Barbie - My Favorite Childhood Toy

I loved Barbie dolls. I really enjoyed changing their appearance - tying their hair up with rubber bands or little clips. Barbie makeovers were fun; at least, you could change their hair (somewhat) or change their clothes. (This was before the Barbie with different hair lengths.)

One time, I decided to radically change the appearance of my mom's Barbie. From all the years of play, my mom's red-haired Barbie was losing chunks of hair. She had softer hair than my dolls, and I tried to do 'comb-overs' and buns. She still didn't look good, in my eyes. So, I cut her hair into a bob. I was fine with her cropped hair, though I'm sure my mom cringed with the new 'do.

My sister and I enjoyed playing Barbies together. We had our own dolls, but we shared accessories, like houses, cars, and bigger items.

I had a wide variety of clothes for my Barbie dolls. My mom used her sewing talent to create new fashions for our Barbies. Since my mom sewed dolls and stuffed animals as a part-time hobby/job, she had plenty of extra material to design super dresses, coats, rugs, etc. She enjoyed making new clothes for our Barbies. Since she sewed a variety of items, she had leftover material, perfect for our make-believe dolls. One time, she used the leftover material from a shaggy, stuffed dog to make a "fur" rug, fur jacket, and fur bedspread for our Barbies.

My sister and I loved to get the accessories, like clothes, shoes, earrings, rings, hangers, and purses. My mom would tell us to pick the basic dolls because she could make new clothes for them. When we moaned that we wanted an accessory pack, she'd remind us that those small pieces always got lost. And what's the point of having one shoe? Yes, it was practical advice, though she did give in and buy us the accessories from time to time. Don't you know those impossibly little shoes and earrings did get lost soon after we opened the package?

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When we "outgrew" Barbie, my sister and I decided to give them to kids who would enjoy our vast collection. Even though it had been years since I played with Barbie, I had kept one of my dolls. She was one of my first and my favorite.

Barbie still held an appeal, as her new careers or fashion style would always catch my attention. I had fond memories of pretend play, where I'd imagine great settings, switch careers, and run my own adult life.

I didn't realize this one Barbie would stay with me through a wedding, divorce, and beyond.