Second childhood? Probably....

I must be going through a second childhood. Or else I am insane...take your pick. Either would probably apply. But I have decided that I just HAVE to have Barbie dolls again. I was browsing on ebay, and while I have no idea why I was in the Barbie section, I spotted it. The exact doll case that I had as a child, circa 1968. I had completely forgotten that case, a double one that held 2 dolls, had a nice closet space with a hanging bar, a pink accessory storage area, and 2 large pockets for other Barbie trinkets complete with garish mod graphic flowers. Oh how I loved that thing. I got so excited that I sat up late into the night checking these things out. They are plentiful, but ones in decent condition....hard to come by. Still, the prices aren't out of the question. You can find ones that are not so perfect for under $10. Good condition is anywhere between $20 -30. I haven't placed a bid on one, but I will, I SO will, (even though I told Erica I was going to force myself to be content to look). I am just waiting and biding my time to see if one in mint condition surfaces. Lots of the cases, and there were several different styles almost every year seem to have a few here and there in mint condition.

I also found my Barbie Lively Livin' house, circa 1970, and again....if I find one that is in good shape with no missing parts, it just might end up being mine. LOL. I can't tell you how joyous I have felt reliving those memories of my favorite toy.
Because Barbie? She was my obsession as a child. None of my Barbie things survived, sadly enough. I have no idea what my Mom did with all of it, but I don't have it. That makes me a little sad, but thanks to ebay apparently I can own it all over again.

I do have the orginal Holiday Barbie from 1988. Lila gave her to me for Christmas that year, and opening up that doll made me so happy. I have been holding on to her all this time for collectors' value, but I found out something else in my recent Barbie research....the Holiday Barbies aren't commanding much of a price in the collector's market now. Part of it is due to the fact that so many of them were produced and purchased. Part of it is venue's like ebay that make these things so accessible for everybody. But the article I read attributed the main reason to the fact that most of these dolls were bought for collections. They were rarely played with. And a doll that wasn't played with does not hold the same emotional attachments as the ones that were childhood favorites. Nobody searches out a doll that sat in a box. Not like I have been searching hard for my favorite doll case and house. I totally understand that, too. I might even take Christmas barbie out of her box and just enjoy her now.

I do have one thing to confess....in all of my Barbie searching I found other holiday Barbies. Not Christmas, because we all know a new one comes out every year. But I found Halloween barbie (yes I bought it), and Easter barbie (I bought her too....well, it was a set of 3 Easter barbies so....). And then I found a woman who has an ebay store and makes Barbie clothes. Her stuff is pretty, but I am really dying to collect her holiday dresses. They were really reasonable, running around $10 per outfit, and some of them were really elaborate. I saw a Thanksgiving dress, Valentines gown, St. Patrick's day gown, and an adorable 4th of July outfit. She even had a gorgeous Mardi gras gown with a mask!!! I haven't bid on any of those, but we shall see. I don't think I want hundreds of Barbie's or even the clothes. But a few Barbie's with dresses for all the holidays? That would actually make me really happy. Oh, and a case to put it all in. And maybe a house so the Barbies have a place to live....HAHAHA. But that's it. And no Ken dolls. I had a couple of those, but his clothes were all so boring that he rarely got to play unless I was forcing him to marry Barbie so she could wear her wedding dress! Good times, I tell you. :)