Wow! We had a blast reviewing all the aspiring doll designer submissions in our 2021 Kids Design Contest. Each entrant had a creative approach on our “make a difference” theme. We asked for your votes to help our Design Team decide and recognize winners! All the entries delighted the elves (and voters too, we can tell by the nearly 1,500 votes we received) and so it was a challenge to select only a few outstanding entries.

The elves reviewed all the submissions and tallied the votes. The Grand Prize winner’s design will be created by our design team and released as a 2022 Annalee Exclusive Collection design! Plus, the Grand Prize winner will receive a $100 gift card and the numbered #1, or the first limited edition, created from their original design. Additionally, Annalee wanted to recognize three first place winners, one per each age group: 4-7, 8-11, and 12-15. These winners are all featured below and were sent $50 gift cards. As there were so many noteworthy entries, we also recognized three honorable mentions with $10 gift cards.

We really loved every entry and were so inspired by the heartfelt creativity in these designs. A BIG thank you to our favorite kid designers who participated, and the parents and/or guardians who supported them and inspired their creativity and compassion. Without further ado, we want to congratulate 13-year old Catherine N., our Kids Design Contest Grand Prize Winner!? Check out our most-voted entry below.

Grand Prize Winner

GRAND PRIZE | Catherine N., 13 years

This is how Catherine detailed her design: “This is Ms. Jill, the child life specialist mouse. Ms. Jill is my child life specialist. She has been with me since I was 4 years old. She is there for me for every treatment day (which is every three weeks) and for all my surgeries and even to say “hi” on doctor days. She always has a huge smile and a bag with crafts or other fun things to make me smile and make my day a little easier. She helps so many kids smile and feel ok about the hospital. I have met so many other people who are child life specialists and they are all amazing. If Jill is busy or we are at a different hospital I know I can always count on the child life team to help me feel safe.”

All the elves are excited to get started on a Ms. Jill design:) Keep your eyes on your email and upcoming exclusives – the design will debut in 2022. Grand Prize winner Catherine added, “In December it will be my 10-year anniversary of infusions every three weeks and I would love to give Ms. Jill a doll to thank her for always being there for me.” We are inspired by you Catherine! Thank you for sharing your story. We are so happy to help you recognize Ms. Jill.

First Place Winner (Age 4 -7)

4-7 Age Group

FIRST PLACE | Joseph M., 7 years

This is how Joseph explained his design concept: “In this design a veteran frog in a wheelchair smiles at his grandson who is wearing his hat. The grandson smiles up at his grandfather who made a difference by serving in the Army.”

HONORABLE MENTION | Audrey B., 7 years

Audrey submitted both of these environmentally friendly designs: Scarlet (reminding us to clean up our environment) and Taylor (inspiring us to plant trees). This is how Audrey imagined Scarlet, “As you see Scarlet loves helping the world and making world peace. Did you know? Picking up trash helps the world stay clean and fresh. So next time you see trash – pick it up.” Taylor design described: Planting trees helps the world have lots of air. We breathe air. Next time you see an empty spot – plant a tree.”

Charity Mouse

8-11 Age Group

FIRST PLACE | Anthony M., 9 years

Anthony’s mouse design featured a smiling mouse with a hat that stated, “Support Our Charities.” This is how Anthony described his idea: “This picture is called the Charity Mouse and it is a picture of a Mouse giving to a charity. I want the charity to be the Jimmy Fund. Thank you.”

HONORABLE MENTION | Katherine M., 11 years

Katherine provided a great description of her concept, “This ‘Help Recycle’ doll is making a difference by loading the recycle can with cans, bottles, and paper from her house. She is wearing an orange dress and has a bow in her hair. Next to her feet she has a yellow sign that says: ‘Help the Earth and Recycle.’ She is also standing by a recycle can. in her hands she holds a model earth. She is standing in green grass with pink flowers.”

Lucy - Autistic Doll Kids Design

12-15 Age Group

FIRST PLACE | Abigail H., 12 years

Abigail shared her story and design, “My name is Abigail and I have autism. The doll that I drew is named Lucy with a theme about autism. She has a squishy that is used to squeeze in order to relax in crowded stores. Also, she has headphones for loud noises.”

We love the details in this design – Abigail really thought about the accessories that were important to her “Lucy” design.

HONORABLE MENTION | Benjamin R., 13 years

We adored Benjamin’s design, this is how he described his design, “Coral is a young girl who loves the ocean and sea life but she always finds trash in it and she wants to stop pollution from going into the ocean. Coral is protesting to help save the sea and help bring awareness to this issue.”

Benjamin also described how he came up with this idea, “I got the inspiration from my grandma because she loves the ocean and she hates when the ocean is not clean. This gave me the idea to design the doll about saving the ocean and I think that protesting helps make a difference and helps bring awareness.”