Oh, the torture! The decisions! Help me spend this money!

FaerieBeth · December 28, 2003, 1:28am

Necessary Information:

$50 Amazon Gift Certificate

Voracious Reader
Geeky Tolkien Freako
Barbie Collector
would like to keep the expenditure as close to the GC as possible
Should I buy-

This? http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005BM41/qid=1072573313//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i4_xgl21/102-9980150-9685700?v=glance&s=toys&n=507846

Or This? http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0618401210/qid=1072573177//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i8_xgl14/102-9980150-9685700?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Or something else entirely?
I’ve been wanting a couple of books, but I’ve gotten many in the past week, so I have plenty to read.
LOTR Trivial Pursuit would be fun (so would the monopoly), but Stonebow reminds me that, other than our eldest children, we are alone in our fanaticism. There would be few people with whom to play.

I managed to admirably discharge my shopping duty with the Crate & Barrel GC, but the pressure of finding the right thing to buy with this is about to send me over the edge into madness.

FaerieBeth

elfkin477 · December 28, 2003, 1:51am

Those are nice, but I personally have bought this:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/toys/B00005O7NV/qid%3D1072576026/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr_11_1/102-8245640-7708938

And these
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000083E0C/ref=pd_sim_toys_3/102-8245640-7708938?v=glance&s=toys

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/toys/B000084UD3/qid=1072576073/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/102-8245640-7708938

Plus the baby doctor set that goes with Happy Family (not on amazon). So my vote is for Barbie. Then, I dislike the LOTR books, so…

FaerieBeth · December 28, 2003, 2:03am

elfkin477, I have the Princess of Ireland Doll! She’s gorgeous, and I just purchased the Princess of Ancient Greece ( http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/toys/B0000E2DKX/qid%3D1072577044/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr_11_1/102-9980150-9685700 )yesterday to add to my DotW collection. I like the Happy Family stuff, but most of my Barbie collection centers around the DotW, Fashion, and Collector’s Series stuff. Someday, I may even display them all instead of hoarding them on the top shelves of all the closets!

On a side note, I was excited to see the Happy Family Grandmother’s Kitchen set at TRU yesterday. It comes with a grandma Barbie and a grandpa Ken! Complete with gray hair!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/toys/B000098XG4/qid%3D1072577083/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr_11_1/102-9980150-9685700
I have thought it is very cool that they are beginning to branch out a little from the traditional Barbie/Ken setup to include pregnancy, babies, and grandparents.

FB

elfkin477 · December 28, 2003, 2:41am

It’s not the first time, though. Mattel also made the Heart Family during the 80s. (did they make the Sunshine Family too? Those were before my time, anyway) The mom was billed as Barbie’s cousin. There was a set of grandparents too, but I never got them. (they looked like this though http://www.vecchigiocattoli.it/nonni.jpg )

I had so much of that stuff… Most of my Birthday/Christmas/Allowance money before the age of 11 went to buying these:

I still have some of that stuff (all five of the dolls etc) but you can imagine the shape they’re in… back then they were to play with

FaerieBeth · December 28, 2003, 4:24am

Hey, they did!
http://members.tripod.com/ltanis/mattel_sunshine_family.htm

I had a vague memory of the Sunshine Family once you mentioned it, but IIRC, they weren’t quite as mainstream as the Barbie Happy Family set has become.

FB