Parents on a budget: could Dunelm’s £4 pumpkins beat £15 Jellycats for your kids this season?

Parents juggling costumes, decorations and treats face a fresh question this autumn: which small joy delivers the biggest smiles for less.

With Halloween days away and Christmas creeping into baskets, plush toys are back on the agenda. A growing number of families are swapping premium collectables for cheaper seasonal soft toys that still feel giftable. Dunelm now has a raft of novelty plushies starting at £4, prompting a direct comparison with Jellycat’s cult designs that usually begin around £15.

What’s new at Dunelm and why people care

Dunelm has leaned into seasonal characters and pocket-money pricing. Alongside the usual menagerie of bears and giraffes, the retailer has released a Halloween mini pumpkin, themed animals in costumes, and early festive pieces like a gingerbread figure. Prices sit between £4 and £6 for most of the range, with a dog-friendly sprout toy also on shelves.

Entry price: £4. Seasonal designs: pumpkin, spider, skeleton bear, cat-as-pumpkin. Early Christmas: gingerbread at £5.

That price point matters in a tight year. Buying two or three small toys for the cost of one premium brand lets parents stretch stockings, classroom party bags or sibling gifts without losing the fun factor.

Pumpkin soft toy: size, feel and who it suits

The headliner is the palm-sized pumpkin. It measures roughly 10 cm high, 10 cm wide and 12 cm deep, filled and covered in polyester with stitched features, rosy cheeks and a friendly smile. The embroidered face means no hard eyes or buttons to worry about. At the time of writing, buyers rate it five stars from 13 reviews, with feedback praising the softness, the toddler-friendly scale and the way it doubles as an autumn decoration.

Ten centimetres tall, stitched details, £4. A pick for toddlers’ hands, mantelpiece displays and low-stress play.

The feel is plush rather than weighty, so it perches well on shelves or window ledges. Parents looking for a quick classroom raffle prize or a doorstep gift for cousins will find it easy to wrap and post.

Beyond pumpkins: the seasonal line-up

Dunelm’s novelty run continues across Halloween and into December. Here are the standouts spotted by shoppers:

• Spider soft toy (Halloween, small; budget pick)
• Bear in a skeleton outfit (themed dress-up character)
• Cat in a pumpkin outfit (mixes cute with seasonal colour)
• Elephant and giraffe minis (£4 each; evergreen animal options)
• Gingerbread character holding a candy cane (£5; early festive favourite)
• Sprout dog toy (for pets; keep separate from children’s toys)

Jellycat versus budget rivals: what you get for the money

Jellycat’s charm lies in surprising concepts—cheeses, clouds, vegetables—with signature textures and a collectible aura. That brand equity drives higher prices and an enthusiastic secondary market. Dunelm’s pitch is different: lighter, seasonal characters at prices that encourage impulse buys and multiples for siblings.

These are not like-for-like replicas. They undercut on price and aim for seasonal cheer rather than collectible status.

If your child loves the feel and whimsy of a plush vegetable or character but you plan to rotate toys with the seasons, Dunelm’s approach keeps costs down. If you value long-running collections, signature textures and specific characters, Jellycat continues to set the tone.

Safety, care and durability

For soft toys sold in the UK, check for the UKCA or CE mark and references to EN71 toy safety standards. Stitched eyes, mouths and cheeks reduce the risk of small parts detaching. Always follow age guidance, especially for children under three.

• Look for stitched features over glued embellishments.
• Check seams before gifting; give a light tug on limbs and stalks.
• Scan labels for fibre content and washing directions; spot-clean if unsure.
• Keep pet toys separate from children’s toys to avoid contamination.
• Rotate seasonal toys to limit wear and make each reappearance feel fresh.

Check for the UKCA/CE mark and EN71 compliance, then inspect seams and labels before the toy hits the play basket.

Polyester plush dries quickly and holds colour well, which helps when toys double as décor in brighter windows. A pillowcase wash on a cool, gentle cycle, followed by air drying and a quick brush with a soft clothes brush, keeps pile looking tidy.

Price pressure, timing and stock

Small seasonal toys tend to sell through quickly in the fortnight before half-term and again as December approaches. If you have a target budget, decide in advance how many pieces you want. A simple rule works: £10 buys two minis with change for a sheet of tissue wrap.

Plan for siblings to reduce squabbles. Either buy two of the same character or pick one character each within the same price band. If a favourite is gone in your local branch, check back after restock days or pivot to another seasonal character in the same size.

Who will love them

Toddlers get a soft, graspable toy that fits prams and nappy bags. Primary-age children can add seasonal characters to desk nooks without cluttering the room. Teens and grown-ups often park a pumpkin or gingerbread on a workstation for a five-second mood lift between meetings. Pets get their own chew-safe sprout—kept far from children’s baskets.

How to make small plushies work harder at home

A little planning extends value beyond the initial grin. Assign each seasonal toy a role: table place marker, windowsill guard or bookend companion. When the season passes, store them in a labelled shoe box with a sachet to keep them fresh. Next year, the reappearance feels new again, and you’ll resist buying duplicates.

If you’re aiming for learning value, fold characters into stories and counting games. A 10 cm pumpkin can become a prop for an autumn colours hunt or a positional-language game: “on the chair, under the table, beside the lamp.” For sensory breaks, the compact size works for hand squeezes and quiet fidgets during homework.

Bottom line for parents watching the pennies

This isn’t a fight between equals; it’s a choice between collection and occasion. Jellycat brings brand-led magic at a higher ticket. Dunelm’s £4 to £6 range brings seasonal delight at pocket-money prices. If you want a couple of quick mood boosters for half-term or early stockings, the pumpkin and gingerbread cover a lot of ground without denting the budget.

Two minis for around £8–£10 can fill a party bag, top a present and still leave room for sweets.

Before you head out, set a cap per child, use a one-in-one-out rule to keep shelves under control, and note care labels so the toys survive to next year. If a favourite falls out of favour, clean it and donate to a local charity shop that accepts soft toys meeting UK safety marks.