Pat,

Do you have photos of what you did last year?  Will you be doing the same this year?  If so, I'd love to see.  You have such good ideas.

Robin

 Pat Hawkins <jhawkins1320@charter.net> wrote:

There are a lot of relatively cheap male dolls out now with great faces,
tho some, esp. to do with the military are downright mean & scary
looking...also some of their bodies are so overly bulked up with muscles
that's it's hard to get a Ken outfit on them & their feet may be too big
for his shoes. I've found them in strange places, our Dollar General
store & Big Lots have them ( including the one that reminds me of James
Bond.) I've found them in drugstores & of course, thrift shops &yard
sales. Some you can look at & immediately know, this one can be a
father figure or a 'boss' at work, one reminded me of Candi herself & so
would make a great brother ...the mean or scary ones I pass up.
Remember that this is a great time of year to look at Xmas oranments
with that other eye that's always on the lookout for small things to go
in an 12 in. doll display & not necessarily just for a Xmas scene
either. This year, try to find the time to have a Xmas scene with the
dolls. It can be as simple as dressing them in their finery & making a
party scene with just a few props like small drinking glasses & food...
or buying one of those cheap, small 12 in. Xmas trees & have the dolls
in the process of trimming it, holding a string of fake treelights such
as I'v e found at craft stores & I think, I got some at Walmart one
year..that way you dont need so many mini ornaments ( tho they're very
easy to find now too) as it's a work in process & a good way to also
use the little children dolls. I like to put one of the little Kelly's
in the midst of a string of lights & 'wrapping' paper as tho she got
tangled up in them. last year I arranged those little Xmas Kelly's
wearing the elf, Snowman etc outfits on an elevated platform & had the
adult dolls below as tho there were a Xmas pageant going on...this
required few props . I've placed them where ever there is a space ( no
easy task as I go crazy this time & year & trim up every nook and
cranny) I even had them in a bathroom once...next to the sink there's a
large area where I usually have my perfume/ pretty bottle
collection...people, even the men, got a kick out of that one..
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving..we have so much to be greatful
for...Pat H.