Retail stores have already started to roll out Christmas decorations and it reminds me that some people do start their Christmas shopping early. Unlike me, as I tend to leave it until the week or two before Christmas and end up having to brave busy malls because there is no way that I can have things shipped to me in time and this results in me complaining about crowded malls and the impossibility of finding what I need during the holiday season. But I digress. Some people are much more savvy shoppers than I am and begin early. I could only wish that I had the forethought to remember about Christmas before November and actually do some holiday shopping.

As the holiday season is approaching, I do sometimes get emails from people wanting to buy Blythes for their loved ones. Either for their child or for a spouse/significant other or, very generously, to a friend. And if you’re giving Blythes for Christmas, I would love to be your friend as well! I usually get about 3-5 emails every year about this time where someone’s wondering where they can go to buy a Blythe. And if they’ve heard about Blythe before, they ask where they can go to make sure that they’re buying a legitimate Blythe.

Some great holiday ideas for the Blythe lover in your life could include:

• Doll books! Some titles by Gina Garen include This is Blythe and Blythe Style.
• Pattern books for the sewers/crafters in your life – I would recommend the Doll Coordinate Recipe books that are geared towards new/beginning sewers. They don’t have a volume/issue number attached to them and they are very straight forward with step-by-step photographs
• Fabrics with tiny prints can be a great size for doll clothes or, even better,
• Doll clothes from Etsy or Artfire – just search “Blythe” with dress, outfit, shirt, pants, shorts, skirt and you will come up with a lot of listings in many types of styles

If you are set on buying a doll though, and don’t want to run the risk of getting a “factory” or “fake” doll, here are some suggested websites to try:

• Junie Moon – they are an official retailer and “the” retailer for Blythe, they primarily carry newer releases and also carry other Blythe/doll-related accessories
• CC Toys – they have some older releases as well as newer releases, but prices on some dolls may run higher than you would find on eBay
• Dolly Adoption – a Facebook group, members are required to follow rules that include listing if the doll is a factory or fake

Some commonly faked dolls include: Simply Mango, Simply Guava, Urban Cowgirl, Last Kiss, Ultimate Tour, Ten Happy Memories (anniversary doll) and, unfortunately, most of the translucent/semi-translucent dolls (e.g. Miss Sally Rice, Penny Precious). Many of the fake dolls come in a stock box and clothing or nude/without clothing. If you are not sure about a doll’s origins or suspect that it may be a factory/fake doll, I would recommend asking someone who’s opinion you can trust regarding the legitimacy of the doll, or to post in a Blythe Facebook group to ask for opinions.

I think that dolls make great holiday gifts and whomever you’re buying a doll or doll things for is a very lucky person. Happy shopping this (early) holiday season!

I get this question a lot:

What do you do when you’re not blogging about dolls?

Sometimes the question is worded differently but the question is still the same. I’ve interviewed a great number of people in the doll community, but I’ve never been interviewed myself. So here goes, I guess?

When I’m not blogging about dolls, I’m a full-time nursing student. I’m halfway through my program and when I’m done I will be a registered nurse. When I’m not doing blogging or working on school things (papers, studying, readings, more studying), I spend time with friends, do some crafting (knitting, crocheting, beading) and then I drink a lot of Chai tea lattes.

Any other questions for me? What questions do you want to ask the blogger behind the blog?

This is such a loaded question because I’m not asking which stock Blythe doll you would want if you had your choice in the matter. It’s just any Blythe doll ever. That includes stock dolls, customs, Kenners, soon-to-be released Blythes – all of them. So who’s doll(s) have you been coveting over the years? Which doll would you snatch up in a heartbeat if she ever came up for sale?

This is Chunk, she’s a chunky-banged brunette that I adore.

If you could have any Blythe in the world, who would it be?

You have a doll-related website/shop/blog and BlytheLife has your target audience!

BlytheLife.com is an active doll website with a high readership that primarily consists of women who are Blythe and other doll collectors/hobbyists. By advertising your doll-related site or business with BlytheLife, you can ensure that your ad is being seen by the people that are your potential customers.

Sponsorship costs are purposely kept low to keep advertising accessible to people in the doll community.

Did you know? In the month of September 2013, there was an average of 1850 unique visitors per day and a total of 310,752 hits for the entire month!

There are three spots currently available for the month of November and all sponsorship funds go towards keeping BlytheLife.com up and running!

Large – 1 spot available for November! (325×200 pixels)

• $10 – 1 month
• $18 – 2 months
• $26 – 3 months

Small – 2 spots available for November! (160×160 pixels)

• $5 – 1 month
• $9 – 2 months
• $13 – 3 months

If you’d like more information on how you can advertise on BlytheLife, click here.

Brainstorming for Halloween costumes is difficult. After all, how do I top a squid outfit? (I know, that’s old news by now, but I still adore the costume.) I’d love to come up with something witty for this year, mostly because Halloween is a creative time and I think it’d be something fun to do.

Last year, it was my Kenners that got involved in the Halloween and the year before it was Belarus (Love Mission). I think this year it may be my FBL fraternal twins who get in on the action, I just need to come up with a doubles/twins costume idea that will work for Moxie (Simply Bubble Boom) and Mollie (Simply Sparkly Spark). Who are Moxie and Mollie? These two lovelies…

Boo!

They already do spooky so well, as Blythes without eye chips in are likely to do! But I still need some costuming ideas. And then the time to actually put them together, because that takes time (and effort) as well! My favourite part about Halloween is actually the day after. Discounted chocolate? Discounted candies to put me on a sugar high until Christmas? Don’t mind if I do! Sugar is as sugar does, I do enjoy getting to munch some on some goodies while I’m in school because it helps keep me awake.

So far I’ve been considering the following ideas for their costumes – do you have any suggestions?:

• The girls from The Shining
• Insects of some sort
• Mummies!
• Something science-fiction inspired