat and thin is what a hand that cannot yet grip manages to catch hold of first.

🔔 A bell rather than a shaker

There is a bell built in, not a rattle full of beads, so the sound is a soft chime rather than a dry clatter. For a newborn that is the right way round: sudden noise startles, and a quiet sound they can cause 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. On the smallest of the four that matters most: a 10cm toy on the floor of a bus is a 10cm toy you have lost.

🏠 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 muted colours, so they hang off a pram or sit on a shelf without looking like clutter.

What we like about it

• The smallest of the four at 10cm — the one that actually travels
• Flat soft ears, the easiest thing here for a newborn to catch hold of
• A built-in bell, so a soft chime rather than a startling rattle
• A loop on the back leg, which matters most on the one you take out
• Smooth wipe-clean fabric throughout, so the easiest sort to keep tidy
• Suitable from birth, UKCA and CE marked

Specification

• Suitable from: birth
• Size: 10cm — the smallest 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 the sharpest on this one, because Vincent is the smallest of the four. At 10cm 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 Vincent is 19cm with a music box in him. Buy a Tiny Friend for the first few months and for the bag, 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, and on a from-birth toy that will be mouthed it is worth knowing. Vincent is smooth fabric all over, so he wipes more cleanly than the furry lion does — useful on the one that goes out of the house.

What's the difference between the four?
The animal, the height, and one real thing: Jackson the lion has a furry mane, where Vincent, Tim and Gina are smooth wipe-clean fabric. Vincent is 10cm, Tim and Jackson are 11cm, Gina the giraffe is 14cm. 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 deliberate things they do. Grabbing arrives around three to four months, usually by an ear. After that it goes in the mouth, like everything else.

Does it make a good gift?
A good small one, and the safest animal of the four to give blind — nobody has ever objected to an elephant. It posts cheaply and suits a card. The four together make an obvious present if you want to spend a bit more.

🔍 The four Tiny Friends

Same bell, same loop. Choose on size, or collect them, which is what the box suggests:

• Vincent the Elephant — this one, 10cm. The smallest, and the one that travels.
• Gina the Giraffe — 14cm, the tallest. The long neck makes her the easiest of the four to grip.
• 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.

🐒 The rest of the Jungle range

Vincent also comes bigger, and in two other forms:

• Vincent the Musical Elephant — 19cm, with a mechanical music box that plays Brahms' Lullaby
• Vincent the Pull Along Elephant — the same character for a new walker, from 12 months
• Tim the Tiger Comforter and his squeaker rattle — the flat, grabbable end of the range
• 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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