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Did you know that Barbie is celebrating her 50th anniversary?50 years! Pretty amazing for a gal that is still 18.
When I was a girl, I was very serious about my Barbie play. We lived very modestly, so I only had a few Barbie dolls (I always averaged about three, plus my Ken!). When I was in the fifth grade, we were living in a tiny Texas town with a population of about 400. Within this little nook of the country, there was my sweet friend, Lyndonna. Her family lived on a farm. That was the first place I ever rode a horse. Her dad would let us help vaccinate the calves. I will never forget the day her mother accidentally picked up a rattlesnake with the tips of her fake fingernails while clearing out a junk pile.
More than anything, though, I was enamored with their guest bedroom. It was every girl's dream. The entire room was a Barbie kingdom! She had TWO houses, every car, and a wardrobe fit for a queen. Every birthday and Christmas she received whatever Barbie had just come out. I spent most of the 5th grade in that room, pretending until my brain cells were spewing out of my ears. It was little girl heaven.
That was 16 years ago.
Now my three girls have their own Barbie dollss, as well as mine that survived the years. My children think it is so cool that they are playing with the very Barbie dolls that were mine at their ages. Ken - my one and only Ken - still looks dapper in his tuxedo. His shoes are long gone, but my kids just pretend he is at yet another beach wedding!
Speaking of the beach: in honor of Barbie's 50th anniversary, they are doing all sorts of crazy amazing things ... like building an actual Barbie Dream House. On March 9th, Colin Cowie is going to throw an outrageously pink shin-dig at this amazing home located - where else? - on the beach in Malibu, California.
Seriously!
So, what has our pal, Barbie, been up to lately? I hate to admit it, but she's far more in the loop than I am. She's blogging, has her own Facebook and is TWITTERING! Barbie ... twittering. You've gotta' check that out. I can't even keep up with the Twitter game, but Barbie has had innumerable children over the years, countless jobs and yet she's right there on the cutting edge.
Impressive.
March 9th is Barbie's actual birthday, so prepare yourself for the festivities to peak right around that time. Of course, no Golden 50th Anniversary would be complete without a 50th Anniversary Collector Barbie Doll. They will sell for $50, and be adorned with plenty of gold tulle and lots of sparkle.
My girls spend most of their computer time at Barbie.com. They have already noticed the amazing e-makeover the site has received for Barbie's 50th Anniversary. There is a new section on the site that we grown-ups are going to EAT UP! Click on the history tab to watch retro commercials. "You can tell they're Mattel -- They're swell!" LOVE IT!
BlogHer is joining the party, as women all over the world share their stories and memories. Now it's YOUR turn. Leave me a comment with your favorite Barbie story. How did you play with your Barbie's? Did you engage them in conversation or were you more of the dress-them-up-and-look-at-them variety. Come on ... spill it!
This is a paid review for BlogHer and Mattel.
7 comments:
I used to go to a babysitter that watched "Days of Our Lives" religiously. I was supposed to lay on the couch, facing the back, and take my nap. Oooh, I knew soooo much about Bo and Hope and Roman and Marlena and the evil Stefano. My Barbies played out intricate storylines with soap opera like themes. Except I had several Barbies, and mostly their outfits were handmade polyester dresses my mom made for me, and 2 GI Joes that I named Uncle Mike and Uncle David. After my real Uncle Mike and Uncle David. And there was a lot of sex involved. Even though I wasn't really sure what that meant.
Man. I hope I win the Webkinz. I don't have ANY yet. I would probably take more pleasure from it than the average bear.
xoxo
We loved our Barbies. My sister and I played for hours with them. Luckily we had my brothers GI Joe's for boyfriends. Somehow, even then we thought Ken seems a little... well... you know... "different". We could not afford the fancy Barbie dream house, we, like your kids, made a world out of cardboard boxes that our Barbies lived in. It was awesome! Our one Barbie extravagance... we got the Barbie RV for Christmas. It was the coolest toy we ever got!
And yes, my daughter LOVES playing with my old dolls when she goes to my moms house.
My sisters and I played with Barbies, but more in a story-telling way than anything. My brother would sometimes confiscate them and transform them into ninjas or army barbies...with buzzed hair and detached legs with rubber bands connecting them so they could do a proper round-house kick. It was great!
I hated Barbies when I was little, but everyone insisted on buying me some because girls are supposed to love Barbies. So I was the weird girl that came up with various ways of killing Barbie and then burying her in the special graveyard I put together. LOL
I remember the first Barbie I ever had, my little sister had chewed the toes off of both of her feet, but that wasn't her only malady. We went on vacation to Charleston when I was about 6 years old. While we were there I decided to wash and dry Barbie's hair. I washed it in the sink with shampoo and then to dry it I stuck her head to the lightbulb in the hotel room lamp. Let's just say melting plastic hair doesn't smell so good. Housekeeping had to come and change the lightbulb and Barbie looked like she had had some industrial accident.
When I was a child, in a family of limited means, I had one Barbie. I so wanted a Skipper doll. One year a friend gave me a birthday present. From the size I knew it was a doll...was it Skipper...please let it be Skipper. No, it was Barbie. My mother, always very matter-of-fact, told me to name her Skipper and voila, I had a Skipper doll. It wasn't until I gave my dolls to my girls and one commented that they looked exactly the same that I remembered this story. For all these years I "remembered" I had a Barbie and a Skipper--not two Barbies.
Another interesting story was leaving one doll in the attic where something ate all it's eyelashes. Sad Barbie. She still has great adventures via my girls now.
Me in the childhood not so indulged toys, and now however too... But, if it turned out to save, necessarily bought something for Barbie.
Now as recollect - it becomes ridiculous. Interests any more those... )))
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