The Our Generation Advent Calendar

I'm back with the second in this year's series of advent calendar reviews!  Last week I looked at a new My Life As doll and the advent calendar from that brand, and today I'll be looking at an Our Generation doll and her advent calendar.

I was fortunate to have Lurkins write a guest review about Our Generation dolls in September of 2022, otherwise my last interaction with these toys would have been way back in 2014.  Yikes.  So, big thanks to Lurkins for keeping me reasonably up-to-date.  Still, I was eager to look at a current Our Generation character and see for myself what the quality is like.  Also, this brand has the most accessible advent calendar for 18-inch dolls on the market right now:

Our Generation doll, Aubrie ($23.99).

The My Life As Advent Calendar

It's advent calendar time again!  I had a lot of fun last year with this series, but got overly ambitious by opening ten calendars throughout December and part of January.  This year I decided to take a different approach: I'm only going to look at three calendars, each of which is geared towards a specific brand of 18-inch doll.

One of the reasons I chose this approach is that I've been neglecting 18-inch dolls lately.  I can't even remember the last time I reviewed a doll this size.  Part of that is because when we moved to New Jersey from Maine (five years ago now!), I gave away or sold most of my 18-inch dolls.  They take up a lot of space.  I miss them, though, and was eager to add a few back into my collection.

Each of the three reviews this month will take a brief look at an 18-inch doll, and a more in-depth look at her associated calendar.  Does that sound like fun?  I hope so, because I'm ready to kick things off with My Life As Peyton and her 2024 advent calendar:

My Life As Peyton, $29.88.

Polly Pocket Follow-Up: The Modern Playline Compacts

It's been a very restful Thanksgiving week for me here in New Jersey, and I was especially thankful that my son came for a visit and I didn't have to work on the holiday!  I hope that those of you who celebrate had a pleasant time as well.  I was a little stressed to come out of this week realizing that December is upon us, though!  Yikes.  That means I need to start getting my advent calendar series ready.

Between planning the advent calendar reviews and eating a lot of stuffing, I didn't have much time to pull together something new and creative for this week.  So, I decided to tie up loose ends from my last Polly Pocket review.  In that extensive post, I mentioned a few of the playline compact-style sets that are available right now, but I didn't have time to look at any of them in person.  Today I'll make up for that by showing you three of my favorites: the Monster High set, the Care Bears set, and the Hedgehog Cafe:

Polly Pocket in her Hedgehog Cafe from 2020 ($24.99).

Polly Pocket, Then and Now

I've talked about Polly Pocket dolls several times over the years.  The first time was back in 2015, when I reviewed  3.75 inch dolls from 2011 and 2012, and compared them to a Polly Pocket-themed Kinder Surprise egg that my husband generously bought for me.  More recently, I looked at the bizarrely entertaining Pop 'n Swap Pollys from 2008.  My advent calendar feature last December also included a 2024 Polly Pocket set with the smaller 1.25 inch Polly dolls.  Oh--and speaking of advent calendars, I have plans to do another advent mini series this December, but it'll be shorter and more focused than last time.

Anyway, the Polly Pocket advent calendar from last year got me thinking about the original Polly Pocket dolls--you know, the tiny little two centimeter ones that come in compact cases.  I never had any of those sets when I was a kid, and didn't purchase any as an adult collector, either, until just recently.  Today I'm going to be looking at a few sets from the late 80s and early 90s, and comparing them to similar toys from the last few years.  Because Polly Pocket is such a distinct and beloved brand, this review feels long overdue...and it's pretty long, too.  So grab a snack or a drink and settle in.

Various Polly Pocket toys, current and vintage.

Woof & Co. by Sunny Days Entertainment

I feel like I should call the last month or two of my life the Walmart Phase, because a lot of the things that I'm excited about lately are from Walmart.  And I don't shop at Walmart very often.  It all goes back to that tip about the LUV dolls being on sale for $7.50 (which they still are, btw).  While I was investigating that deal, I found about six other doll lines that were either on an irresistible clearance sale or were simply too appealing to ignore.  I really didn't need any fresh ideas for reviews, since I have enough dolls in my basement to last the rest of my life, but this is a good time of year to investigate some affordable dolls and toys that might be appealing to kids.  The Hey Besties that I just talked about would make wonderful holiday gifts, and I think the dolls in today's review would, too.

I hesitate to call the critters in today's review dolls, though.  That hesitation prompted me to look up the official definition of a doll, which is something you'd think I'd have done by now.  According to Merriam-Webster, a doll is "a small-scale figure of a human being used especially as a child's plaything."  So, yeah.  These aren't really dolls, because they're definitely not figures of human beings.  They're dogs:

Woof & Co. Finley, by Sunny Days Entertainment ($29.98).

Happy Halloween!

Damien by Living Dead Dolls.

Miniverse Make It Mini Baby Food Sets by MGA Entertainment

Thank you so much for the wonderfully kind comments about my old dog, Geordi.  We miss him, but he left the world peacefully, snuggled up on the couch in his own floofy blanket, with lots of kisses and treats.  And my other old dog, Kit, is doing really well.  He's back to running around like a puppy and harassing me for pieces of my dried mango.  So life has stabilized, and I'm happy to be back in New Jersey playing with dolls.  Today's dolls are surprise toys, so I guess this is a Sunday Surprise post, but the title was already too long to add those words.

I didn't really plan for this review, but when I saw the new Make It Mini Baby Food sets, with their tiny silicone babies, I had to act.  I recently reviewed Zuru's crazy-popular My Mini Baby dolls, and also the strange silicone Star Babies.  So I've been on a bit of a silicone baby kick.  And when I realized that MGA had thrown their hat into this ring, I figured I should see how their version of a surprise ball mini baby measures up:

Silicone baby from a Make It Mini Baby Food set, by MGA Entertainment ($10.99).

Hey Bestie Dolls by Battat

I had a fourth Wednesday Addams doll review in the works, but about halfway through photographing that doll, my enthusiasm level dropped and I got distracted by something else.  I think it's mostly because the second season of the Wednesday television show isn't as good as the first, so I kinda lost my inspiration.  I might come back and finish that review at some point, because the doll is cute, but I needed a break.

What distracted me is a collection of 5-inch dolls called Hey Bestie, sold exclusively at Walmart.  I stumbled upon them while investigating an anonymous tip that the LUV girls are on sale at Walmart for $7.50.  That's a very good deal (and is still available as I write this).

The Hey Bestie dolls are also a good deal.  Most of the characters come in pairs of two, and average about $7 each.  They're made by Battat, the Canadian company responsible for the lovely 18-inch Our Generation dolls.  I tend to like Battat's products (and their packaging) so I was excited to see another doll line from this company.  As you'll see by the end of the review, I managed to buy almost every single Hey Bestie set that's being offered right now, but the first doll that caught my attention, predictably, was this green-eyed redhead named Millie:

Hey Besties Millie by Battat ($14.97).

Wednesday Addams, Part Three: Monster High (and Knockoffs)

I've been eagerly waiting to do this installment of the Wednesday Addams doll series, mostly because it's been a while since I looked at a new Monster High doll.  I think my last Monster High review was Skelita Calaveras back in 2023.  Can that be right?  I think it's right.

That doesn't mean I haven't bought a few Monster High dolls in the last two years, though.  Believe me--I have.  I've been captivated by pretty much everything in the Skullector series.  But for some reason there hasn't been occasion to review any of those creatures.  Also, I have issues with how Mattel is marketing their Skullector (and Barbie Signature) dolls these days.  But we can talk about that later.

For now, I'll just say how delighted I am that Mattel contributed to the Wednesday doll deluge.  Monster High is an excellent brand to represent this trendy character.  Today I'll be looking at two Monster High Wednesday Addams dolls, and also a few knockoffs that are trying to ride their coattails.

Wednesday Addams by Monster High, $40.

Wednesday Addams, Part Two: Ellowyne Wilde by Robert Tonner

I'm back with the second review in my series of Wednesday Addams doll explorations!  In the first installment I looked at two Living Dead Doll interpretations of Wednesday, and today I'll showcase Robert Tonner's Ellowyne Wilde version of the character.

Ellowyne Wilde is an interesting vehicle for Wednesday, since the two girls have some overlapping personality traits.  Both wear a lot of dark clothing and have dark outlooks on life.  Ellowyne is melancholy and overly-sensitive, though, while Wednesday is cunning, morbid, and emotionally stilted.  

Let's see how Wednesday's aesthetic crosses over into Ellowyne's world: 

Any Wednesday Ellowyne Wilde doll by Robert Tonner ($235).

Wednesday Addams, Part One: Living Dead Dolls by Mezco Toyz

I'm not a die hard fan of The Addams Family franchise by any means, having never read the original comics or watched the 1964 television show.  But I enjoyed the 1991 film when I was a kid (especially Christina's Ricci's deadpan portrayal of Wednesday) and had a great time with Season 1 of Tim Burton's 2022 television series, Wednesday.  It was hard for me to imagine an actor capturing the Wednesday Addams character with more skill than Christina Ricci, but Jenna Ortega did a wonderful job.

The second season of Wednesday has been highly-anticipated, as evidenced by the deluge of Wednesday Addams merchandise currently on the market.  I've been particularly impressed by the diversity in doll offerings.  Off the top of my head, I can think of Wednesday dolls or figures from Monster High, Robert Tonner, Funko POP!, NECA, Hot Toys, Lego, Polly Pocket, and Just Play.  And I'm sure there are more that I'm missing.

As I immerse myself in the second season of Wednesday, I thought it would be fun to do a miniseries here on the blog.  I have three or four short-ish reviews planned, each featuring Wednesday Addams dolls from different companies.  I'll start things off with the Living Dead Doll's depiction of the character, because LDD seems like the perfect brand to represent this morbidly monochromatic mischief-maker:

Living Dead Dolls' Wednesday Addams, by Mezco Toyz ($44.99)

Be Fashion Academy Dolls by Kids Hits

After getting back from Scotland and recovering from all of the wedding excitement, what I really wanted to do is look at something new.  You know, like a doll from a brand that I'd never heard of, or something that's different or unique in some way.

I get into moods like this every so often, and it usually launches me into a random internet search.  This time around, I typed "fashion doll" into the search box at Amazon, and scrolled through the top suggestions.  I got a lot of promoted products at first (Bratz and Barbie, mostly), but when I filtered for "newest arrivals," the results were more interesting.  Among them was an eye-catching doll from a company I'd never heard of called Kids Hits, with a brand that I'd never heard of called Be Fashion Academy.  But what clinched it for me was that their doll has a cat draped over her shoulders, like a fashion accessory.  That's definitely not something I've ever seen before:

Be Fashion Academy doll, Balam, by Kids Hits ($34.99).

A Scottish Wedding

The day has finally come!  After months of preparation (mostly wedding dress shopping...) Lena and Ian are ready to tie the knot.  A big part of getting ready was figuring out where the happy day should take place.  Ian was born in Scotland, and so he was feeling pressure to return to Edinburgh for the nuptials.  Lena doesn't have close family ties other than her sister, so she was easily seduced by the idea of a destination wedding.

My husband and I have a soft spot for Edinburgh ourselves, and are actually celebrating a big anniversary this year.  So, I told Lena that if she was willing to settle for a small guest list, we could manage a modest ceremony overseas.  She readily agreed, and so we packed our bags and flew off to bonnie Scotland:

Lena in Edinburgh.

Sunday Surprise: Star Babies by DreamShyre!

There's a big wedding coming up that I know some of you are excited about (looking at you, Mom), so I'll formally invite everyone to attend next Saturday, August 16th...which feels like it's coming up very fast.  While you're waiting for the wedding, I have another quick Sunday Surprise to offer.  This pairs well with last week's My Mini Baby review.

Way back in March, my sister-in-law Colleen showed me a video of somebody opening a Star Babies mystery bag, and I was instantly intrigued.  The reveal process, where the baby emerges from within a foam star, is decidedly unique.  Moments after seeing that video, I ordered a Star Baby for myself.  Then, about two months later, as I was starting to get nervous that my order would never arrive and the whole thing was bogus, a mystery baby showed up at my doorstep:

Star Babies mystery bag by DreamShyre Nursery, $65.

Sunday Surprise: My Mini Baby by Zuru!

I don't collect a lot of baby dolls these days, but when I was younger, realistic babies were the primary focus of my collection.  I loved the glass-eyed, life-sized babies from Götz and Zapf, and even had a few one-of-a-kind clay babies that would startle guests with their realism.  I also love surprise-themed dolls (especially babies!), as many of you probably know from my adventures with things like Sweet e.baby, Cabbage Patch Kids, and Magic Nursery toddlers.

Given my fondness for babies and surprises, when I learned about Zuru's My Mini Baby surprise balls, I knew I would have to review them at some point.  These babies have been incredibly popular since their introduction in 2023, and have been on-and-off hard to find (or simply too expensive) for a lot of the time they've been on the market.  I managed to accumulate several Series 1 balls by waiting and watching for good prices, and when I finally saw the Series 2 balls hit the shelves a few weeks ago, I grabbed a few of those, too, knowing that the time had finally come for my review.

My Mini Baby Series 1 and Series 2 surprise balls by Zuru ($9.99).

The Little Flower by Helen Kish and Ruby Ho

I didn't let that Helen Kish Chrysalis review sit at the top of the page for very long, which is unusual for me, but there's a lot that I still want to get done this summer, and time is going fast!  I can't believe it's already the middle of July.  Today's review is essentially a follow-up to that Chrysalis review, though, so check it out if you want some background.

While the last review dealt with older Kish dolls from 2008-2010, today I'm going to jump forward to the present day and look at The Little Flower, who is a brand-new doll that's a collaboration between Helen Kish and Ruby Ho (founder of Ruby Red Galleria).  The Little Flower is inspired by Thérèse of Lisieux, a real-life 19th century saint whose nickname was Little Flower.  This doll is being sold exclusively at the Virtual Doll Convention (VDC) shop, and last time I checked she was still available:

The Little Flower by Helen Kish and Ruby Ho for the Virtual Doll Convention ($325).

Chrysalis Dolls by Helen Kish

With the release of the new Barbie Basics sets and all of Lena's wedding plans, I feel like this blog has been taken over by Mattel products lately.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I have no affiliation with Mattel and I like to try and keep a decent amount of diversity on the blog.  So, for today's review, I decided to look at a group of dolls who have very little in common with Barbie, and nothing whatsoever to do with Mattel.

The girls in today's review are designed by Helen Kish, a renowned doll artist whose work was popular back in the early 2000s.  This is around the same time that Robert Tonner was releasing the16-inch Cinderellas that I love so much, and Ellowyne Wilde was making a name for herself.

I've mentioned Ms. Kish's adorable 7-inch Riley's World dolls a few times in passing on the blog, but today I'm going to be focused on her Chrysalis collections.  With sizes in 8, 12 and 14 inches, the Chrysalis dolls are larger than Riley, and most of them have plastic bodies with great articulation.  Between 2008 and 2013, I eagerly anticipated each Chrysalis release, and poured over all of the beautiful promotional photos.  But back in those days I didn't have the budget to buy any of my favorites.  In the last few years I've made up for that fact by searching out a few select Chrysalis dolls, mostly on the secondary market, and finally bringing them home:

My First Heels Lark by Helen Kish, 2008.  From the Chrysalis collection.

1:6 Scale Wedding Dresses for Barbie, Part Three

Whew!  It took me a lot longer to get this review pulled together than I thought it would.  The biggest obstacle was that there was a huge delay with one of the Etsy dresses that I bought.  I placed my order way back in early April, thinking that would be more than enough time, but the dress still hasn't arrived.  I don't think it ever will, actually.  Once I realized I couldn't count on that dress, I took the time to learn a bit more about it, found a (better) replacement, and, well, found a few other "replacements" too.  Because of course I did.  Overkill is my middle name.

So, what was originally the shortest review in this series has suddenly morphed into the longest.  By a lot.  There are nearly twenty dresses for Lena to look at today!  We should probably get started.

Lena wearing a handmade dress from Etsy.

1:6 Scale Wedding Dresses for Barbie, Part Two

Are you ready to look at more wedding dresses?  I hope so, because I have a bunch to share with you today.  Lena and I have been enjoying your comments from Part One of this series, learning which dresses you like best so far, and seeing some of those dresses differently based on your insights.  For example, thanks to Alison, now we know about "bouncy" seams, and are a bit less enamored with the overly-shiny fabrics.  I also feel like we might have missed a great opportunity by not considering a custom dress--especially now that some of Lena's preferences are becoming clear.

So far I've learned that she likes a bit of drama, especially in the back of the dress.  She also likes off-white, as it compliments her complexion, and lace seems to make her happy.  She doesn't like flowers or bows very much, and certainly won't be wearing a short dress to her wedding.  And we might have to reconsider the idea of an up-do for her hair.  I've enjoyed seeing how pretty and natural she looks with her hair down.

On the other hand, some wedding up-dos are spectacular, and make me reconsider.  For example, check out the hair (and tiara!) on Reem Acra's beautiful Barbie bride:

We'll be stealing that dress.

1:6 Scale Wedding Dresses for Barbie, Part One

Spring is definitely in full swing here in New Jersey, which means a lot of flowers...and a lot of kittens.  I've been having a fun time with both recently: my husband and I spent the last two weekends re-planting large areas of our garden that didn't survive the winter, while taking breaks to watch our foster cat raise her new litter of five kittens.  It's all been pretty magical.

Springtime also means that Lena's wedding is right around the corner!  That's magical, too, but she hasn't picked a dress yet, which is stressing me out.  So, during the month of May, I'll try to help her make a decision by showcasing a variety of dresses in several different styles and ranging in price from $6.89 to $242.

My plan right now is to do three wedding dress posts.  The first two will feature gowns made by Mattel specifically for Barbie dolls.  The third post will focus on off-brand or handmade dresses that I found on eBay, Amazon, and Etsy.  This won't even come close to being a comprehensive look at all currently available Barbie wedding attire, but that doesn't mean we won't be looking at a lot of dresses over the next few weeks.  In the end, I think Lena will have nearly thirty gowns to choose from.  That ought to be enough, don't you think?

We'll see, Emily.