Christmas 2025 Doll Gifts

I enjoyed another great Christmas that included new dolls, one of which I purchased for myself as an early present during Mattel Creations' sale that ends on December 31st. Using the code LASTCHANCE30 at checkout, the sale includes an extra 30% off, even on reduced price items, and free shipping for purchases of $35 or more. 

 @BarbieStyle Brooklyn has a Made to Move body, long black double-strand twisted hair, brown painted eyes, and a sprinkling of freckles across the upper cheeks and nose.

@BarbieStyle Brooklyn had interested me when she was introduced on October 30, 2025, but after seeing photos of the produced doll, the dress appeared flimsy, so I passed. The current sale reduced the retail price from $55 to $38. The 30% off coupon reduced the price even further to $26.95, before applicable taxes. Shipping was free because my order included another item, which raised the total order above $35. I couldn't resist buying Brooklyn at this price, and I am not disappointed, as illustrated by the doll's photos. 

@BarbieStyle Brooklyn's boho chic ensemble was voted on and selected by Barbie Club 59 members.

 Brooklyn wears a blush-colored crepe dress with off-white thigh-high vinyl boots, and she holds an off-white vinyl handbag.

A lovely headshot and a full-length photo of Brooklyn with a separate photo illustrating her fashion and accessories are included on the back of the box.

My husband gave me an assortment of doll footwear.

In addition to other gifts, I received an assortment of 18-inch doll footwear (socks, shoes, and a pair of boots) from my husband. (He thinks all my dolls are 18 inches tall.) These will come in handy, however.

This is an enhanced photo that UPS took after the top package was left at my back door.

UPS left a huge shipping box at my back door on December 17, 2025. It contained an assortment of beautifully wrapped gifts from my friend, Debra R. I forgot to take a photo of the box (which is why I am using UPS's photo). I also neglected to photograph the wrapped presents, but trust me, the paper was beautiful, featuring biblical scriptures for children and adults and images of African American characters. The wonderful doll gifts she sent are shown in the next group and individual photos.

Naturalistas Dayna, the 2025 Hallmark Keepsake Holiday Barbie ornament, and Disney Once Upon a Whimsy Collection Tiana are some of the doll gifts from Debra.

Dayna is from the third wave of  Naturalistas dolls. She wears a pretty white dress and white vinyl knee-high boots. I had planned to buy at least one doll from this wave, but I was told that the one I wanted was sold only at Target stores.

Dayna has a slight wardrobe malfunction, but is otherwise perfect. 

Dayna and the other dolls in the 2025 Naturalistas collection are illustrated on the back of the box along with Dayna's bio. Her motto is, "Be proud of your crown." Her bio indicates that she is the owner of Naturalistas ICON Salon, has 3C-textured hair, and is known by her clients as the "coil whisperer."

The 2025 Hallmark Keepsake Holiday Barbie Ornament wears a gold brocade-patterned fabric dress (not the usual molded-on plastic dress as in previous years). This year, Mattel used the Brooklyn sculpt for the ornament and the full-sized doll.

Disney's Princess Tiana is a duplicate of a doll I recently purchased. (Debra said she forgot to tell me she purchased this doll when it was released earlier this year.) 

When I was asked, "What's on your wish list?", I answered, "The 80th Anniversary Barbie." Santa Debra delivered. :-) 

This doll also uses the Brooklyn head sculpt (one of my favorites) and has Brooklyn's signature freckles.

The back of the anniversary doll's box features a full-length image of this doll, along with Mattel's brief history and a description of the doll.

These are three Christmas sweater wine bottle covers and a Snoop Dog-themed sweater ornament that Debra sent. The wine bottle covers fit 14- to 16-inch dolls. The sweater ornament should fit an 11-1/2-inch fashion doll.

I placed these gifts under my pop-up pencil tree on December 27, 2025.

By the afternoon of December 26, 2025, the previously gift-covered Christmas tree skirt was bare after the family gift exchange that began on the 25th and ended on the 26th. However, additional carefully wrapped gifts arrived for me on the 28th from another doll friend. I placed these last gifts under the Christmas tree and snapped the above final photo of the tree for this year. Like Debra's gift box, these last gifts from doll-friend Telisa included more than dolls, but I am only sharing the dolls and doll-related items in this post. 

Telisa rerooted Barbie Basics Doll #3 (a former redhead) and redressed her in this elaborate gown.

This is a close-up of the doll's new fabulous 'do. 

Here is a view from the back. Rerooting this doll required a lot of time and effort. I am so grateful for both the time and initiative involved.

Monster High Wednesday - Bianca Barclay

This is my first new Monster High doll. 

A journal entry by Bianca Barclay is on the back of the box, along with a photo of this lovely doll.

I am debating whether to remove Bianca from the box and display her with my other Monster High dolls, which were thrift store finds several years ago. But if I know myself, Bianca will remain untouched. She's too gorgeous to manipulate, and she outshines my original three.

Rainbow High Iris Bow has a unique concept.

Rainbow High Iris Bow and other dolls in the Rainbow Shimmers series are featured on the back of the box.

Iris Bow has removable legs that can be filled with slime and glitter to produce the look illustrated on the back of the box. Four glitter palettes and one slime palette are included. She has mounds of multicolored curly hair, which matches the glitter colors. 

An insulated Barbie tumbler was also a gift from Telisa.

Last, but certainly not least, was an insulated Barbie tumbler from Telisa. 

Debra and Telisa, I am deeply grateful for these beautiful gifts, even more for the love and thoughtfulness behind them. This level of kindness truly touched my heart. Thank you for thinking of me, for your generosity, and for being such a special part of my life. I feel very blessed to have family and friends like you, and I appreciate you more than words can say. (My thank you to my husband goes without saying... I show him how much I appreciate him daily.)

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All photos and text are copyrighted and cannot be used elsewhere unless permission is granted by the author.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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Visit and follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum for detailed installations of antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind black dolls. http://virtualblackdollmuseum.com

Eve's Shoes

Eve needed shoes.

After reading a past blog post about my Colonial Williamsburg 6-inch cloth doll Eve, a very kind woman named Molly offered the 12-inch version to me. Molly received her Eve as a child after learning Eve's story. Molly wanted a good home for Eve. She contacted me and I accepted the doll. Molly shared that Eve was missing her socks and shoes. 

12-inch Eve did arrive in need of replacement shoes.

A full-length picture and this close-up were taken before shoemaking for Eve commenced.

Six-inch Eve's sewn-on cloth shoes were used as a guide to make the 12-inch doll's removable shoes.

Before shoe-making began, Eve's feet and ankles were Saran-wrapped.

After wrapping both feet with Saran wrap, I created shoes using masking tape. The area of the foot to represent a slip-on shoe was wrapped with strips of masking tape. In the photo above, one layer of masking tape for the left shoe had been applied.  

This is one formed shoe created with masking tape.

With one shoe formed, I began placing masking tape on the other Saran-wrapped foot.

Both formed shoes

Approximately three layers of masking tape were applied to each Saran-wrapped foot to create slip-on shoes. 

The shoes were Mod Podged and hung on doll stands to dry.

After removing the shoes from the doll's feet and cutting off most of the excess Saran wrap, I painted each shoe with several layers of Mod Podge and allowed each layer to dry by hanging the shoes on doll stands. This process was repeated at least three times to stiffen the masking tape.

I fashioned square buckles on each shoe using masking tape.

I created square masking tape buckles over horizontal straps and added these to each shoe. The straps and buckles were next Mod Podged in place. 

Eve's partially painted shoes.

A mixture of pueblo and nutmeg brown acrylic paints achieved the desired shoe color that closely matches 6-inch Eve's shoes.

 

The buckles were painted nutmeg brown.

The remaining Saran wrap was removed from the shoe edges and the edges were trimmed with scissors. A final layer of paint and Mod Podge was applied around the edges to cover missing painted areas. 

The shoe soles were painted, too.

Eve wears the shoes well.

The two Eves model their shoes. 

12-inch Eve and her mini 6-inch version posed together.

While awaiting the arrival of a third Colonial Williamsburg doll that I recently gained knowledge of, the Eves posed for the above photo together.

6-inch and 12-inch Eve are now joined by another 6-inch cloth Colonial Williamsburg doll, Bristol.

Bristol is another 6-inch Colonial Williamsburg doll that I found in an online auction after learning about his existence.  The two Eves were released in 1998. Bristol was added to the Colonial Williamsburg line of cloth dolls in 2003. The two Eves awaited his arrival for a week before all three dolls were placed in a curio cabinet.

Related Link

BHDT: Eve an Enslaved American

Colonial Williamsburg Eve and Bristol

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All photos and text are copyrighted and cannot be used elsewhere unless permission is granted by the author.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here. 
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Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Kissy's New Shoes

Dyed and painted Kissy by Ideal

I was almost satisfied with my dyed and painted Kissy after recently finding her original romper; however, I wanted her identical red shoes by Ideal or a suitable replacement. 

Kissy had worn white cloth infant-size shoes.

I measured the length and width of her feet, which would require a shoe or sandal measuring at least 4 x 2 inches. I searched online for shoes this size and found the sandals seen in the next two photos.

I am relieved that her little fat feet fit inside these sandals.

The sandals pair well with her red and white gingham romper.

The sandals are a bit too long for her feet, but a shorter pair might not accommodate the width. So, I am satisfied with these... unless I find her original shoes.

Related Links

Kissy's Romper

Ideal Kissy, a Dye and Paint Job Redone

All photos and text are copyrighted and cannot be used elsewhere unless permission is granted by the author.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Unexplained Shoe Deterioration

Angelica by Philip Heath (1999) is seen in this 2003 photo with other dolls in a more calmer and gentler doll room than it is today.  The shoes she wore in this photo were new; they are now in a state of deterioration. 

When purchased some 13 years ago, Angelica by Philip Heath arrived with bare feet.  To match her ivory dress of voile fabric, I purchased nude stockings and a pair of ivory shoes for her huge feet (the child wears a size 7 wide in a girl's shoe).  At 38 inches with articulation throughout, Angelica can sit or stand.  She is usually kept in her very own chair in the seated position.

I have no idea why her shoes deteriorated in the manner illustrated below:

Is she walking around the doll room when no one is looking?

I traced her foot onto a piece of cardboard to make a pattern of her foot before going shoe shopping.   I used the foot pattern to get the correct length and width replacement shoes by inserting it inside the shoe choices at the store.  My plan had been to find another ivory pair of shoes.  In their absence, I opted for black sandals which had been reduced to $3.  Hey, that price was excellent based on full prices of up to $17.99.  (I only paid $9.99 for the now worn pair, but of course that was some 13 years ago.)

Angelica models her new black sandals.  (That girl standing behind her on the right, Cecelie, is wearing one shoe because the sole of the other came unglued. It has long been repaired.  I just have not put it back on her foot. I guess they are all walking around the doll room when no one is looking.)

At the store where the sandals were purchased, size 7's were very limited, but I found a pair of black faux suede shoes in that size.  Later that week at the thrift store, I found a pair of pink real leather shoes by Mini Burbujas for $4.99. 

Whether Angelica is wearing her shoes out by walking around the doll room or not, she's all set in the shoe department for at least another decade or more. 
:-)


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