Barbie house decorated for Christmas

"Brrr!  It's cold out here!  We're ready to come inside," yell Cheryl and PJ as they stand outside the Barbie Dream House

I made my own Christmas cards to send out this year.  Barbie, of course!

In January 2018, I decorated the 1978 orange, yellow and white Barbie Dream House with some of its furniture, plus a tree with trimmings and other small items I've accumulated over the years.   All the dolls and outfits in the house were from Mattel and made between 1978 and 1982.  Naturally, I took photos.

Everyone admires each other's outfits.
From left to right are
Barbie, Ken, Cheryl and PJ.

The dolls and outfits I used were:

1. Pretty Changes Barbie in 1010 Disco Dazzle, both from 1979

2. Hawaiian Ken in 2800 Blue Chip Dressing, both from 1979

3. Western Skipper from 1981 in 3781 Elegant from 1982

Pets are always ready
to help decorate for Christmas.

4. Sun Lovin' PJ from 1980 in 3787 Winter Sports from 1982 and a European Fur and Leather coat and skirt from 1980

5. TV's Star Woman Cheryl Ladd in Best Buy 2560, both from 1978

"We were supposed to
put the lights on the tree first,"
Kristy reminds Skipper.

6. Letitia "Buddy" Lawrence (Kristy McNichol) in her original outfit, from 1979

7. Barbie's Afghan hound Beauty from 1980

I bought the tree from a floral store in 2017. The gifts under the tree are boxes I've accumulated over the years; I think one of them held jewelry. The lights that Kristy and Skipper are holding are a battery-operated necklace which doesn't work anymore. I found the fireplace at a craft show years ago.

If you look closely you will find numerous old items: my sister found the Kings Island TV at a garage sale--the set dates from the early 70s; and the tiny Nativity in the triangular stable is from the late 60s and was my grandmother's. The clock on the chimney also dates from the early 1970s. It was actually a child's plastic fake watch with a holographic dial. I just cut off the band and glued the watch itself over the fireplace.

The oldest item were two ornaments that belonged to my father and were from the 1950s. There is a wooden barrel on the second floor, and you can kind of see a tan balsa birdhouse dangling from the tree.

I do not know the origins behind the barrel and the birdhouse. When I was a little girl I'd shake the barrel and hear something inside. I realize now that the barrel was a type of puzzle and there was probably a trick to open it. I never figured out the trick. I eventually just broke open the barrel and found the birdhouse inside. Even 40 years ago I wanted to use that birdhouse with my Barbie dolls and I finally found the ideal setting for it this year!