Sunday, October 16, 2016

The Boxed Barbie DreamHouse : Fall 2016

As many of you may already know, the very first blog post here is by far the most popular. So, given that, I decided to make a follow-up post with new pictures and commentary. Here it is! 


All three structures together! This would make a wonderful Christmas morning indeed! 

I am not sure of the exact year, but I am supposing this is about 1981-1983. 

One thing I really love about the box is the comic strip panels showing all the different rooms, features and play possibilities. 

The lesser known Finishing Touches accessory packs. I was never into these, but it was cool that they made the attempt to add things to fill out this admittedly sparse house. 

This shipping carton is in GREAT shape. My original A Frame memory at ToysRUs is that they strung these up high in the ceiling far above the shelf, with no boxed houses on the lower shelves amongst the Barbie items. Maybe there was one of those ticket stub dispensers, so once paid for, a stocker would retrieve one (in a carton) from the back. Sadly, many ebay sellers ship the house in the original shipping carton, requiring the carton to be written on/tape/shipping label applied, and then go through shipping getting dirty and banged up. Mwa, mwa, mwaaaaaaa....


Even now, 30-40 years after these mammoth toys rolled off the factory conveyer belts minty new, surprising treasures pop up every once in awhile online. I always hope that the buyer does not open these extremely rare finds since its too easy to recreate the flowers as seen in previous posts. 

5 comments:

  1. I just want you to know I love your posts about this house and your blog. It is so insighteful on how to restore and what to look for in this houses, as I have wanted one for a while now and seen them repainted and left in their original condition. Thank you.

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    1. Hi, Thank you, so much! I still cannot believe that this is the only site specifically devoted to this house. I am also surprised about how many different posts I can make (hundreds over the years).

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  2. Hi, I just packed away my A frame orange and yellow Dream House. I got it when I was 10 and passed it on to my daughters. They have outgrown it and space was an issue. I'm so sad!! I am 44 years old and it truly is a treasure to me! I'll never part with it. Maybe this is already answered, but do you know what the original price of the furnished house was back in 1982? I googled it and that is how I ended up here!

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    1. Hi, I can relate, I am never parting with mine either! It was about $109, I think. I have posted pics of several ads with prices on here, so, you could search in the search box to find those posts and search for the prices there. Glad you like the blog. =-)

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  3. I'm so happy I found your blog!! I cannot believe I have never come across it. I received this house for Christmas at 10 years old. Sadly, it was lost in a fire. It has been more than 30 years and now I am still pining for it. Looking through your blog posts has brought back some really great memories for me. Thank you.

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