Mumsnet users share their memories of playing with dolls with Baby Annabell

[LucyBMumsnet]

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Most people have some fond memories of playing with dolls in their childhood, from sweetly changing their nappy and rocking them to sleep, to taking them everywhere or ‘customising’ what they look like. Baby Annabell would like to find out more about your memories of playing with dolls, as well as how your children play with their dolls.

What was your doll’s name, and do you still like it now? Did your doll cry real tears, drink real water, burp after feeding, or need its nappy changing? Or did you have to make pretend because the technology wasn’t available yet? What were your favourite games to play with your doll? How does your child play with dolls now? How does it differ from how you played with dolls?

Share your memories on this thread and you will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky MNer will win a £300 voucher for a store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

I never really played with dolls; just loved teddy bears really. My little girl is already obsessed with her doll though

When I was younger my parents had a two 'spare' rooms. I turned one of them into a nursery for my 'babies'. I had cribs, prams and used to shop in the charity shops for baby toys and baby clothes for them.

I had one, 'Baby Shivers' which in all honestly looked quite creepy, I remember calling her Grace. Her head fell off one day, and the electrics went in it, but I used to take that doll everywhere...

I had another who I called Lauren. It was a 'Baby Expressions' and used to make various faces. I was so excited when I received it for Christmas I jumped full force into my parents sofa chair (which was on casters), it rolled back and I managed to break my Mum's favourite plant pot!

The other was a 'Baby Born' I still have this one, although it has now been handed down to my Daughter, who adores dolls. That doll has aged pretty well given she's now 25 years old. Me. Not so much...

I always hated baby dolls, but loved Sindy/Barbie dolls. I used to play them driving around dating the Ken dolls and changing all their outfits and hairstyles. Never really did the whole pretending to be a mum thing lol

One of my earliest memories was my mum taking me to the shop and buying me a Barbie. It was a really basic one but I couldn't believe it was mine. I held it in the box in my pushchair all the way home. As I got older I liked making clothes and furniture for her and she's still somewhere at my parents house.

DC1 didn't like dolls but loved soft toys and would have lots of pretend tea parties for them when younger. Now, like me he makes lots of clothes and other things for his favourite soft toy.

I adored playing with my doll and my Dad made a cot and a high chair out of cardboard boxes for me, I spent hours feeding my doll with concoctions I made of flour and water then i'd bath her and when we had family come to stay who had a baby with them my doll would be able to use all their equipment and I loved it

When I was little I really wanted a doll that looked like me and was brown so my mum got her friend to make me one.

My doll memories are mostly tinged with regret - although I'd now rather have decor/clothes etc that are slightly different to everyone else, I hated it as a child, & my dolls were all slightly different.

All my friends had Barbie dolls, & I had a Sindy. Not a significant difference, except all the clothes and accessories were different too, which I hated. Also, when everyone else got a 'laughing crying baby doll' that was blonde and identical, my mum managed to get me one that had dark hair like me. With hindsight, that was massively thoughtful, & she must have been so hurt when I did nothing but complain that it wasn't the right one, or the same as everyone elses

I had a Cabbage Patch kid called Katie, I loved her and she came everywhere with me. I used to dress her up in my baby clothes pretending she was Truly Scrumptious from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

The only downside was she had a very hard plastic face with a sharp nose so could be sore to roll on in bed. When we lived in Australia, I left her face up in the garden and her face and nose melted. She looked very odd but finally she was perfect to cuddle!

I used to love my Sindy dolls, especially the hairdresser set with a 'real' hairdrier. In our house, Sindys shared most things with my brother's Action Man toys, so you'd often see a Sindy driving a tank or going down a zip wire, or an Action Man driving Sindy's red Range Rover!

it's of my sisters letting me play with their new dolls

I had a Chatty Cathy doll. She was utterly terrifying! My favourite toy was a Kermit doll. I loved him to bits and took him everywhere. My auntie was a very talented and prolific knitter. Every time she knitted something for me she would knit a mini version for Kermit - we cut quite a dash in our matching red ponchos

Me and my sister had to have EVERYTHING the same, we both had a baby annabell but we didn't want to get them mixed up so we gave them new names. not very creative.. baby Anna and baby Bell.. (cheese joke here). We were both very creative and impulsive however so they ended up with nail polish 'hair' or crayoned on make up and ended up looking a travesty...

I spent a lot of my childhood outdoors (grew up abroad) so didn't really play with dolls too much. I did have a couple of Barbies which I enjoyed dressing up though.

playing with my tiny tears and my sindys- my mum used to knit them clothes and also make them matching clothes for me. happy times

I never liked dolls - the only ones I had were from relatives who thought I "should" play with them.

I used to read in bed on a night by torchlight after my mum had put me to bed. One Christmas my grandma bought me a cabbage patch doll. Unbeknownst to me my mum had popped it in my bed. That night I turned my torch on down the side of my bed as usual and a giant baby's head glowed orange beside me. I shat myself. Dislike dolls all the more now.

I absolutely adored my Tiny Tears and loved dressing her up in all her clothes. My mum was a dressmaker and made lots of clothes for her and many of them were mini versions of the dresses, coats etc that she made for me and my sister. I also had a Sindy and her sister Patch and a doll called Tearie Dearie with a chest of clothes, but Tiny Tears was definately my favourite!

I was terrified of dolls when I was a child! My friend invited me to her birthday party where we played dolls and mums, so everyone brought a doll with them to be their baby. I took a panda instead and was mum to a panda!

I remember destroying my sister's barbie camping van on boxing day. She went ballistic

I had a tiny tears called Annie and an old pram. I seem to remember that she could cry and wee!! My best friend also had a doll so we used to spend hours pushing them up and down our street.

My dolly was called Jemima and she went everywhere with me. She was a Tiny tears (do they still exist?) and apparently after my little brother was born I would sit with my mum on the sofa and 'breastfeed' her from my tummy. I was only 3 at the time!

My grandma knitted and sewed her clothes too and I loved getting her dressed and undressed. I have a vague memory of having a doll's crib next to my bed for her.

I have two DS who have shown no interest in dolls. A couple of the little girls at playgroup love them though. We have a dolly sling which is hugely popular.

I had a cabbage patch doll which went everywhere with me.
She was bald so I drew hair on her head 🙈
Her name was Carlotta Yetta 🤷‍♀️ 🤔
I remember that!
Ironically all my barbies ended up bald 😂😂 ✂️

I had a beautiful Sindy doll, she was magnificent my aunt's knitted her several outfits and she had many pairs of shoes... I use to wash her clothes and hang them on the climbing frame and brush her hair everyday, ( also brushed the rabbit with the same hair brush).

My twin took great offensive at the amount of time I would spend with my lovley Sindy doll and one bonfire night she enlisted the help of the tearaway older boys next door and tied Sindy to the largest firework rocket and Cindy exploded in the sky.... My mum patiently explained about dolly heaven and I don't believe either my sister or the boys next door were able to sit down for a good few days.

When my daughter was a todlar I bought her a few dolly's she unfortunately decided against them and would happily push around a variety of Pokémon soft toys in her big pram.

I remember all the dolls I had but not actually playing with them. Perhaps because I had a brother and scalextric and trainsets etc. were much more exciting. I wonder if I'd have got to play with 'boys toys' if I hadn't had a brother...

I remember having a dressy bessy doll with the laces and buckles who I loved. My parents might have it at home somewhere.

I hated baby dolls as a child, and never wanted one, I always felt scared around them.
My best friend had quite a few, I used to stamp on them when she went out the room!
I loved my Barbie and Cindy dolls though, and loved dressing them up and arranging them in poses in my dolls house.
My daughter loves her baby dolls though, and I now think they are quite cute, I enjoy seeing her play with them.