Today I stopped by ToysRUs to buy my granddaughter a belated birthday gift. I got her the cutest little talking Dora doll. I walked down the Barbie aisle and there were sale signs all over. There were two promotions. One was spend $30 on Barbie doll or accessories, and get $10 off (Collector dolls not included). Now how could I pass that up. I was good though, I only walked out with two dolls. They are both part of the new Barbie Life series. I like the Midge as is. The other dolls are a little too cartoonish for my taste, but the articulated bodies and the clothes are a plus.
The bodies are different than the fashionista bodies. The vinyl is better quality, but I'm still on the fence as to whether the bodies are better. The clothes are nicer. The jackets are separate from the outfit. Both outfits are one piece, and Racquelle's black leggings are separate. These dolls come with real lashes. I am not crazy about the look on Racquelle's face, but she has the most luxurious feeling hair. I wish I could transfer the hair to another doll. I am ecstatic about her cute little outfit and her handbag is nice.
I almost forgot to tell you about the second ToysRUs promo. It was buy one doll and get one for 40% off. Chances are Collectibles aren't included, but I can't be sure.
Now, I have a funny story for you. Last week my boyfriend spent a week in NY with his 6 yr old niece, Briana, and her 10 yr old brother. I met Briana last year when she was 5. Talk about drama queen! Capital D. Capital Q. I felt like I was dealing with a 12 yr old. So much attitude and personality. Anyway, my boyfriend showed her my videos and my blog during his visit. She called me near the end of his visit to say she wanted to buy some dolls. I told her I had a few dolls I could just send her. She told me to make sure they were black dolls. The day after my boyfriend returned home, he got a call from his brother, stating that Briana had thrown away all of her Barbie dolls. When asked why, she said because they were all white, and she wanted black dolls like I had. I had no idea that none of her dolls were black dolls. So, initially I had selected three dolls to send to Briana. I have increased it to seven. They are dressed and ready to go. I included the Spongebob I found at the local thrift store, because my boyfriend said they watched a lot of Spongebob while he was there.
Hopefully she will be happy with her new dolls. If not, I'm sure I will hear about it from the drama queen herself.
Awwe I hope she really enjoys her new dolls, Cant wait to get the new midge, she's my fav!
ReplyDeleteYellow Apple Crafts - I love that new Midge, too. I'm a sucker for a redhead.
DeletePues vere si hay alguna oferta en tiendas comerciales, aca en Mexico, lo que no venden son dolls negras, y en cuanto al regalo, seguro estara contenta.
ReplyDeletelindaivette - Buena suerte para encontrar estas muñecas. Es una pena que no se venden muñecas negras en México. Parece muy extraño para mí.
DeleteVenden solo un modelo, fashonista, o sera que en mi zona, somos muy pobres y solo compramos playline economicas, me gustaria que nos pusieramos de acuerdo y me mandaras algunas, como ves?
DeleteSo cute!
ReplyDeleteOh by the way...have you thought of making her one of a kind or having someone else do it?
DeleteGrandmommy - I thought it was hilarious, but that is Briana.
DeleteYou are so lucky to have a Toys R Us near you! I went to Target in Gainesville on Monday looking for the Midge doll. They didn't have her, but I got the Barbie. I figured she'd be perfect for Amber's ditzy sister. LOL Hope Brianna likes her new dolls.
ReplyDelete:-)
Cindi - There's no TRU in Gainesville? That's strange. Hope you find Midge. She's a very nice doll.
DeleteNope. No TRU in Gainesville. Closest one is in Buford down from the Mall of Georgia. :-(
Deletethese are great i love them!and yea lucky you have near toys r us :P :D
ReplyDeletejassica joe - I guess I never realized how scarce TRUs are. I'm sure these dolls will show up in Walmarts and Targets at some point. Good luck finding them.
DeleteI saw these dolls at a Philly Target. The Walmarts closest to me tend to be slow getting the new dolls in so I am not sure when they'll be there. But some Target stores have them now.
DeleteThose dolls look like divas, so hopefully she'll take that into account and love them. I'm still on the fence about buying any of the new Barbies, but this has given me a new opinion on them.
ReplyDeleteVerona - Divas for the drama queen. Perfect. I didn't think I would buy any of these dolls, except for Midge, but then I really liked a couple of the outfits. I also like the little owl bag that one of the dolls is carrying. If I can find that one for under $10, I will get it. I need quite a few articulated bodies for some of the Barbie Basics I bought on sale a few months ago.
DeleteI seen these at my local toys r us and thought wow mattel stepped up their game when it came to the clothes! I didnt get any of these dolls but i did put them on my list for posible future buys! I just hope the ken and ryan dolls look just as good!
ReplyDeleteWilliam - Yes, it was nice not seeing half an outfit. I'm anxious to get the black and white dress on another doll. Hopefully they will fully articulate the guys, too.
DeleteOther than Midge, I'm feeling exactly about these Barbie Life dolls as I did about the Stardolls. I'm waiting until these go on deep clearance because their faces do nothing for me. Even their being articulated isn't swaying me.
ReplyDeleteThat is a nice assortment you are sending her. Is their a reason you have chosen not to give her one that is fully articulated or you think she'll be rough with it? I'm always screaming for articulation but I wonder if kids her age would break one just by looking at it.
Muff - I need at least 5 articulated bodies for dolls I already have, so buying the Life dolls is better than buying the fashionistas because of the extra clothes.
DeleteI don't have enough articulated bodies for myself. This is a way to get rid of all the non articulated bodies I have laying around. They are all click knees and able to sit. Articulation isn't that important when they are this age.
I wish those dolls reach Portugal soon, I can't wait to have that Midge! And I just wanted to be near the Drama Queen to ask her if she wanted to give me her white dolls, as I don't mind their color XD
ReplyDeleteV - I hope they get to Portugal soon, too. Briana's parent's really should have given her black dolls along with her white dolls. No excuse for not doing so. Briana is making a strong statement to her parents. I'm sure she wouldn't mind her white dolls if she also had black dolls to play with. She is really astute and intelligent beyond her 6 yrs. Her parents will think twice about only buying her white dolls again.
DeleteThanks for the info about the TRU sale.
ReplyDeleteBriana is a little woman who knows what she wants. It would be wonderful if you had an extra Only Hearts Club Briana Joy to send her. She would probably love owning a doll that shares her name.
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DBG - Unfortunately, I only had one extra Briana Joy and she sold before I decided to do this.
DeleteThanks for the heads up about the Toys R Us sale. I'll be there tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful to see what an impact your videos have on kids. I think you gave Briana a wake up call and helped her value her own identity. I know black male dolls are really hard to come by but if you have any you can spare, it would probably be really good for her to have one who can represent the special men in her life like her uncle.
limbe dolls - I don't have any extra male dolls to send, but I thought about just getting one of the AA male beach dolls from Walmart to send to her. I will say that she is very lucky to not only have a wonderful uncle, but to have a doting father, who not only lives with her, but who spends an incredible amount of time with her.
DeleteThrowing away dolls because they were white seems a bit too radical solution for me, imagine same situation but with inversed colors, what would you think? I understand why she did it but still I can't help to feel sad about that.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about Raquelle face,pity Mattel make it like that. At least Steffie doesn't seem to be cartoonized much.
jewel snake - She is 6, and she is taking a stand. What's really sad, is that her parents didn't buy her black dolls, along with the white dolls. In this day and age, there's no excuse for this. I applaud her for taking such a radical stand. If a white child had parent's that only gave them black dolls (not very likely), I would applaud the white child if they did the same thing. It's important for all kids to see themselves represented in their play. There is a long history, here in the States, where black children only had white dolls available to play with. Many studies have been done that show the negative affect that has had on the self-esteem of the black child. Not living in the States, you may not understand how deeply rooted this problem is. So I blame the parents for not providing her dolls in her likeness.
DeleteI hope that Debbie of Black Doll Collecting will reply with a few links that further explain the history and critical nature of this issue. She is well versed in the topic and has written published articles on this very topic.
jewel snake - P.S. Your dolls shipped out yesterday. Please let me know when they arrive. Thanks.
Delete"What's really sad, is that her parents didn't buy her black dolls, along with the white dolls." - Yes, I think so too, especially that there is so many beautiul doll lines, such as So in Style, so there are plenty to choose from. I can't understand why her parents didn't buy her any. You're right about me looking at things from a distance, so I don't know whole situation. I commented like that because I grew up in communist country where we didn't have any choice, and as a childeren we were happy to have any doll at all. Black or Asian dolls were only our dreams. As a kid I had just two Barbies,one white and one Asian, both I got in my early teen age,in post communism times. To buy them my parents needed to get special bons or pay in american dollars. Any child from my generation would never thrown out a doll, doesn't matter how ugly it would be.Unfortunately I still see things from this old point of view, can't learn that now are such times when kid can trow out a toy because will get another one. Hope you understand what I mean, and don't feel offended.
DeleteThank you so much! I'm sorry, didn't checked my email box lately.
jewel snake - I told you I never get offended by your comments. I love having conversations because it's the best way for us to learn about each other's cultures. Thanks for sharing your story. I can see how you would be very passionate about this topic. Briana's parents are quite affluent, so money is no object, so they have no excuse in my book.
DeleteKeep the great, heated comments coming. I welcome them.
Thanks for the news about the Toys R Us sale. Congrats on your purchases - the fashions do look nicer than usual. I rather like Raquelle's quirky mouth - I'm probably one of the few that do like her face. I'm looking forward to seeing the newer bodies.
ReplyDeleteThat's kind to give Briana new dolls. You gave her a nice selection - varying faces and sizes. And hey, you got to reduce your collection ... nice all round ;-)
D7ana - I've seen that Racquelle in some dios and she doesn't look too bad. It is nice to see a little variety.
DeleteHello from Spain: I'm sure your boyfriend's daughter will be happy to receive all these black dolls. She is very cute. I also I have to Midge and to Raquelle. I love this collection. Keep in touch
ReplyDeleteMarta - It's my boyfriend's niece. I enjoyed your Midge post. I'm looking forward to seeing your Racquelle.
DeleteI wasn't even aware of this new series! Hope we get them here too. I actually like them both, although I can't really see Midge as a *Midge* with the Steffi mold. I like the idea of passing on part of the collection to the new generation too. :)
ReplyDeleteAnderson's All-Purpose - Yes, there are a total of 5 dolls. Check them out on the internet. There are some other cute outfits and handbags.
DeleteI normally don't read what others comments but I knew I had to read these. I am glad you sent her the dolls! I guess since he got a call, her parent must feel some kinda way about the doll thing! None of her other friends had black dolls? She might have wanted them if she saw theirs. With birthdays and holidays, no had given her a black doll either? Sad!
ReplyDeleteMs. Leo - Sorry for the late reply. I read this comment a long time ago, but couldn't respond at the time and totally forgot to come back. Brianna was ecstatic to get the new dolls. I really don't know how she didn't get any black dolls given to her. The next time I talk to her father, I will definitely ask that question.
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