Hot Holiday Dolls
2000
Dolls For Children
CLICK HERE FOR HOT HOLIDAY DOLLS 2001 FOR CHILDREN!
Below are my picks for the top five Hot Holiday Dolls for children in 2000. Part two has hot picks for collector dolls for this holiday season. And, don't miss my Santa Panic List--the Dolls and Toys that are hard to get and hot right NOW, including current eBay prices. Don't wait until the night before Christmas to look for these!
CELEBRATION
BARBIE
Barbie® made the list this year! But...not one of the usual play line Barbies. There are lots of wonderful play line Barbies this year, but not one that is so innovative or unusual that it stands out from the crowd. However...there's Celebration Barbie®, who arrives just in time for the holidays. Celebration Barbie is in the grand tradition of fancy Holiday Barbie dolls that have been delighting older girls and their moms for years, such as the Happy Holiday Barbies and last year's hot Barbie doll, the Millennium Princess Barbie. Celebration Barbie is the first in a NEW series to celebrate the holidays. "As with the Happy Holidays Series and Millennium Princess, one of the hottest selling dolls in Mattel's Collector history, Celebration Barbie is certain to move off store shelves quickly,'' said Adrienne Fontanella, President -- Barbie/Girls at Mattel." "Our designers have created the ideal modern image to celebrate this first in a series of holiday dolls. Like the rest of the Barbie brand, the new series has a fresh feel that will appeal to experienced and new collectors alike.''
I have to agree with Ms. Fontanella on this one--this doll is presented beautifully, and comes with a matching ornament commemorating the year "2000." The doll retails for approximately $37, and is available in African American, Caucasian and Latina versions.
ANGELINA BALLERINA
This new ballerina mouse
doll from Pleasant Company is generating amazing word-of-mouth. My 
mother-in-law
heard about Angelina Ballerina from a casual friend, who heard about it from her cousin--and
this doll has just been introduced! Angelina will be popular with lovers
of old-fashioned toys, as well as with little girls who love all thinks pink and
ballerina-related. Basic Angelina comes with a hardcover book
"Angelina Ballerina," both for $28. There are five other books
available that follow Angelina's adventures. Plus, Angelina has several
outfits available--a Princess outfit, a Christmas Coat, PJs, her own mouse doll,
and a little accessory set with hats, purses, and a ballet bag. If you
REALLY want to spoil your granddaughter or daughter for Christmas, there is a
fold-out storybook cottage available, which has 3 rooms. Naturally, if you
have a cottage, you have to have furniture, and three darling rooms of furniture
are available (entire rooms for $65 each; you can also buy small sets of
furniture separately). And...for really spoiling a little girl beyond all
redemption, the entire Angelina set (everything just mentioned) is $285.
Finally, there is a line of clothing so that the little girl can dress up JUST
like Angelina. Its too cute, extremely well done, and perfect for
imaginative play.
HOLIDAY
BRANDY
This doll is made by Mattel. Holiday Brandy is a surprising doll--often, celebrity dolls bear little resemblance to the intended celebrity, and the quality of these dolls can be low. However, Holiday Brandy really LOOKS like Brandy the celebrity, the doll is beautifully dressed, and her "gimmick" is appropriate--she sings a holiday song! This is a special version of the Brandy celebrity doll that has been on the market for the last year or so. The voice reproduction is good, and the doll comes with a microphone. Holiday Brandy retails for approximately $32.99.
AMAZING BABIES
Amazing
Babies are made by Playmates, the same company that created last year's
electronic doll success story, Amazing Ally. Like Amazing Ally, Amazing
Babies dolls are attractive dolls (a characteristic
that
can sometimes be lacking with "gimmicky" dolls). Amazing
Babies combine electronic technology with the real needs and responses of a baby
to try to recreate a true-to-life mommy experience for little girls. Just
like real babies, these dolls learn to talk over time and "need"
hugs and love to stay healthy and happy. Animatronics allow Amazing Babies
to move their heads just like a real baby. Each Amazing Baby can "hear",
and will turn her head in recognition of the voice of their mommy.
Each Amazing Baby is equipped with Playmates' proprietary Smart Response System
that allows it to expand its vocabulary over time and recognize which play piece
they are holding. When she first learns to speak, the doll will talk in
"baby talk."
For example, when an Amazing Baby learns the word bottle, she will start out by
saying, "baba." The more often you put the bottle in her hand,
the more quickly an Amazing Baby will learn that word. She will also
improve her speech through the course of time, and the more often you speak to
the doll--like a real baby! After hearing the word several times, she will
ultimately say, "Mommy, I want bottle." Like Furby toys, Amazing
Babies also can interact with other Amazing Babies in the room and will respond
to them. Babies will recognize if another baby has an accessory, and will
then talk to each other about that accessory. Each doll comes with a
baby bottle, cookie, rattle, blanket, food tray/spoon, hair brush and toy bear.
Amazing Babies retail for approximately $39.99-$44.99.
SAILOR MOON DOLLS
Sailor Moon, is the star of a Japanese cartoon currently shown on The Cartoon Network in the United States. This cartoon has been wildly popular with little girls, and Sailor Moon dolls have been unavailable in the United States for some time. Occasionally, dolls from Canada would be available in the United States (at high cost!), and a very low quality Sailor Moon doll was released a few years ago, to little fanfare, and it quickly disappeared from shelves. However, the cartoons have been continuously running, and many little girls (and anime fans!) have been frustrated because they couldn't find/have a Sailor Moon doll . Well, the dolls are FINALLY here (produced by Irwin), and they are showing up on toy store shelves (and, quickly disappearing). There are five Sailor Moon dolls being produced--Sailor Moon and her Sailor Scouts: Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Venus, Sailor Jupiter and Tuxedo Mask (a male doll). The dolls are not the highest quality (the clothes are very cheaply made) but these seem to be the first Sailor Moon dolls in the United States to have a NOSE, and the dolls have nice bendable legs. The dolls retail for about $11.99 each. If YOUR daughter is a huge Sailor Moon fan, you'll be a "hero" when you surprise her with these dolls for Christmas!
What I based my selections on:
Play value, quality, uniqueness, value for the money, popularity, and timelessness (I selected dolls that I think will be looked back upon by their young owners, when grown, as fondly and nostalgically as the adult collectors in the About.com Doll Collecting community look back at THEIR childhood dolls).
Denise Van Patten
Do you have questions on shopping for children's dolls for the holidays? Ask me in the Doll Forum!
Don't miss Part ONE on Hot Holiday Dolls for Children!
Don't miss Holiday Links! for puzzles, articles, freebies, clip art and more!
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Denise Van Patten, © 2000. All rights reserved.
