4 months later and ...

It has been four months since I bought my last doll. WOW. (Ok, ok, and four months since I last blogged here - I'm such a slacker!) I have been seriously collecting dolls for ... eight years now and this is the longest I've gone without buying a new doll.

I have bought a Chair of Great Decadence, five pair of BJD shoes and a couple sets of eyes in this time ... but no new doll.

Francesca in The Chair

And ya know what? I'm not missing it. The Wish List has changed around just a bit; have decided when I do finally get a child BJD it will be a Rosen Lied, the Sasha-needing-a-wig is still on the list. Oh, and I am reverting, just a bit ... asked hubby to get me the Daniel Craig doll from Tonner for Christmas. I did promise Veruca a man some time ago and frankly can't think of much I'd let other folks buy for me - not being a snob, just saying I have enough.

Have been surprised on the doll boards - there is a lot of selling it seems, not just in one doll-type, but across the board. People are re-prioritizing and winnowing out all over the place. I don't think people are necessarily doing that just with dolls, I think it's wider. Watch HGTV for a few shows; LOTS of minimizing and clearing out of clutter, many car commercials are trying to appeal to people's frugal/ecological side, even read a news article today that stated that retail stores aren't hiring as many extra people for the holiday season - is that because of the prevalence of online shopping or because more people are doing what our family is doing for Christmas giving this year?

What are we doing? We're minimizing. The kids are each getting one biggish gift (Leapsters for the little ones), a couple smaller gifts and a stocking. Hubby and I are giving each other one nice gift and doing a stocking for each other. For other folks that may be a lot, for me this is severely minimizing. The boys have everything really, they don't need much (any?) more. I'm embarrassed thinking about Christmases past where we kids ripped through gifts until the living room was carpeted in a foot of torn wrapping paper, and my first several years as a single-mom breaking the bank because I thought that is what you do for your child. (Thank goodness that did not spoil my boy!)

The trend in doll collecting now is a mirror of this bigger picture of what society is doing; smart doll companies are expanding their consumer base so they stay afloat, and many doll collectors - like me - are gravitating to dolls that we can customize and make special ... and we're finding less can be more.

But still, on occasion, a Chair of Great Decadence is needed.