Christmas is here again...well, it's not. But the dolls are!

  As usual the stores are way ahead of the holidays. It's not even Halloween yet, and the Christmas dolls are already showing up in stores. I recently saw all the new Holiday Barbies, (and Ken too these days!), at Meijer. 

  There's the required blonde Barbie.

  There's the African American/Black Barbie.

   And there's the Hispanic Barbie.

And lastly, there is Ken.

  I have never been much for blonde hair, or the blank expression of  most playline Barbies. This Holiday Barbie is no exception. I much prefer the more interesting face of the Black Barbie. I don't think this year's Hispanic Barbie is that attractive, so Black Barbie is my favourite this year. That frequently happens, although  there have been some pretty Hispanic Holiday Barbies over the years too. As for Ken, I don't like his hair, and he's one of those No Socks guys, (with a tuxedo?!),which I also can't get behind, so I can live without him. 

  Actually, I have never been into these big dress Barbies most of the time either. I have liked a lot of the collector Barbies with 'big dresses', but those were a bit more detailed than the playline dolls. It just seemed they put more time into the designs of the collector ones, which makes sense. But, as I say, I have never been that into the Big Dress Barbies, I am much more likely to be interested in the sweater Christmas Barbies, like this year's doll.

  

  This doll looks cozy and comfortable, which appeals to me. I think those are supposed to be pajama bottoms. Wearing your PJs all day on Christmas is allowed. Emma has planned for us all to wear matching Muppet Christmas Carol pajamas this year. That should be interesting. I'm five feet tall, and just about as wide, so we'll see if I can walk with extra long legs on the bottoms, or even pull the bottoms up.

  For those who missed the Christmas Mariah Carey doll, she's available at Ollie's again this year.

  There has been a bit going on around here. Ken spent a few days in the hospital recently, because of another UTI. He will never learn to listen to me when I tell him he's not drinking enough water. I have been busy wrapping Christmas presents, and have almost all my shopping wrapped already, including the stocking stuff. That sounds good, but a few years ago I had all my presents wrapped before December, and I just didn't feel Christmassy in December! On the other hand, I have been passing the wrapped presents off to Emma as I had them done, and now I don't have to haul  loads of presents out to the car in the cold and ice of winter, and tote them to Emma's house, where I reverse the process and tote them into her house in the snow and cold. So there is a positive too.

  There will be another post soon on some more doll releases of the Christmas season, plus some Halloween musings too. See you soon.

mmmmmmmm

Doll-A-Day 2023 #344: Santa's Helper Barbie

   Before we see today's doll, I just wanted to mention, for those who read yesterday's post, that my friend Cheryl's cat Ted passed away today. She is heartbroken, and could use those positive thoughts more than ever. 

  Today's doll is right in line with the season. She's Santa's Helper Barbie. 

This doll came out in 2004.

She looks sleepy.

The name of the doll is in Spanish too.

  If it wasn't for the blurriness of the photo I took, you could read the poem on the back of the box.

I liked the Christmas Barbies in the seasonal sweaters. Those outfits were pretty sought after. I don't think anybody is on a hurry for the Santa's Helper outfit The hat is nice though.

  See you again tomorrow.

Doll-A-Day 2023 #322: Holiday Angel Deirdre

   Okay. Yesterday's doll was pretty creepy. Nothing evil today! Today we're feeling Christmassy. The doll for today is Holiday Angel Deidre.

Not only is she a dolls, she's a tree ornament, as it says on her box.

  

 Although she's Deirdre, it says Kelly above her head. That's because she was a Kelly friend. The dolls were made in 2004. The series was holiday themed, and also included Holiday Party Kelly, Winter Treat Becky, and Mistletoe Kisses Tommy. Ivy had Becky.

  

  Fuzz, who had just about every Tommy, had Mistletoe Kisses Tommy, but I had to remove the kiss from his face with nail polish remover.

  Deirdre has a sweet Kelly doll face, and a halo.

I love her big brown eyes.

  Her costume was a purple and white angel robe, with wings.

 

  As I recall, the dolls' outfits had ribbons on them to hang the dolls by. 

 This doll survived the drenching of the Room of Water, but she was in a cardboard box, which got wet. As a consequence her box got a bit mildewy. She was saved in the nick of time. Her box is even okay. 

  That's the doll for today. See you again tomorrow.

Doll-A-Day 2023 #150: Arne Hasle Nisse Dolls or Haslenissen

   Yes, this is yesterday's post. You'll get one today too. Yesterday we left early in the  morning and were gone all day. I did a lot of driving yesterday, and when we got home it was very late. Frankly, I was just too tired to post. I took a shower and laid down to watch some YouTube with Ken. I fell asleep before we had gotten very far into that. But eventually I'll tell you what we were doing yesterday, and all about the doll I photographed while we were out. This late post will have been worth it.

  So since I have two posts to do in one day today, plus work on something else, this will be a quick post to show you a couple of interesting dolls I saw at an antique mall. They're Nisse dolls by Arne Hasle.

This guy's white eyebrows kill me. The short pants and stockings are traditional Nisse garb.

A woolen sweater, usually belted at the waist, as was the traditional farmer's, is also traditional for a Nisse. These were fairly large guys, maybe  16 or18 inches tall.

    They are by Arne Hasle. They're described on the dealer's tag as troll dolls, but I think they look more like gnomes.

  They are what's called 'Nisse' dolls. Nisse is the Danish name for a being from Nordic folklore. (The Norwegian name is actually Tomte, but the most common name, and the name the dolls seem to go by, is Nisse.) Nisse are supposed to be short, with long white beards and pointed knit caps. They are associated strongly with the Winter Solstice, and Christmas. Nisse were supposed to live in farm houses or barns, and be sort of guardians, protecting the farm and livestock from evil and bad luck. But if they were insulted or offended, they would punish the offender by playing tricks, stealing things, or even killing the farm animals! The tradition is to leave the Nisse a bowl of porridge on Christmas Eve, They sound sort of like the usual description of elves, except I don't remember ever reading of the bite of an elf being poisonous! After the Christianization of Scandinavia the Nisse became seen as evil spirits, having a connection  with the Devil. Those who believed in the Tomte, or Nisse could be accused of believing in false gods. Those with a Nisse on their farm could also be accused of luring the Nisse there with heathen ceremonies. (Okay. Are you allowed to believe in the Nisse or not? If you can't believe in the Nisse without being under the power of the Devil, then how can you accuse someone of being evil because they have a Nisse on their farm? To do that, you must believe in the Nisse, in which case you are in league with the Devil too! You can't have it both ways!)

  Arne Hasle still sells Nisse dolls. On their website,  (They do offer English translation.), they call them Haslenissen. The first Haslenissen were made in 1958 by Arne Hasle and his wife, Solveig. Arne was an engineer, and knew about latex and PVC. (The early dolls were made of latex, and today can become sticky as the latex breaks down.) Solveig  had attended the Norwegian Academy of Art and Design, and she helped with the traditional costuming of the dolls. The dolls were popular in the 1970's,and became popular Christmas decor, but the Arne Hasle company eventually discontinued the dolls and went on to make...wait for it!...boats! Arne Hasle is a kayak, boats, and boat supply company in Norway, and is, in fact, the only manufacturer of canoes and kayaks in Norway. In 2018 Arne Hasle's granddaughter presented a small new collection of Nisse dolls for sale. Today the dolls are still made, and available from Arne Hasle, (the company, not the guy.). Their slogan is "No Christmas without Haslenissen!". 

  Those are the dolls for...yesterday! Check in later today for today's dolls, and I'll also, of course, see you again tomorrow. 

Doll-A-Day 2019 #356: Christmas Barbies

  The girls and I went Christmas shopping today,mainly to Grampa's Cheesebarn to pick up a few 'cheesy comestibles'. After staying up VERY late last night finishing the review of Maru and Friends new boy doll,Coy,I'm going with a simple post today. When I went through some of our old doll show tubs recently,I came across a bunch of Holiday and winter themed Barbie dolls. I thought it was a good time to show them to you. And remember,these dolls are all available if you spot one you like! I need the space!
  First of all are these Christmas Barbies.

Holiday Treats Barbie from 1997,1994's Caroling Fun Barbie,and Holiday Dreams Barbie from 1994.

These dolls are all play dolls that were often available at grocery stores and discount stores around the holiday season.
 

 

The other two aren't that common to find around here,but I find Caroling Fun's clothes, at least, all the time.

Holiday Treats was also available as an African American...

...and the hardest to find version, the brunette.

Her box says 'Fiesta',so you know she's...Hispanic?

The next two dolls were sold by Hallmark.

Holiday Sensation Barbie was sold in 1998. She's dressed and coiffed like a 1940's lady. She was part of the 'Holiday Homecoming series'. Many of the holiday Barbies that Hallmark produced were part of that series.

She has the beautiful Mackie face sculpt.

Victorian Elegance Barbie was sold by Hallmark in 1994.

Winter Princess Barbie was made in 1993. She wasn't specifically a Holiday Barbie, but she was a 'big dress' Barbie,clothed for Winter,so that gets her in this post

She was the first,I believe, in the series of Winter Princess Barbie dolls.

  Those are today's dolls. I'll see you tomorrow for the next doll.

Doll-A-Day 2019 #329: Effanbee Punkin as Holly from The Story of Holly and Ivy

Today's doll is this little girl.

Or should I say, 'doll'? Because she's not meant to depict a little girl. She's meant to be the doll named Holly,from the children's book, "The Story of Holly and Ivy", by Rumer Godden.

Originally published in 1958, it was named one of the Top 100 Children's Books of All Time by The Boston Parents Paper.

Ivy loved the book when she was little. We read it many times. It was one of her very favourites, which was special to me, because it had been one of my favourite books when I was a little kid. In fact, the copy we read was my childhood book. You may have read my review of it HERE. One year I decided to make ivy a Holly doll. I searched online for a doll that would be appropriate. The doll I got doesn't completely satisfy me, (She's a little stubby and her face isn't right.),but the internet wasn't as full of things then as it is now. If I were making Holly now I'm sure I could find a better doll. The doll I chose was this Effanbee doll. I think she's made with the 'Punkin' head sculpt.

She's marked 1966.

This doll isn't very accurate to the description of Holly in the book. She's supposed to be 10 inches tall,(Ok,close. This girl is 11 inches tall.),and 'carefully jointed',with 'real golden hair',and BROWN glass eyes, and 'teeth like tiny china pearls'.
I needed a doll who started out with a dress I could turn into Holly's dress. I have no idea which Effanbee doll this girl really is,and the only picture I could find of her in her original state was an auction photo,so I apologize for using someone else's photo.

 

The seller had no idea who she is either. If any of you know,leave a comment.
  I'm not much good at sewing,and sleeves are something I have never mastered. Of course, Ivy gave me lots of practice later on,as she had to have Halloween costumes that were usually 'pretty dresses'. I still can't claim to have gotten very good at it. This doll had blonde hair and a dark red dress with puffed sleeves,like the illustrations by Adrienne Adams in our book.
 

 The only problem was, she had a stand up lace neck on her dress, as well as a built in white pinafore that reached her feet,as did the skirt of her dress. I could take off the lace at the neck,remove the pinafore,and shorten the dress though. I also had to add the waistband,the piece of holly at the waist. Now that I look at the illustrations again, that holly at the waist is not from the book, but the animated TV special.

 

The animated special first aired in December of 1991. Emma was six months old,and I taped it so she could watch it when she was older. Good thing, because years later I had Ivy, who loved the book.
   I also needed to add a white, lace trimmed Peter Pan collar,which I did very poorly!

It's so crooked!

But I did make the collar from scratch. I think I also gave her a bit of a haircut.

She also needed red shoes,green knee socks and a green petticoat. I couldn't find any shoes to fit her,so Ivy got her shoeless. Shoeless dolls seem to be a thing in my collection too. These days I would try to make her some shoes,but then it didn't occur to me that it was possible. I did find a pair of white doll socks and tried to dye them green. They are nylon socks, so it didn't take very well. The green petticoat was just green tulle on a piece of elastic waistband,but I didn't do that very well either.

Her petticoat actually looks green here. In some of the illustrations it appears to be white,but the description in the book says green.

 

Looking at the illustrations now I see that she also should have had a little short sleeve jacket over her dress. I don't know how I left that out. I'm usually such a stickler for details. I think I made her more like the animated version. If I made her again I'd have to include the jacket with the little buttons.

She also appears to have jointed knees.

The doll I made Holly out of has sleep eyes with hard,molded lashes.

She has the Punkin head sculpt, which has a sort of concave face.

 So that's the doll for today.
 

  You can watch the animated special based on The Story of Holly and Ivy, "The Wish that Changed Christmas", HERE. I recommend the book over the TV show though. Rumer Godden,the author,wrote some other books with doll characters,including "Miss Happiness and Miss Flower" and it's sequel "Little Plum", "Impunity Jane:The Story of a Pocket Doll",and "The Doll's House". Several of her books for adults were made into films, including "The River", "The Black Narcissus", and "In This House of Brede".
   Tomorrow I pick Ivy up from college,and her room is STILL not ready! It has taken a long time to sort all her tiny doll things and pack them up accordingly. I have gotten a bit farther than just that,but that's been very time consuming. I'm nearly done with that though.
  I think we'll be seeing some of Ivy's dolls next year. I won't be doing daily posts after December 31st,but I'll be here at least once a week,if not more. I've been thinking about weekly playset posts,as well as occasional reviews and looks at dolls I come across. Ivy still has lots of interesting doll things we'll be looking at. And I have plans to renovate Emma's old room... See you tomorrow for another doll.