The Luvabella Interactive Doll | A Review

My little girl has always loved playing with dolls. Just like me when I was small, she adores pretending that she is a mum to her babies, and caring for them; feeding them and pushing them in their pushchair. That nurturing role comes naturally to her and she’s so desperate to become a big sister, so for now at least, her dolls provide that role for her.

She has quite a few dolls now, including two that used to be mine, and she loves and plays with them all. However, we have just been sent a new doll, that is a bit different to all of the others, and it has fast become her very favourite and most played with.

The Luvabella doll is an interactive one that actually moves and talks and Ava fell in love with her very quickly. When you first turn her on, Luvabella starts off just making some baby noises and then the more you play with her, the more she learns, and she eventually says over 100 words and phrases. She comes with four accessories; a spoon, bottle, dummy and a Lamby toy which are all interactive.

It’s a very clever doll and Ava absolutely loves the interactive nature of her and has her with her almost constantly when she is at home. It’s so lovely watching that nurturing aspect come out of her and see her enjoying caring for her.

When you turn Luvabella on she starts to make baby babbling noises and move straight away and then she has different areas on her body with sensors that know if you are touching that area. Her eyes can sense light and dark so you can play peek-a-boo with her, and if you hold her horizontally in your arms she will move more slowly and make cooing noises, and may even fall asleep!

Ava loves to feed her doll, and regularly asks me if it is dinnertime yet so she can feed her. If Luvabella is hungry she says “eat please” or “me hungry”, and you can put the spoon to her mouth and she will open it and then make eating noises! If she is full she will turn her head away and you can burp her afterwards. You can feed her a bottle of milk and she slurps it and then falls asleep afterwards! It’s very cute.

I honestly wasn’t sure about the need for an interactive doll, with batteries, for a child. Any doll can inspire imaginative play for kids, they certainly don’t need to respond for them to roleplay with them and learn to nurture and love something. However, Luvabella really is brilliant and my daughter enjoys looking after her so much. She loves to feel like she is looking after something all by herself, and it gives her good training for when she does become a big sister! I think it would make a really special present for a child when they become a big brother or sister.

It’s such a clever doll, and the way it moves is great, but the mechanics are pretty noisy. Ava doesn’t seem to notice it or care at all but it is something that I notice quite a bit. The only other negative is the material her face and hair are made out of. It’s like a kind of rubbery plastic, which is a lot softer than the plastic that dolls are usually made out of. This is obviously so that it is flexible so she can move and it works well, it’s just that it attracts fluff and hairs quite a bit! It’s a bit annoying, but we just give her a regular wipe and it’s fine.

As I said, Luvabella’s hair is the same material, and I think Ava would prefer if it was ‘actual’ hair like on some of her other dolls, but maybe it’s a movement thing again, and I think it’s fine and probably looks better on this kind of doll.

There are three girl dolls in the range, all with different coloured hair, and there is also a Luvabeau doll which is a boy version. We have the dark brown hair Luvabella. The dolls require 4 C batteries, which are not included.

I love seeing Ava snuggled up with her doll, or watching her put her to sleep at bedtime. Although I have been asked whether I’d prefer to be called Granny or Grandma, and I have been left holding the baby a few times!

She’s a really great toy, and I can imagine she (or he) will be on lots of little girls and boys Christmas lists this year. Ava has been thoroughly spoilt with amazing toys recently, but Luvabella is the one she chooses to play with pretty much all of the time now. I think she’ll be a favourite for a long time to come.

This is a paid collaboration with Mumsnet, and we were sent a Luvabella doll to review, but all words and opinions are mine, or Ava’s. See my full disclosure policy here.