Giving a doll as a gift

Wow! this is so incredibly kind of you! What an amazing gift!!!!

If you were surprising someone with a doll, what sort of hints would you give? What hints do you think would give it away? - Personally I wouldn't give ANY hints. I would let it be 100% a surprise!

Would you simply let them open their gift, or would you try and give them their doll in a creative way? - I would let them open their gift. I think part of the awesomeness of the "new doll" experience is the box opening.

Would you make sure that you included accessories, like wig/eyes/clothes? - If I knew their taste, most definitely.

If YOU were being gifted a doll, what would make it most exciting for you? Are there any ways you can think of adding to the excitement of it? - The most exciting part would be OMG NEW DOLLY YAY! Also the thoughtfulness of the gift. That someone knew me well enough to gift me a doll. I think a new dolly as a gift is exciting enough! I have no idea how you can ADD to that. Other than maybe including extras

 

I would be inclined to let her open the box herself, but I did buy the doll second hand via the marketplace, so I don't know if it will have the same effect as a box-opening straight from the company? Also I wanted to open the box first to make sure everything was alright. Then again, I can always re-seal the box afterwards.

Thank you for your reply! What if you don't know what the persons tastes in eyes/wigs/clothes would be? Would you still try to pick up some things?

 

Really, any gift of a doll is about as exciting as it can be already.

I've gotten 3 surprise-gift dolls from a friend (they were hers and when she wants them to move on she just gifts them away... I'm just one of the lucky people she knows who love bjds). They would just arrive out of the blue... usually around Christmas-time. No talk beforehand at all. Sometimes years apart. Gotta say, seeing an unexpected doll-sized package arrive totally makes my heart race!

 

1. I would NOT give any hints, but I'm super bad about hinting gifts that I'm excited over.

2. Depends on the friend. I might have the doll dressed and wigged sitting in a cute way inside another box. Oo, or show it to them and say it was my new doll and let them look it over. If I did it that way, though, I'd leave clues and drop hints while they were playing with it.

3. Yes. I would at least try to include one wig, outfit, and pair of shoes. I have a pretty good idea of what the people I would consider gifting a doll to like.

4. For it to be completely and utterly unexpected! As long as it's one I've expressed interest in or fits my tastes...gosh. I wouldn't know what to say! I'd be speechless! My mom did that with one of my "twins." I had the cart ready with the one doll and a bunch of other things. I was just waiting for payday. Before payday, the company released the doll in tan. I was all set to scrap the first cart and rework it so I could have the doll in tan and was excited to show her the new pictures. When I told her my plan she said "You know, twins can be different colors! I'll help." . . . My mouth just dropped. She knew twin dolls had been something I wanted to do again, but I wasn't planning on it being this one or even so soon. That was absolutely the best unexpected and unsought birthday gift ever! XD

 

I've gotten a doll as a gift before and the friend who gifted it to me didn't give any hints, she just told me straight out which doll it was. I preferred that because then we both knew that I would be happy and excited about the doll when it arrived...and I was! I would have felt awful if she had spent all that money on a doll I didn't end up liking. She ended up having it shipped to my house so I got to open it up myself. It was the most magical of all my box openings because it was infused with my friends affection.

 

If you were surprising someone with a doll, what sort of hints would you give? What hints do you think would give it away? - No hints from me, I made the mistake to accidentally reveal that I was getting her a gift before and it was so hard to keep what it was concealed... >A>;

Would you simply let them open their gift, or would you try and give them their doll in a creative way? - II'd most likely let them unbox it. Opening the box is always such a wonderful experience to me xD

Would you make sure that you included accessories, like wig/eyes/clothes? - Maybe, maybe not. It depends on the doll and whether they were a collector or not. If I was getting the doll as an introductory one to the hobby I'd definitely include a wig, eyes and at least a basic set of clothes or underwear so the doll wouldn't have to sit around naked. If they were a collector I'd let them figure it out themselves afterwards most likely. I wouldn't want to restrict their creativity.

If YOU were being gifted a doll, what would make it most exciting for you? Are there any ways you can think of adding to the excitement of it? - I don't know of any ways to add to the excitement of receiving a surprise doll! x3;;; However the most exciting part would be the gesture itself. I'd be so overjoyed if anyone did this for me I would probably be out of words entirely!

 

I have received a pukifee face plate as a gift, and I definitely have plans to return the favor someday !!!

 

I have a doll that I really want to give as a gift to someone, but I feel a little awkward about doing it since this person is in a different financial situation than me and I don't want it to seem like "charity" or that I'm flaunting my ability to give this person a doll as a gift when they may not be able to return the favour. Don't get me wrong, I don't want or expect this person to return the favour. I just want to give this person a gift because they like this doll and I love this person. I don't expect anything in return from them. I'm just concerned that they'll take it the wrong way, or that they will feel awkward about it too.

That having been said, here are my answers to the hypothetical questions:

If you were surprising someone with a doll, what sort of hints would you give? What hints do you think would give it away?
I wouldn't give any hints. I'd just surprise them.

Would you simply let them open their gift, or would you try and give them their doll in a creative way?
I'd just let them open it.

Would you make sure that you included accessories, like wig/eyes/clothes?
I would probably include a wig and eyes. I guess with the clothes it would depend on whether the person was already a collector or not and what, if anything, they already had at home that would fit the doll.

If YOU were being gifted a doll, what would make it most exciting for you? Are there any ways you can think of adding to the excitement of it? Not really. Getting a new doll is exciting all by itself, and if it were a gift from a friend that would make it extra-special anyway.

 

I've given several people dolls as gifts, usually for birthdays or Christmas presents. For one friend it's a surprise and I've gone in on it with other friends. For my mom and best friend, I've usually asked them what they wanted first, then go from there. BJD's are kind of pricey to end up buying one that someone doesn't want, so I have no problem spilling the secret to make sure they're happy.

If you were surprising someone with a doll, what sort of hints would you give? What hints do you think would give it away?
For my mom's first doll, I tried to keep it a surprise but ended up having to tell her why her gift was taking so long. Plus, she wasn't into BJDs at the time, so I was afraid she wouldn't want it. She actually hated mine, until she saw my first YO sized one (baby Alex. He's converted many a non-person with his super-extreme cutes) - she loved him so much, and had started talking about wanting to sew again, so I thought I'd just go for it.... She ended up loving her doll and still has her, along with her brother (who was her next years present lol)

Other than that first time, I always find out what people want first. It's safer that way.

OMG I totally forgot about another one - recently a very good friend hit a milestone Bday and a group of us chipped in to buy her a doll. We kept it a secret for a YEAR. No joke. When she opened it on her birthday she was so surprised!! We went the whole nine-yards: bought a doll new, I gave it a face up when we got it. We found it a wig and eyes, and bought a full outfit for it off Dollmore, including socks, shoes and little accessories, then packed up back up in it's box and wrapped it. She had no idea! It was awesome.

Would you simply let them open their gift, or would you try and give them their doll in a creative way? (example: hiding it somewhere in the house and waiting for them to find it)
Sadly I always seem to end up waiting forever for dolls I buy as gifts, so they know way ahead of time what they're getting and by the time they get here I just hand them over XDD
I'm not super creative when it comes to gift-wrapping and giving >.<

Would you make sure that you included accessories, like wig/eyes/clothes?
For my mom, yes because she won't have those things. For my BJD friends...not always. They have stuff lol they can put the doll together the way they want!! Unless it's a special case like the one I mentioned above...

If YOU were being gifted a doll, what would make it most exciting for you? Are there any ways you can think of adding to the excitement of it?
I have been gifted dolls, and honestly just getting the doll and knowing it came from people who care about me is exciting enough.
I'm one of those people that gets more excited over dolls the longer I have them anyway, so that's really enough for me.

 

My daughter fell in love with bjds after holding my Bobobie Elena. She really wanted one for herself and I was very lucky to get a Doll leaves Flora for her on ebay. She is tucked away in her box, waiting for Christmas. I can't wait to see her face when she opens it! She is only 13 but I know she will take good care of it. having said that, the reason why I waited for an ebay bargain was so I wouldn't be tempted to strangle her if anything happened to the doll!

 

I received a doll one year ago as a gift from my dad, It was a Verna from Luts, she is really cute

 

No, I have not and I would not. I'd probably help buy it though, but that depends on how much it is.

 

I'm buying an Iplehouse BID Coco boy for my friend Cory. She has always been the most supportive and loving friend. We've been through hard times together and when she finally admitted to me that she wants a doll, I was so happy to get her first bjd for her. It's on layaway and I'm hoping for Christmas. I'm making the outfit myself. He's going to be dressed like a little british school boy. complete with blazer and school tie. She's a total Anglophile and loves everything British, so of course her little guy is going to be an Englishman.

 

I plan on getting my mother a 1/4 Angel of Dream Shang Nai for Christmas this year! Going to be a surprise, too!