We know. The holiday shopping season seems to arrive earlier every single year.
But if your little Disney fan has already started working on that very important wish list for Santa, there are a few familiar faces getting ready to make a particularly adorable push for a spot underneath the tree.
Stitch, Minnie Mouse, Winnie the Pooh and Marie are getting ready for the holidays as JAKKS Pacific puts its Disney Darlings doll line at the center of a new marketing campaign running through Christmas in the U.S. and Europe.
And these little Disney babies already have quite the head start.
Disney Darlings originally launched in the U.S. in fall 2025, introducing some familiar Disney characters as interactive baby dolls designed for children ages 2 and older. According to Kids Industries, the dolls quickly sold out, and continued demand is now helping drive the line’s expansion into the U.K. and a much larger holiday campaign.
For parents beginning to think about what might end up on this year’s holiday toy lists, there will be seven Disney Darlings products included in the campaign. The core collection features Stitch, Minnie, Winnie the Pooh and Marie, alongside exclusive Stitch and Minnie dolls and a special Winnie the Pooh Birthday doll.
That is quite the little Disney nursery.
It also gives the collection an interesting mix of characters rather than pulling everyone from a single corner of the Disney library. Minnie brings classic Disney magic, Pooh has generations of family familiarity behind him, Marie adds a little “The Aristocats” charm and Stitch continues to be, well, Stitch. Apparently causing chaos across Hawaii wasn’t enough for him. Now he wants a place under your Christmas tree too.
JAKKS Pacific has appointed kids and family agency Kids Industries to lead the new campaign, which launches now and will continue through Christmas across the U.K., Germany, France and Spain, alongside activity in the U.S.
The campaign is built around a “Happiness Glows” theme, playing into JAKKS Pacific’s positioning of Disney Darlings as the “happiest baby dolls in the world.” The idea is that playing with a Disney Darling creates happiness for children, with that joy represented through the campaign as a visible glow.
Rather than relying heavily on traditional influencer marketing, Kids Industries says it has created a large amount of user-generated-style content featuring real children. The campaign will stretch across social media, digital advertising, connected television, search and interactive experiences as JAKKS looks to reach both parents shopping for toys and the kids who might be adding them to their lists.
That means parents could encounter Disney Darlings across TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, while children will see the campaign through digital and connected-TV platforms including YouTube and Disney+. France will also include Gulli, with an online and in-app playable game allowing kids to wave a doll’s wand to trigger a trailer tied to the “Happiness Glows” campaign.
Toy advertising might look considerably different from the days when a television commercial during Saturday morning cartoons could do most of the work, but the goal remains very familiar.
Make kids fall in love with a toy.
Then make sure the grown-ups know exactly what it is when that name inevitably appears on a holiday wish list.
And Disney Darlings have one considerable advantage going into their second holiday season: children already know these characters. Stitch, Minnie, Pooh and Marie aren’t strangers asking for room in the toy box. They’re familiar Disney friends being reimagined in a form built around nurturing and imaginative play for younger children.
After selling out following their U.S. launch, JAKKS Pacific is clearly preparing Disney Darlings for a considerably larger holiday season this time around.
So if you have a little Disney fan in the house, you might want to learn the name before the Christmas list arrives.
Stitch, Minnie, Pooh and Marie are ready for the holidays.
And apparently they’re bringing the happiest little nursery on earth with them.