Barbie is probably the most recognizable and successful brand of dolls out there, and it played a big part of our childhood and our continued love of dolls. There was just something about Barbie that was really special and inspired many years of fun while playing with the dolls. As we got older we still always looked at the Barbie aisles in the stores, and even though the line has changed over the years it is still fun to see what is new. It is neat how the dolls can still be enjoyable, even if it is in a different way, whether it was imaginative play when we were younger or just something really pretty to look at on a shelf now. Either way the dolls meant and still mean a lot to us.
I have a lot of really fond memories of our Barbie doll games. Jen and I had games that could span months at a time and we also enjoyed playing with our cousins and our neighborhood friends on occasion. We really liked making the dolls into characters from our favorite TV shows (Ocean Girl and Hercules/Xena/Sinbad were some of our longest and most involved games) and acting out different storylines. We liked making clothes for them, styling their hair, doing their make-up, and (regrettably since they didn't hold up well over time) giving them tattoos with permanent marker. Although we had a lot of different clothing and playsets, we really enjoyed making our own, such as crafting food items out of clay, scrap material into outfits, or turning an air hockey table into a room or a cardboard box into a ship. Looking back, some of our games were really out there and sound crazy to talk about now, but they were really a lot of fun and we enjoyed playing with the dolls very much.
We still enjoy looking through the dolls we have from our childhood every once in awhile. In fact, while trying to identify the ones we had for this section, we spent an entire weekend and almost a full week of evenings afterwards trying to figure out who each doll was and redressing them. Although it took a long time it was really fun to just sit and play around with them again. We also enjoy adding to our small collection of dolls we've collected as adults. We like to collect dolls that we had or remembered from childhood that didn't hold up well (due to the bad haircuts or tattoos that we gave them), as well as dolls that appeal to us now such as the Fashionista Ken line. We didn't have too many Ken dolls growing up and we love the look of the Kens that are out now. They are much more fashionable than most of the ones we had when we were younger!
One of my favorite things with the dolls is that we now have room to display our old barbie house. For Christmas one year our parents made a beautiful customized house for our dolls. Our dad made the house and many pieces of furniture out of wood, and our mom made all the beds and bedding out of yarn and fabric. It is so perfect, from the little pool table with pool cues, to the bunk bed with ladder and matching quilts, to the kitchen cabinets and refrigerator that open and close, to the shiny silver mirror on the bedroom dresser. They did such an amazing job and it all came together so beautifully. We love that we can keep it up all the time now, and we have the Fashionista Kens now living in it, with a shelf above with our newer barbie collection set up.
In addition to the fashion dolls, we also collected the Happy Meal Barbies from McDonald's, which were mini versions of some of the more popular Barbies in the main line. We also have some paper dolls, colorforms, and even a Barbie and the Rockers cassette tape. For the barbie playsets, we had quite a few including a Barbie and the Rockers van, playground, movie theatre, pop-up house, hot dog stand, and many others, although we donated several of the larger pieces to save space to store them. We definitely had a lot of fun playing with the Barbie cars, horses, and especially the pools.
Barbie dolls are very special to me and I definitely feel nostalgic when I think about all the long summer days where we would spend hours upon hours playing with them together. I am really glad that Barbie is still around, since it seems like kids nowadays don't place as much importance on toys and dolls as kids in the 80's and 90's did. I hope that the changes that Mattel continues to make to the line (such as the variety of heights, body shapes, and hair styles and colors) will inspire people to get back into Barbie, because it is a very worthwhile hobby to have whether you love to play or collect.
Our Collection
Barbie
1996 Happy Holiday Barbie (x2)
35th Anniversary Special Edition Reproduction of Original 1959 Barbie Doll (x2)
Air Force Barbie (x2)
All American Barbie
American Stories Collection Civil War Nurse Barbie
American Stories Collection Pioneer Barbie
Astronaut Barbie
Bath Magic Barbie
Birthday Fun at McDonalds Barbie
Caboodles Barbie
Class of 2002 Barbie
Cut and Style Barbie (blonde)
Cut and Style (brunette)
Dance Moves Barbie
Feeling Fun Barbie
Glitter Beach Barbie
Gymnast Barbie
Hawaii Barbie
Hot Skatin' Barbie
Ice Capades Barbie
International Pen Friend Barbie
Jewel Secrets Barbie
Malt Shoppe Barbie (x2)
My First Barbie (1984)
My First Barbie (1986)
Paint N' Dazzle Barbie (blonde)
Paint N' Dazzle Barbie (brunette)
Paint N' Dazzle Barbie (red hair) (x2)
Perfume Pretty Barbie
Pretty Surprise Barbie
Rappin' Rockin' Barbie
Sharin' Sisters Barbie
Shoppin' Fun Barbie
Sun Sensation Barbie
Sunflower Barbie
Superstar Barbie
Teacher Barbie (with baby boy and girl)
Totally Hair Barbie
Totally Hair Barbie (25th Anniversary)
Troll Barbie
Tropical Splash Barbie
Unknown Barbie (x2)
Ken
Air Force Ken (x2)
Big Brother Ken and Baby Brother Tommy
Fashionista Ken Cutie
Fashionista Ken Hottie
Fashionista Ken Sporty
Hot Skatin' Ken
Jewel Secrets Ken
Palm Beach Ken
Shaving Fun Ken
Totally Cool Ken
Tropical Ken
Wet 'n Wild Ken
Skipper and Friends
Babysitter Courtney (with baby)
Babysitter Skipper (with baby)
Babysitter Skipper (with three babies)
Basketball Kevin
Glitter Beach Skipper
Hawaiian Fun Skipper
Homecoming Queen Skipper
Hot Stuff Skipper
Kevin Cool Teen Boyfriend of Skipper
Pet Pals Courtney
Pet Pals Kevin
Pet Pals Skipper
Sharin' Sisters Skipper
Teen Fun Skipper
Tropical Skipper
Stacie and Friends
Birthday Fun at McDonalds Stacie
Birthday Fun at McDonalds Todd
Happy Meal Stacie
Happy Meal Todd
Happy Meal Whitney
Party 'n Play Stacie
Party 'n Play Todd
Sharin' Sisters Stacie
Stacie and Butterfly Pony
Stacie Littlest Sister of Barbie
Wedding Party Todd
Kelly and Friends
Big Brother Ken and Baby Brother Tommy
I Love Lucy (Lucy Gets a Paris Gown) Ethel
I Love Lucy (Lucy Gets a Paris Gown) Lucy
Kelly New Baby Sister of Barbie (x2)
Li'l Friends of Kelly Chelsie
Li'l Friends of Kelly Melody
Shoppin' Fun Kelly
The Heart Family
Baby Cousins Baby Girl
Baby Cousins Boy and Tricycle
Baby Cousins Honey and Highchair
Baby Cousins Janet and Potty Chair
Neighborhood Kids Daria and Desk
The Heart Family Baby Girl
The Heart Family Dad
The Heart Family Mom
Sunshine Fun Pals Baby Girl
Sunshine Fun Pals Baby Boy
Visits Disneyland: Baby Girl
Visits Disneyland: Donald Duck Boat and Girl
Visits Disneyland: Minnie Mouse Car and Girl (x2)
Visits Disneyland: Mom
Visits Disneyland: Pluto Plane and Girl
Friends of Barbie
All American Teresa
Animal Lovin' Nikki
Barbie and the Rockers Diva
Cheerleader Jazzie
Dance Moves Teresa
Glitter Beach Jazzie
Glitter Beach Teresa
Jewel Secrets Whitney
Sun Lovin' Jazzie
Swim Suit Jazzie
Tropical Splash Teresa
Unknown Jazzie
Wedding Party Midge
Wedding Party Alan
Western Fun Nia
Others (not official Mattel)
90210 Brandon Walsh (x2)
90210 Brenda Walsh (x2)
90210 Donna Martin
90210 Dylan McKay
90210 Kelly Taylor
Anastasia Anya
Anastasia Dimitri
Ballerina Maxie
Elvis Presley Jailhouse Rock
Elvis Presley Teen Idol
High School Musical Ryan
Jem and the Holograms Jem
Sweet Valley High Campus Cool Elizabeth
Sweet Valley High Campus Cool Jessica
Disney
Aladdin (x2)
Ariel (1990 Tyco) (x2)
Ariel (1992 Tyco)
Aurora
Beast (x2)
Belle (x2)
Eric
Fashion Secrets Megara
Golden Glow Hercules
Jasmine (x2)
The Beautiful Bride Ariel
The Wedding of Cinderella Prince Charming
Photos
2018