Breaking the news to your family?

I come from a family of dolls collectors. My mom thinks they are nice but way too expensive.

 

My mom always knew I like dolls. She even sews clothes for my boys and girls. When I first introduced BJD to her, she was awed at how realistic they are. My dad is pretty chill and doesnt really comment. My sister is quite terrified though lol

 

Wow! this has never crossed my mind concerning my family. They all accept me very well and the only questionable thing I do that they still accept is my choice of pets( invertebrates, amphibians, and reptiles...). They think my dolls are cool and my aunt wishes she could have had dolls such as these when she was a kid, and collect (mind you we are both grown women now...) But maybe she will start her own collection one day. I feel sorry for those who live with people who give them a hard time with their dolls.

But no I do not feel ashamed even if friends try to make me feel weird about them.

 

I told her during lunch, more than a month ago or so. She asked the reason for such a long waiting time and I explained that the doll was cast by hand and not factory produced. Then we kept talking about other arguments, lol!
I'm lucky to have her.

 

I simply informed my spouse about the purchase. It's my own money, so I don't care what anyone else thinks.

 

I'm old, so my parents are gone, but when they were alive they fully appreciated any of the various hobbies I got into. Surprisingly my dad really liked my dolls. He passed away before I knew about BJDs, but when he was alive I was into collecting Barbies. I loved to sew elaborate costumes for them, and my dad loved it. He always praised what I did. I think my dad was especially open to my doll collecting, because he was never a very macho dude, and so "girlie" things didn't offend him.

The only family member now who has said anything about my dolls, is my middle brother. When he comes to visit, he kids me about it, but he never really complains. He can't complain, because his wife collects Beanie Babies.

 

I remember trying to pass my first [70cm] boy off as an 'artist's model' to help with life drawings. A bold-faced lie that, for a time, they seemed to believe. Until I never produced any art to show them and, eventually, came clean a few years later.

Now, I think my mum's a bit judgemental whenever I receive another new one. That's why I always hope they plan to go away, and my doll turns up while they're gone. That way, I can just happen to drop a photo of them on my Instagram and no-one questions where they're from or when they came in. I did that with one of my Granado boys, sort of. I had him dropped off at a collection point, then stood in the car-park and unpacked him in the boot of my car. And he wasn't one of their 30cm boys, so I'm just trying my best to retrieve this 65cm beefcake of a guy out of his box, in broad daylight. What a sight I must've been. I slipped him in a shopping bag, leaving the box in the boot of my car for long enough, and bundled him into the house. About two weeks later, he made his Instagram debut with a caption that read something like 'oh, oops, I forgot to introduce this guy'. I don't think my parents realise just the lengths I went to that day, for whatever reason. But Mum's always interested when I show her my handmade clothing for my favourite boy, so that's something!

My dad's just not bothered. At least, I get the impression he doesn't really care to know about my dolls. He was into photography, but he recently sold most of his stuff. I didn't get a look-in; he gave a couple pieces to a family acquaintance first, never asking if I want any of it for photographing my dolls. I was a bit peeved, but I kept quiet about it. He doesn't often show any interest in my hobbies.

But, yeah, I still remember tripping over my tongue to claim my first doll was going to be a drawing model, and then bundling one big doll into the house in a shopping bag...

 

I’m in the same boat that my family is supportive in my quirky hobby. I get the impression that they don’t totally get it, but they can appreciate the art that goes into them. Specifically, when I do faceups!

When I brought my second doll into the house I was nervous of their reactions, but it was the same thing. They don’t understand, but they can appreciate what goes into them and the fact I am passionate about these hunks of resin.

 

I think it was on our second date - my now husband and I were walking around an antique store and I kept picking up dolls and looking at them. So, he asked me - do you like dolls. I blushed and said, "I love dolls." He told me his mom made/collects porcelain dolls. So, he is very indulgent of my hobby.

My sister completely digs my dolls. The rest of the family is like, "How old are you?" My son says my Sandor is creepy.

 

I loved dolls since i was a kid, so no one was really surprise with the fact that i was going to keep buying dolls!

 

"Mom...Dad...
I collect Ball Jointed Dolls"
​

No but really, my Mom was excited that I got into collecting dolls. I come from a long line of collectors (hoarders?) and reborn dolls were my Mom's vice. She was hoping that I would collect those, but I took a left turn and fell in love with bjds. She isn't as "into" them as I am, but she's always been supportive of my collection. Her and I will even joke about how much our dolls cost, and deals that we've found.

They were an adjustment for my husband though. He's nerdy enough that he wasn't unhappy that I had them, but he still is cautious around them. After us having two kids, he acts more insecure about holding one of my dolls than he did holding a newborn; he treats them like thin glass. He has gotten used to them after 7 years, and sometimes I'll catch him talking to them and asking their opinions when he plays videogames.

 

Genius! I want a t-shirt with that on.

Out of interest I showed a doll to my mum once and all she said was „yeah, not too bad a hobby, I guess.“

If you are grown/old, run your own household and finances, then it does not matter anymore what the rest of the family thinks about minor things like hobbies. Except if you spend the money for rent, food and other essentials. Let‘s face it: Your family is not worried about you owning a particular resin thing, they are worried about you wasting money, loosing focus about leading a life (like job, relationships etc) and coming across socially awkward - all understandable issues, if your relatives want you to prosper in life.

 

I’m so sorry to hear about people’s unsupportive family and friends

Both my mother and grandmother collected dolls so I never saw it as something weird or creepy like the general public seems to. I’m open about it with my family, although my mom thinks the kinds of dolls I collect (not just BJDs) are ridiculously expensive. I’ve told some friends about it and sometimes they think it’s weird, but actually I enjoy creeping them out and play it up as much as possible.

 

I guess my family is so used to me, nothing surprises anyone!

 

My mom is against collecting dolls mainly because she finds them creepy. I knew if I told her, she wont allow me. So, I went ahead and bought them without her knowing and when the doll comes, she'll be surprised but she can't force me to throw them out since it already arrive. And thats how she found out.

Lesson from this, Do first, tell later

 

For some reason my mom hates all of my msd and sd dolls. She calls them a waste of money.

But my Trinity doll
Apparently that's her jam and she loves her! She always plays with her hair or dress when she's in my room.

 

My folks don't find it weird thank goodness, but they also don't really understand it. They encourage me to make my own dolls, but I can tell they just see them as products, they don't see the little spark of life I suppose. I wish I could get my sister into the hobby! TwT That would be so cute.

 

I never actively told them. One day they just noticed them sitting on my shelves during one of their visits. My dad asked a few questions (like: "Is that a doll?" "No Dad, that's a lawnmower!" x3) but they mainly ignored them. I'm pretty thankful for that!

 

My family still don’t really *get* any of my dolls but they’re mostly just politely perplexed when I whip them out for photos if we go somewhere together. I’ll take that as a win!

I’m in my 30s now and I bought my first doll (Blythe, not BJD, but the price shocked them just as much ahah) with 18th birthday gift money (they weren’t suuuper enthusiastic) and then my first BJD a few months later with my after school job earnings (again, they weren’t deeply enthusiastic but I think all in all there are worse things for your 18 year old kid to be spending their part time wage on!) - so basically, they’ve had my entire adulthood to get the stage of “oh yeah that’s just Alice, they just come with dolls”

My wife actually ended up getting into dolls herself which is such a treat! She’s my biggest enabler

 

I have to admit it... Even after all this time in the hobby, I'm still a little boggled when I see one of these "OMG! How do you tell [some person or group of people]?!" threads.

I mean, seriously... It's not like you're announcing a wedding, or a new baby, or finally acting on your grand plan to ditch college and run off to join the circus. You're buying an expensive toy. That's not exactly a Serious Life-Changing Event. Not to mention, "doll collecting" as a broad category isn't even all that unusual. It's pretty mainstream as pastimes go. (It's supposedly the third largest collectible-based hobby, right behind coins and stamps, and slightly ahead of sports cards-)

So, don't worry so much over how you're going to "break the news to [X]". What you're doing just isn't all THAT strange.