Someone tell me about LOL dolls

[WelcomeToTheNorth]

I mean to me they look fairly vile. But my eldest is 5 (a young five). Her friends (mainly six, seem loads more grown up) are all OBSESSED with them. She’s showing an interest too so I wanted to get her a couple.

I can’t work out where to get them 😕 there seems to be one or two collections on amazon and the same ones are on Very and Argos. She has this LOL handbook (which I got in home bargains) and she wants some of the ones in there and I just...I’m baffled.

I think I just don’t really get how it all works? All I seem to be able to find are boys and pets.

Go to Smyths Toys website and search L.O.L. 114 seperate products including dollhouses, dolls, branded bikes etc.

I agree Smyths are best for LOL dolls, Sainsburys have them in the toy section too sometimes. You’re absolutely right OP, they are vile but DD was also utterly obsessed with them at that age as were all of her friends. She’s 8 now and almost grown out of them.....

Oh my god there’s so much...

Just in case you didn’t realise, you don’t get to choose which one you buy. You part with £10 for a plastic ball which she unwraps to discover which doll and accessories she has. They are complete over priced tat, but gave DD and her friends so much pleasure.

The glitter one would be a good first. It is all a bit overwhelming. Possibly a ‘pet’ too.

www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/toys/fashion-and-dolls/l-o-l-surprise-/l-o-l-surprise-lights-glitter-doll-with-8-surprises-assortment/p/183778

I don’t like them at all, dd (6) does. They get filled with water to see if they’re a crier, a spitter or a wee-er and then they never get properly emptied and end up smelling mouldy. And the clothes get destroyed if you try to change them too much, they’re really flimsy. The OMG dolls are particularly awful and expensive, all bubble butts and duck pouts.

They seem to bring out a new series every 5 minutes so you might not get some of the ones from your book as they seem to move on pretty quickly. The discontinued toy bays in supermarkets sometimes have them at more reasonable prices but you really have to keep your eye out for them. I resisted letting dd get them because she’s too young to understand that they’re actually pretty expensive for a five minute wonder but she watches you tubers make stories with them so she does actually get a good amount of play out of them.

I can’t get over the price of some of the merchandise

Ok. I have ordered a glitter 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yes, try hard not to go down the road of the bigger gifts (which are prime Christmas things, but will be sold out by December anyway). A number of people who bought the large flashy top-of-the-list sets were amazed to find out that most of what was inside was essentially just the same as the balls, but a few more examples (some of which their children had already due to the mystery element of them). The best versions I have seen were the ones with a code wheel to get into them and then a couple of other codes to crack inside - the containers were kind of cylinder shaped.
I am amazed by the eco-unfriendliness of them, though, and I'd describe myself as on the could-do-better level of environmental awareness.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2017/dec/05/lol-suprise-dolls-the-must-have-festive-toy-for-the-child-soldiers-of-capitalism

Here is everything you need to know about LOL surprise dolls.