Sunday, May 31, 2015

Christmas Barbie Dolls

Holiday Barbie Collection

Holiday Barbies were released before Christmas every year so that parents could buy their little girls a new Barbie every Christmas, over time these girls grew up and still look forward to the new holiday Barbies that come out every year - they're now highly sought after collectors dolls.

If you know a Barbie fan then getting them a holiday Barbie is sure to bring a smile to their face especially if you manage to find one that they don't have in their collection.

Holiday Barbies aren't just for one Christmas - you can enjoy them for years to come!

1988 - The First Holiday Barbie

Collectible Barbie in Festive Red

The first Holiday Barbie was produced in 1988 and apparently it was never intended to become the Christmas tradition that it has developed into.

This Barbie doll in a beautiful, festive red ballgown was released in limited numbers and sold out extremely fast making it one of the 'must have' Christmas gifts of 1988. Executives took note and decided to bring out another doll in 1989, the response was pleasing and the result as they say is Barbie History!

Holiday Barbies of the 80s

80s Collectible Barbies

There were only two Holiday Barbies of the 80s the original 1988 Holiday Barbie and the second in the series the 1989 Holiday Barbie - 1988 Happy Holidays Barbie
The very first Holiday Barbie isn't just attributed to starting a Christmas tradition, but is also said to be responsible for the range of Barbie Collectors Series that have been released since ....... and that's not a small number, who would have thought it way back in 1988?



Happy Holidays Barbie 1989
The second Holiday Barbie is dressed in a white sparkly dress with a snowflake ornament in her hair - in my mind she always seemed like a Snow Queen! Just like her predecessor this Holiday Barbie also sold out quickly.



The Holiday Barbie Collection

From 1988 - 2012 you can see all of the Holiday Barbies on this video showcase. 


Happy Holiday Barbies of the 90s

90s Collectible Barbies

The 90s saw the Happy Holiday Barbies continue to be extremely popular and we also saw an African American Holiday Barbie released in 1990. 1991, however, was to see three different Holiday Barbies released for the first time. Although they were wearing the same dress we had the traditional blonde Barbie doll that we identify with along with a brunette Barbie doll and an African American Barbie doll.

Am I being a little cynical when I think the company were cashing in on the popularity of the Holiday Barbie? I mean let's face it if you're a collector and there are three different Barbies being released it means you now need to buy 3 instead of 1 doll or have an incomplete collection.

Mattel Happy Holidays 1990
1990 Blonde Barbie in a sparkling pink dress - those big puffy sleeves always make me think that this should've been an 80s Barbie doll!



Happy Holidays Special Edition 1990 African American Barbie Doll
1990 African American Holiday Barbie actually suits the sparkling pink dress better than traditional Barbie in my opinion. This doll does come with a doll stand as well so that you can put all of your Holiday Barbies on display easily



Happy Holidays Barbie Doll Special Edition (1991)
1991 Blonde Barbie doll is wearing a very dark green, velvet dress that's encrusted with jewels on the bodice. She also has a matching purse and hair bow and like the others comes with a doll stand to display her on.



Barbie 1991 African American
The 1991 African American Barbie doll comes with everything the blonde and hard to find brunette Holiday Barbies come with which also includes shoes and jewelry.



The 1992 Happy Holidays Barbie doll shimmers beautifully in silver and white just like a classic Ice Queen.
There wasn't a brunette Barbie released this year just the blonde and the African American Barbie below.


The 1993 Holiday Barbies saw a return to festive red with accents of gold and again two dolls were released - Blonde Barbie and African American Barbie.
Both of these 1993 Barbies were 11.5" tall like all of the Holiday Barbies are. They also come with not just the jewelry you can see in the image, but also a 5" x 7" picture.


1994 Special Edition Holiday Barbie is an absolute vision in sparkling gold and faux fur and is available in both the African American Barbie as well as the traditional blonde Barbie doll.


During 1994 Mattel also decided to release some other Holiday related Special Edition Barbies so along with these official Happy Holidays Barbie you can also get a Barbie's Winter Eve Special Edition which is a blonde Barbie dressed in a gown with a green bodice and Christmas tartan skirt as well as faux fur trim - very festive.

The company didn't stop there, however and also released the 1994 Special Edition Victorian Elegance Barbie that is dressed in winter Victorian style clothes and comes in a box that looks very festive - she also has ice skates which is pretty cool.



Holiday Barbies are no Longer Happy Holidays Barbies

Changing the Holiday Barbie Label

From the first Holiday Barbie these Barbies were released as Happy Holidays Barbie dolls, but during the 90s Mattel had started to introduce other Holiday themed Barbies into the mix as well such as the Special Edition Holiday Traditions Barbie Special Edition Holiday Memories Barbie and the Special Edition Winter Barbie.

When the 1998 Happy Holidays Barbie Doll was released collectors were told that it would be the last of the Happy Holidays Barbie, luckily little girls didn't have to worry as Holiday Barbie wasn't really going away, she was just getting a new name.

Here are the 'official' Holiday Barbies that have been released since.



The Celebration Series of Barbie Dolls

Holiday Barbies 2000-2002

From the year 2000 the Holiday Barbies were released under the name of Holiday Celebration Barbie. As far as little girls and their moms were concerned though they were just the Holiday Barbies that they brought every year!

Let's have a look at the Celebration series of Holiday Barbie dolls...



2003 Winter Fantasy Barbie

The Holiday Barbie for 2003

The Winter Fantasy Barbie was released as the first in the series of 'Holiday Visions' Barbie dolls, but she was the only one ever released so I'm not sure what happened there.

No brunette was released in this year as Barbie or as Theresa, Friend of Barbie, this doll was just available in classic Barbie blonde and African American.



Holiday Barbies

Holiday Barbies 2004 -

At last the company saw sense and decided to rename the Holiday Barbies exactly what they were always thought of - Holiday Barbies and that's the name they still have today.

Let's have a look at all of the Holiday Barbie dolls for this millennium.



As you can see above both the 2004 and the 2005 Holiday Barbie came with an alternative colored dress.



The 2012 Barbie Collector Holiday Doll sports a radiant red dress with a flourish of silver and as well as the blonde Barbie and African American Barbie is also available as a brunette.



The 2013 Christmas Barbie doll is sporting a silver gown with snowflake detailing on her gown and she looks absolutely stunning like the ultimate Snow Queen!

There's been three of these dolls released - the traditional blonde Barbie, an African American Barbie along with one that has gorgeous auburn hair which I think offsets the silver gown really, really well.



The 2014 Collectors Holiday Barbie saw us with three versions - blonde, African-American and brunette as you can see below -




The 2015 Christmas Barbie dolls are here and using the name Holiday Sparkle Barbie.  I must say they're looking very festive in a strapless red dress adorned with snowflakes. I've found the blonde Barbie version as well as an African American version of this holiday doll, enjoy -


The 2016 Christmas Barbie dolls continues the holiday tradition, but this year there's a choice between three different gowns.



2017 Holiday Barbies - A Gorgeous Christmas Tradition


More Holiday Themed Barbies

There are so many other holiday themed or winter themed Barbies that are constantly being released now that it's hard to know which ones to buy, but these are the Holiday Barbies that most people think of when they talk about them.

There are lots of other series of Barbies such as the Holiday Grocery Store Barbies and the Victorian Elegance Barbies that you can also get for some holiday spirit along with angel Barbies and more, but I'd stick with these whether you're a collector or just a mom to a little girl who loves getting a special Barbie every year.

Christmas Barbie Dolls - a great holiday tradition

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