I have a feeling that there are a lot of dollies hiding in closets all over the world just waiting to meet their new mommies (and daddies) this holiday season. I just wanted to give you storage ‘tips’ if you too have a dollie in the closet. I also wanted to throw in a few thoughts on opening ‘day’ and the possibility of the ‘Meh’ reaction.
First off please make sure that the doll is wrapped in the plastic that she came in. If you are storing the doll then wrapping her entirely in plastic will protect her in case something damp gets around her and prevents the tissue paper from sort of melting on to her skin. I’ve never, ever heard of this happening but these are the things I think about at 3am. So .. keep her in the plastic and keep her safe! Also, if you have some natural soap around (like lavender or something like that) it’s nice to break off a little piece and put it in the box with her (but not against her skin/hair in case of staining (?) ) then she’ll smell all lovely when she comes out. This may not be a good thing however if you have a smell sensitive child – so keep that in mind.
The Possibility of ‘Meh’
Months and months of trying each upload and ,finally, you got your child a doll! You have her hiding in a closet waiting for the ‘opening’ day .. the day comes and you are SO excited, anticipating your child’s excited response , your little one opens it and ‘Meh’ – NOT the reaction you anticipated! It’s hard not to feel a bit of disappointment, you tried SO hard to get this doll. You pictured it to be like all those dreamy pictures on Facebook of kids and their dolls – this reaction was not what you expected. If you are giving the doll at holiday time, with many other presents – well, it does happen. Bamboletta’s don’t come with flashy packaging or cool commercials and some kids just don’t get excited about them. Holiday gift time can be overwhelming for kids and it’s usually the flashy toys that get played with first (I’m going by experience here with my 2 boys). In my house, the Superhero factory whatever toy that my mom got them is what is torn open and played with while the gorgeous handcarved blocks get the ‘Meh’ reaction. But you know what? I don’t even know where the Superhero factory toys are anymore but the handcarved blocks are played with every. single. day. So – don’t be quick to rehome or sell your doll if you don’t get the reaction you are expecting. Wait a bit, give the relationship some time to develop because when it does – it’s magic to see the bond between a child and their doll . I’ve heard from countless moms the regret they feel after they quickly sell their child’s doll after the holidays because the reaction wasn’t what they wanted and they wish they had given it some time.
Even though this post is titled ‘Boys and Dolls’ I’ve put in some more thoughts about how to introduce dolls.
Saying all this I can not WAIT for the kids and dolls pictures posted on Facebook on Christmas day .. last year was so awesome. There are few things I love more then children and their dolls pictures!!
xo,
Christina
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