Yesterday my husband and I were visiting one of our favorite little towns and we stopped in a few antique stores.  In one of them I spotted a whole set of shelves lined with Barbies in their boxes. I had not planned on buying anything, but once I started looking at all the Barbies, there ended up being two that I just couldn’t leave without!

Our oldest daughter collects the Holiday Barbies and the one from 1998 – the year she was born – is one that she did not have yet. The Barbie was in its box and reasonably priced at $25 so I really couldn’t resist! She was thrilled with it and it looks great with the other Barbies in her collection.

Well, I couldn’t really get away with buying a Barbie for one daughter and neglecting the other one, so we looked through the boxes until we found this beauty. She is a 2001 Ring in the New Year Barbie that was only available through Avon. Her gold ball ornament plays “Auld Lang Syne” and her box has a velcro flap across the front that when you open reveals the doll. And again, the year is meaningful as that is my youngest daughter’s birth year.

Neither of these Barbies are rare or expensive, but they have meaning to my girls and that is what counts. When talking to Barbie expert, Sandi Holder before Christmas I had asked her about the best Barbies to collect. Her answer was something to the effect of the Barbies that make you happy! That is exactly what we have got going for both girls’ collections.