March 14, 2009

The American Girl dolls are a big thing here in the US.  And mind you, they do not come at a cheap price. Dolls for girls aged 3+ start at $42, while dolls for the 8+ age group start at $95.  The dolls come with a book that tells the story of each doll and which encourages little girls to grow up in a wholesome way while enjoying girlhood through enchanted fun and play.

The American Girl Boutique and Bistro in Dallas, TX

That said, I want a Filipina Girl doll for my daughter.  My daughter’s school is inviting families from other cultures (like us!) to drop by the school and share with the pre-schoolers, things about their cultures that the little ones will find interesting.  Visual aids will come in handy for the activity’s targeted audience.

Unfortunately, I do not have native toys or visual aids that I can bring to Abby’s school.  Except for Hubby’s barong tagalog (the popular costume for Filipino males), we do not have any other costumes we could bring.  So I checked out ShopWiki for some possibilities.  I want to buy whatever reasonably priced toys I could find for the school presentation and for Abby’s enjoyment  as well.

Back home, I remember seeing Barbie dolls in Filipiniana costumes.  I checked out Shop Wiki’s Collectible  Dolls Buying Guide and then proceeded to search for Filipina Barbie dolls.  I love  the search result, but the dolls are indeed collector’s items!  I almost fell off my seat when I saw the price of this Ms. Philippines Barbie…$575!  There were about two dolls priced at $100 and $189.00.  I did find a Philippine Islands Barbie that was only $30.  I will have to look some more.

I wonder if we have friends or family who are coming to the US soon.  I know of one.  Hee hee.  I’ll be requesting for Filipiniana toys for pasalubong.