Barbie’s Celebrating the Big 50

Barbie’s® celebrating her 50th birthday this year, and of course she’s doing it in style.

She kicked off the celebration with a live model runway show last weekend, during Fashion Week in New York.

You can keep up with Barbie’s® 50th birthday celebration at her blog All Doll’d Up. Barbie’s® totally into the social networking scene, she also has her own Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube account. You go girl!

Check out how Barbie’s® changed over the last 50 years. She’s definitely a style icon, and keeps up with the latest fashions.

She’s keeping up on fashion and technology, and has a hot new gadget coming out later this year the Barbie B-Nails from Mattel promises to be a must have toy for Christmas 2009. So it looks like Barbie’s still holding strong, even after her recent battle with Bratz. Do you think Barbie will make it another 50 years?

Image via Picapp

Barbie vs. Bratz – The Battle is Over (or is it?)

In the eyes of the legal system, Barbie wins the Barbie vs. Bratz battle. 

Remember the case of who actually owns Bratz?  Mattel sued MGA Entertainment who markets Bratz claiming that Bratz dolls were created by Carter Bryant while he still worked at Mattel and was on Mattel’s payroll.  Well, the jury decided that early Bratz designs and the brand name of Bratz was created while Carter Bryant was employed by Mattel.

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Toy Talk: Bratz Dolls at So Sioux Me

Naming a preschool soccer team “The Bratz”?! You must be joking. Tracee Sioux wasn’t putting up with any of that. When she learned that her daughter’s soccer team was to be named The Bratz, she objected and stood her ground even when other parents belittled and dismissed her concerns.

“Look,” I said. “I’m very uncomfortable with this name because I don’t think we should be yelling Go Brats Go, Be the best little brat you can be. Brats Rule. I try all week long to NOT encourage my daughter to be a brat. I don’t want her to act like those dolls and I don’t let her dress like those dolls and I don’t even let her play with the dolls. I’m just very uncomfortable with the name.”

I was so grateful that I avoided saying they looked like whores who grew out of their clothes, which is what I usually say about those attrocious little beasts. And I didn’t get into the symbolism of why their heads are so freakishly large – to fit their self-absorbed massive egos inside.

What would you do if Bratz dolls were held up as role models for your children?

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Barbie over Bratz

And in the battle of Barbie versus Bratz, it’s Barbie by a nose!!!! Or, more realistically, a really long leg.

Here are the results:

I wonder if the results would be the same if we were comparing Bratz to the new My Scene line of Barbies (like the one pictured above), which are described as “fun ‘n flirty dolls”. They do look creepily like the Bratz dolls, I think. I’ll stick to traditional Barbie, or maybe none at all. Strawberry Shortcake is looking better and better! How long can I keep her cool in our house?

Thanks to each of you who participated in our poll! Please share your input for our next poll about spending amounts for kids’ birthday gifts. It’s in the sidebar at the right, or you can vote by clicking here. Thank you!

London Toy Fair Adventure Part 3: Fashion Angels

Continuing my series on London Toy Fair 2007. Here are Part 1 and Part 2.

After having some fun with the Aquapalz virtual pets, the Fashion Angels beckoned. Kerri and I have written mostly about Barbie and Bratz dolls but Fashion Angels seem like a better alternative to either. Produced by The Bead Shop, Fashion Angels are larger than the average Barbie or Bratz doll at 15 inches and are plush dolls instead of plastic. Their faces are embroidered and they wear wigs that can be changed.

The Fashion Angel Living Doll pictured is named Debo. Her profile says that she loves to design fashion and hope to have her own clothing line. Her pet peeves are school uniforms and people without their own original style. (Judgmental little thing, isn’t she?) The multicultural Fashion Angels also includes Bebe, Izzy, and Lulu (very Sloane).

Although Fashion Angels might not appeal to mothers who are above such frivolities , they are well made and perky rather than trashy (Bratz) and not so provocative (Barbie). Their wardrobe is amazing – glitter, sequens, and leopard print trims all sturdily tailored for endless changes of ensemble. Fashion Angels Enterprises also include a vast range of accessories including doll houses, sketchbooks, pens, magnetic dress-up doll sets, and Design Studio Sets where children can design clothing for 15-inch paper dolls. Their website also has a Fan Club where kids can send in their fashion designs. I was pretty impressed with the children’s creations.

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Guess Who? by Milton Bradley

One of the games my daughter received for Christmas was Milton Bradley’s, Guess Who? It’s a good game for introducing deductive logic to the kids, though I think that kids younger than the recommended 6 year old could easily begin to master this game. One my favorite features of the game is the extremely easy set up, unlike another game I bought (why didn’t I think Don’t Break the Ice through a little better?).

It looks like Milton Bradley has another game in this line called Guess Where? Unlike Guess Who?, where you just have to figure out who the one mystery person is, Guess Where? requires the players to identify the multiple locations of several members of a family. Sounds like a good upgrade for when we’re ready for a challenge!

Do any of you have Guess Where? How do you like it?

Please don’t forget to vote in our Barbie/Bratz poll in the sidebar on the right! Thanks.

New Year’s Resolutions

So, in honor of the new year (and of an upcoming Family and Relationships Channel carnival—will give the details when it’s up!), I’ll share a few of my new year’s resolutions as they pertain to toys and play!

• 1. Get rid of toys. I’m a pack rat of the highest order! Half of the things we can’t get rid of in our house are still around because I hold an emotional attachment to them, including toys that the kids no longer want. I need to work on that so I don’t pass that hoarding characteristic to them. We can start with the toys, then move on to all my junk.
• 2. Get out and play more! You know that parent that you see at the park who’s always jumping around on the jungle gym with their kids? The one who goes down the slide? The one who readily jumps into a game of hide and seek? Yeah….that’s not me. I’m the one one the bench trying to read a book while Bald Man does the jungle gym jumping. I need to get better about the running and playing with my kids before they’re older and no longer want to play with me!
• 3. Be more fun. Only say “no” when I’ve actually taken the time to listen to my kids’ requests and have a reason to say “no,” not just because I’m being lazy. This includes pulling out the Play-doh and paints more often. The kids love them, but I get bugged with the mess. I know, I know, it’s really not a good enough reason to steal away potentially good memories from their childhood. That’s why it’s on my list.

How about you? Do you have resolutions/changes to make in the toys/playtime arena? Share them in the comments!

And please vote in our Barbie/Bratz poll in the right sidebar. Thanks!

Barbie or Bratz?

Isaac Larian of MGA Entertainment, producers of the Bratz Dolls, was recently interviewed on ABC’s Nightline, with some rebuttal bits by Chuck Scothon, a senior VP at Mattel. He shares his thoughts on the Bratz vs. Barbie battle, and his plans to win it.

Follow this post to the end to see the YouTube posting of the ABC interview (and then please vote in our Barbie or Bratz? poll in the sidebar on the right!). Here are a few interesting bits that I gleaned from it all:

Larian admits that he first thought the dolls looked like aliens, but now thinks they’re beautiful. He states that, “it’s time for Barbie to retire,” and that Mattel (makers of Barbie) has engaged in, “really unfair competitions,” where the battle of the #1 and #2 dolls are concerned.

While the interivew/news segment talks about several of Barbie’s personas being career oriented, they point out that the Bratz girls are more about shopping. Larian characterizes the Bratz dolls as, “Girls with a passion for fashion.” Larian also seems to find it laughable that girls associate Bratz with teenagers and Barbies as mothers. Yeah, because who would ever want their kids to find it fun to be around mom and emulate her characteristics?
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Toy Retailers Association Top 12 Toys for 2006

The UK Toy Retailers Associaton (TRA) has also announced its top 12 toys for Christmas 2006. Woohoo. (You able to psyche yourself up?)

• Baby Born with magic eyes, Zapf
• Bratz Forever Diamondz Assortment, Vivid
• Cars Fast Talkin’ McQueen, Mattel
• Deal or No Deal Electronic Board Game, Drumond Park
• Dr Who Cyberman Mask, Character Options
• Let’s Dance Barbie Doll, Mattel
• Paper FX, Flair
• Pixel Chix Mall, Mattel
• Tamagotchi Connexion V3, Bandai
• Thomas Aquadraw, Tomy
• Trivial Pursuit 90’s, Hasbro
• V.Smile Baby, VTech

Other top toy lists: 2006 FamilyFun Magazine Toy of the Year Awards, 2006 Toy Wishes Hot Dozen Toys, Robot Tops British Favorite Toy List

Technorati Tags: toys, children, kids, christmas, shopping, gifts

2006 Toy Wishes Hot Dozen Toys

‘Tis the season for lots of lists to get you to buy more toys, toys, toys! Toy Wishes magazine has released its annual “Hot Dozen” toys list.

• Barbie And The 12 Dancing Princesses
• Bratz Forever Diamondz
• Butterscotch My Furreal Friends Pony
• Digi Makeover
• Fly Wheels XPV
• Kid Tough Digital Camera
• Lego Mindstorms NXT
• Magtastik
• Monopoly Here & Now
• Speed Stacks Stackpack
• T.M.X. Elmo – Need I say more?
• Wii

Happy shopping!

MarketWatch, October 4, 2006

Technorati Tags: toys, toy wishes, hot toys, shopping, holidays, christmas, presents, gifts, children, kids, parenting

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