Merry Christmas
We actually had our entire Christmas celebration Sunday. I do not have my daughter with me for the entire week, so we had to gather family and do things early. We made a traditional ham dinner, complete with yummy candies yams and fresh bread, among other things. We also had pumpkin pie and an amazing praline Bundt cake. I will have to post the recipe for the praline cake, because it turned out SO good.
Lots of gifts were exchanged, but I wanted to give my opinion of just a couple of the gifts my daughter got this year.
Baby Alive
My daughter got everything she asked for, including the Baby Alive she has been patiently waiting to receive for over a year. It was on her Christmas list for last year, but at the last minute she changed her mind and asked for Disney fairies. Those fairies have gone largely untouched this past year. We live, we learn. Anyway, the Baby Alive I got her was the bonus pack available through Toys R US this year. Each of the major retailers seemed to have an exclusive Baby Alive bonus pack for Christmas, but the one at Toys R Us had more bang for your buck, with an extra outfit, a sippy cup, more diapers, food, etc.
The doll was the hit of the evening. Even my almost-16-yearold niece and my kindergarten nephew were begging for time with Baby Alive. I’m pleased with the doll and her functions, aside from a couple of things. Her lip color wore off in the center of her bottom lip within hours and I read online that most dolls lose all of their lip color typically within a week or so. Also, the skin-like soft vinyl the doll’s face is covered with attracts hair and dust. You have to wipe it off with a wet cloth and I find the phenomenon mildly icky. And, the doll “woke up” in the middle of the night last night and asked for a drink. Then she proceeded to sing and ask to play and I finally had to turn the doll off completely for my daughter. Creepy.
Disney Princess Dolls
Gigi also got Pocahontas, Mulan, and Jasmine Disney dolls. That rounds out her princess doll collection. She had been very upset that she did not have any of the “brown” dolls and I was surprised at how few stores, aside from the actual Disney retail stores, carry those characters. I kept waiting for Target to stock them, because I like the price of the princess dolls there, but no dice. They only seem to sell the Anglo dolls. Gigi did inform me that although she considers her collection complete, she really wants new Belle and Cinderella dolls, because she marked them up with pens a couple of years ago. I will replace those dolls, but only once she proves she takes better care of the new ones.
We got these last three dolls at the Disney Store and I am anxious to see how they hold up, because the particular dolls sold there tend to have very poor quality synthetic hair that tangles and knarls quickly. We will have to wait and see.
Oh man, I wanted a Baby Alive…
Kinda creepy, …kinda sweet.
Maybe I’ll send pictures.