Charles's Pages about Doll Stuff - www.dollstuff.net

At long last, it's time to wish Ken® a happy 50th birthday. Technically it's two days early - his actual "birthday" is March 13, but this year the 13th is a Sunday so it's been "pushed back" to the more marketing-friendly Friday-the-11th. (Otherwise you'd just be hearing about it on Meet the Press.) Of course, it's also a good time to wish Barbie® a happy belated-birthday.

Sure, Ken and Barbie aren't actual people so wishing them "happy birthday" is a bit wacky, but everybody else is doing it so why can't we?

Now, here's something exciting - in honor of Ken's 50th birthday, Toys R Us is having a super-sale: All playline Barbie dolls and accessories are 50% off through Saturday, March 12th! The sale has actually been in effect all week, but better late than never I always say. (Eventually.)

Maybe you youngsters will remember the "good old days" when TRU had an annual "buy-one-get-one-free" Barbie sale. It was a cultural highlight of the year. Essentially this is the same thing, except "50% off" means this time there's no need to argue with cashiers who don't believe the "B-O-G-O" sale means if you get two $5 dolls and two $10 dolls you get one $5 doll and one $10 doll free (a.k.a. 50% off) until they scan them and discover you're right which doesn't surprise you since you've been shopping there longer that they've been working there and you already knew that. Oh yeah anyway.

Also, the old sales were capped at dolls that were "$20 or less", but there's no price limit this time - everything is on sale, even the really expensive stuff. Unfortunately, it doesn't include Barbie Collector® dolls, so those nifty new Barbie Basics 2.0 dolls don't count. The sale does include the So in Style™ dolls, though.

If you can't make it to a store, you can also take advantage of the sale on their website. Or just use it to create a detailed shopping list before you go to keep you on track so you don't end up getting 7 fairy dolls you don't need in a moment of weakness. (oops)

(For the record, I only got three.)