Grandma and Grandpa Mice in Cigarbox

Two hand-sewn cotton mice, 17cm tall, dressed in nightclothes and shoes and packed in a cigar box that works as their bed. Grandparent figures give a child someone to look after rather than be looked after by, and the nightwear and the box set up the whole bedtime sequence to be played through, which is how small children work out the routines of their own day. Dressing and undressing them is fiddly in a useful way, small sleeves and small shoes. Maileg builds its mice to standard sizes, so clothing sets sold separately fit these two. Filled with recycled polyester and PE pellets.

The cigar box is the bed, which is the best part. No dollhouse required, nothing else to buy. And they're grandparents, not babies, so the kid is the one doing the tucking in.