Melissa & Doug Giant Hippopotamus - Lifelike Stuffed Animal (over 2 feet long)

I used this hippo as one of the central props in my chorus's 2018 Christmas show themed on the popular tune: "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas." We needed a toy hippo large enough to be seen and identified as a hippo by the audience. It also had to be of meticulous design and well constructed. This hippo was exactly what we needed. I found the toy to be precisely as advertised and of exceptional quality. We held a drawing among the children in the audience and awarded the hippo to the winner at the end of the show. The attached photo shows The Grinch awarding the hippo to the 4 year-old girl who won. The photo shows her delight in receiving the hippo and provides an accurate visual gauge as to the true size of the toy. The hippo was one of the highlights of the evening! Kudos to Melissa & Doug on this quality product made in the USA!

My 6 year old son really likes getting this hippopotamus for Christmas. It’s a decent size and sturdy.

My 7 year old heard the song "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas" on the radio and went off on how stupid this was, where would you put it, we didn't have a pool. etc. I asked him if he wanted a hippo for Christmas "NO!" So I found this product and ordered it because it looked so realistic. When it arrived, I checked it out. It was very well done and had some very nice details to make it look realistic. It got wrapped and put next to the tree. When the 7 year old opened it, he was confused at first, started to cry and then go angry. He wanted nothing to do with it. Everyone else thought it was cute. By the end of the present open, it had been passed off to his 18 year old sister who loved it. Several days later he made me promise not to ever do anything like that again. I told him I could not and he will probably see more 'meant to be funny gifts'. So the gift was a failure, but the hippo is very life like, detailed and very cute. It also seems very study and well built.

Very well made. Nice soft fur and durable stuffing. Will get lots of enjoyment out of this charming stuffed animal.

I wanted a Hippopotamus for Christmas, or more accurately my grandson did. He loves all things Hippo. I didn't spot this item until two days before Chistmas (weird that it didn't come up in Hippo results and instead came up as I searched Melissa & Doug wooden puzzles as something other customers had also viewed). Thankfully Amazon, while saying it wouldn't arrive before December 27th, got it here the day before Christmas. Seriously scored some brownie points with this one, Amazon.Now about the Hippo himself. He is large. He is firmly stuffed and reinforced so that he can stand on his own legs...even with a 40 pound, estatic, 3.5 year old riding on his back. He is nicely detailed, with fat ripples right where they should be, an adorable face, and a perfect tail. He is a hefty armful for my grandson to carry; which he loves. Hippo was the almost the star of the show....but my grandson is still the cutest critter in my house.

All of the Melissa & Doug stuffed animals are top quality, but you might be tempted to pass on the hippo based on the photo. Don't! This is extremely nice, and the picture simple doesn't do justice to it. It's also the perfect size: large, but not so large as to dominate a room.

Great product highly recommend

My Aussie loves his new girlfriend!