Welcome to the first in a series of 2009 ZRecs Gift Guides. Over the course of five themed sections, we'll share 60 of our favorite gift ideas from the hundreds of toys and other children's products we've evaluated and used over the past calendar year. Today, we'd like to focus on our twelve favorite lines of soft friends, the most-loved and at times most engaging toy category in our own household.


Woodours Daddy and Baby Plush Playset: Woodours dolls pack multiple textures, sounds, and patterns into eclectic designs that are fresh, colorful, and full of surprises to engage your child’s interest from early toddlerhood on. Our favorite, the Daddy and Baby Bear set, has soft toys that fit in fabric slots on each of “Daddy’s” hands, a squeaky nose, a colorful satchel with a crinkly fish and vibrating motor, and a small bear who fits inside Dad’s belly and has a rattle in his own. Kooky, cuddly, and just plain brilliant. | $30-$50, Amazon.com


Teddes: Funky, friendly, or downright freakish, the folks behind Teddes have mastered the field of sculptural, textural, artist-designed, short-run dolls - and no, we didn't know that was a field either, until they showed up. | $30-$100, Tedde.com


Folkmanis puppets: Folkmanis makes animal puppets with a level of craft, detail, and specificity that is unusual in children's plush toys. This 18" Great Horned Owl, for example, has moveable wings, leather claws, and eyes that blink; smaller animals, or one of their gorgeous dragon puppets, would be equally welcome. | $10-$50, Amazon.com


Haba Fabric Ball Miniland: You may have heard rumors that the Earth was resting on a tortoise, but it's actually suspended in the cosmic ether by your inquisitive, drooling baby. Think of Haba's recent addition to their extensive line of soft fabric infant and toddler toys as your child's first town play mat, rolled up into a portable, machine-washable object with one less side. | $20, Amazon.com


Super Zeros: Ze Super Zeroes each have a super power, but a super defect to go with it - in his case, it's a fear of heights to go along with his high-climbing abilities. The series also features a super-swimming hippo who hates to get wet, a zebra who is great at hiding but always gets lost, and a few others. Each design combines multiple textures and patterns of fabric and has a removable cape, and their oversized head makes these 9" wonders instantly lovable. Z has fallen utterly in love with this silly little monkey, and we haven't even told her his story yet. | $25, Amazon.com


Organic Sleepy Bear: This off-white, organic bear is wearing a removable organic khaki Sleepy Wrap baby carrier and can carry her infant in front or in back. The materials are soft, even luxuriant, and the baby bear nestles easily into its carrier. It's easy to forget how much young girls love playing with mother-and-child pairs; the 12" Organic Sleepy Bear is like a kangeroo and joey, updated for the babywearing generation. | $20, Heavenly Hold


Food Chain Friends: They came, they saw, they started eating each other. Food Chain Friends are the carnivorous nesting dolls of the softie world, and they'll gorge their way into your child's heart - figuratively speaking, of course. Seriously, these dolls couldn't be cuter. Your kid will go nuts. | $20-$50, Amazon.com


Tuckins: Thin stuffed animals that fit into pillow-like beds make, among other things, fantastic dolls to sleep next to. With a pig, dog, monkey, bear, cat, and bunny to choose from, their innocence and simple charm will win you and your child over faster than you can say goodnight. | $15, OddDoll.com


Kathe Kruse Mini It's Me Doll: Kathe Kruse Waldorf dolls are handmade in Germany from all-natural materials. Their 15" dolls, also handcrafted from wool, mohair, sand, and other natural materials, run a staggering $175; these 10" dolls, many of them fairy-themed, are a relative bargain, and the brand's unequalled commitment to handmade quality shines through. | $70, Amazon.com


Veggies in a Crate: Under the Nile's anthropomorphic, organic cotton vegetables (and fruit!) are a soft toy classic. | $25, Amazon.com


MiYim Organic Plush Fairytale Collection: MiYim's series of 9.5" dolls are made of organic and natural cotton, dyed with natural mineral dyes in soft colors, and lovingly dressed in cute little shirts, dresses, and overalls that happen to be made of hemp. Between the blue elephant, pink hippo, coral bunny, green frog, and white monkey, it's hard to pick one - and at $20 apiece, you won't have to. | $20, Amazon.com


Let them design their own: A credit at the Xoddo.com store for a full-sized (9") doll will run you around $33, shipping included, and it is pretty much the only stuffed creature a child over the age of eight is guaranteed to love, because they'll design it themselves. You can print the gift card on your own printer, or have them mail it to you, and a 5.5" doll option and combo of the two are offered for $23 and $50, respectively. | $23-$50, Xoddo.com

Coming up

We'll publish the next four sections of our gift guide over the next several days here on ZRecs:

• Family Play


• Classic Toys (And Some That Should Be!)


• In the Kitchen


• Educated Kid

We'll follow them up with even narrower lists of recommendations over the remaining weeks leading up to the Christmas holiday. If you like what you see, please share our links with others using the social bookmarking links or email option below!

We received many of the soft toys above from their manufacturers for review. Others we handled in person at trade shows but did not receive review samples of them. All that we did receive will be donated to charity, except one of our daughter's choice, which we will pay for in accordance with our Keep No Stuff policy. Which toy would your child pick?