Giving Dolls as Gifts

My first doll back into the hobby was a gift. Back in 2009 I had my own dolls, which I then sold because I just didn't think I would have the time for them anymore and we were moving across the country. (On top of that my tastes in dolls was drastically changing). I still lurked in the hobby, watched other people enjoying their dolls and made plans, but I hadn't really committed to owning another doll again. My husband, after hearing me talk about dolls so often, began looking for a doll to surprise me. Our anniversary I was presented with a fullset Souldoll Karin he had found (minus the boots) and I once again dipped my toes into the water. Since then we have both gifted each other dolls, purchased dolls for our daughter as a gift, and I have gifted a few dolls to friends as well. I try to keep notes on which dolls my husband eyeballs and talks about and he does the same for me. We bought our daughter a Resinsoul Mei because she wanted in the hobby but she seemed to fall in love with one of my YoSDs so she was gifted that little one as well.

 

If I were giving a doll as a gift, I probably have them pick out the doll before purchasing. As great as surprises are, sometimes it's better to give a gift that you know they specifically want. Another way you could "surprise" her (but still allow her to pick out her gift) is to have a scavenger hunt that eventually leads her to the computer where she's linked to a BJD website and told to pick out a doll of her choice. My parents did a similar scavenger hunt for me as a kid for Christmas, and I got to pick out a custom-made gift online at the end. It was a big hit!

 

My mom had just gotten into the hobby, and had been cooing over a specific doll for several months, so I told my dad that that specific doll would be a great gift. We went halfsies on it, and I ordered it in the spring of 2019, and she arrived in the summer- luckily when I was home and my parents were not. I kept the doll hidden until Christmas, and made a scavanger hunt by taking close up pictures of various objects in the house then printing them out and putting them in envelopes. I put the first picture in an envelope inside a box which was wrapped under the tree. Then, since my parents are older and don't have to stay up assembling presents for me (apparently A LOT of Irish coffees were ingested while assembling Barbie stuff when I was a kid), I stayed up and hid the envelopes and present on Christmas eve.

My mom was absolutely thrilled, both by the scavanger hunt and the doll. BUT! This was involving a single doll I KNEW she wanted- in fact she got a bonus that year at Christmas and was thinking of ordering that specific doll in January, after the holidays. If they don't have a specific doll in mind, it might backfire. Or doing as somebody said, and having the scavanger hunt lead to a computer with a doll website might be a good idea. Also depending on the brand, shipping has been a cluster****, so that way you wouldn't be panicking over whether it would arrive in time.

 

Soooo many times!

I have received dolls from my sister, husband, parents, friends and even a few from someone here on DoA that I didn't really know! I have also gifted dolls to my sister, friends in and out of the hobby, and done a giveaway on Instagram. There are too many to even begin listing sculpts. My parents only gave me one doll, a Bobobie Pixie, for Christmas one year. My husband and sister have given me many, and my sister is in the hobby, so that's usually what we do for Christmas and birthday. Sometimes we also just give each other dolls we're planning to sell, if the other wants it. I gave my friend outside the hobby my Dearmine Dante because she had expressed interest in the hobby, it was a doll I had won but would have been wrong to sell, it was a cat and she loves cats, and it was during quarantine when we were all feeling isolated, so I took it over and dropped it at her porch, then left. The Instagram giveaway was for an Aimerai Enfield Horror.


I think there's a lot of generosity in the hobby and I believe in paying it forward!

 

So, both of my current dolls were gifted to me!

I only just got introduced to the hobby late 2021 by my personal friends who are all in the hobby as well. We would meet up and take doll pics and such-- I was happy enough to just hang out with them until I could afford my own dollies (I currently have two Preordered ) but my friend is crazy generous and ended up buying not just one, but two for me (one new, so it had a longer wait, and one second hand off the marketplace here so we had it right away), all so I could participate fully in our hangouts

To say I was flabbergasted is an understatement. But we talked about bjds enough before hand they had a pretty good idea of what I'd like, and my friend has pretty good taste in dollies too lol

The new purchase doll we had to wait on was my MSD girly Robin (Huajing dolls Narya) and the second hand purchase is my Yosd Wren (Xaga dolls Kuku), and I love them both very much! Perhaps more so because they were a gift!

 

I gifted some dolls to a friend/former coworker to get her into the hobby, first a little 1/8 doll and then a couple of secondhand MSDs along with some clothes, wigs, and accessories. The first tiny doll I had bought specifically for her because her space was limited; as for the MSDs, I showed her ones I already had and was considering selling and asked if she would like them. I also gifted a couple of tiny dolls to a coworker who fell in love with them when I displayed them at the library.

Later I got a chunk of money as a gift and decided to use it to try SDs. I started to shell an entire extended family (thanks, pandemic isolation!) but later got overwhelmed. I knew I'd go crazy trying to sell that many dolls, so I posted pictures of them for some of my online friends (both on and off Den of Angels) who had been my lifeline during the pandemic and gifted some that way. One of them later thanked me by gifting me a cute MSD, and another sent me clothes and props! It's fun to give and receive so long as there isn't any guilt or obligation behind it.

 

The only time I’ve ever heard of someone being gifted a doll is when they’re trying to explain away recast ownership.

 

I've given plenty of dolls as gifts-- my daughter and I share this hobby, so dolls or doll-related things are a pretty obvious choice when choosing gifts for her birthday or Christmas.

the most recent one i got for her was the Doll Chateau Arnold + Baby Arnold (the weird bird creatures with the human baby faces!) they were just too perfect for her personal aesthetic, but such weird, random little dolls that i knew she'd never spend the money on them herself even tho she liked them. once for Christmas the doll I'd ordered for her was nowhere near ready in time, so i just printed out my Alices Collections receipt, folded it up, and gave it to her in a little tiny gift box so she knew she had a doll to look forward to

anyway, if you have a family member or close friend who shares the hobby with you, honestly giving dolls as gifts is just as fun as buying them for yourself!

 

Gifts are probably not the best idea unless you're sure of the exact doll the person wants. Just a doll, any doll, will probably end up not being what the giftee wants and they may feel too guilty to sell it to afford what they want. It might be a better idea to give them cash specifically towards the purchase.

I would be more interested in receiving a doll I want from a fellow collector who knows my taste rather than from someone outside of the hobby who just wants to get me a present. There's just too much going on in this hobby for someone to order a doll as a surprise without extensive research.

I have gifted a doll to someone, not a doll she wanted or a doll I wanted. I won the doll so it didn't feel right to sell it (not that it was worth much), so I opted to give it to someone who couldn't afford one. I don't think the doll was ever restrung after I disassembled her to take her on the plane years ago and I really don't think she cares for it much. Dolls are so taste based that you can't just choose any doll and expect it to work out.

I would probably not gift a doll again because I don't really want to add guilt to selling the doll along with the uncertainty on resin tones, option parts, etc. I would want my giftee to be able to pick out their perfect doll themselves.

 

My Resinsoul Autumn was a birthday gift, but I ordered her and paid a little extra of my own money to get her in a custom split-- my mom gifted me the cost of a small resinsoul but left it to me to choose the specific one, because she knows about my dolls and as luck would have it, the doll I most wanted at the time was priced about where she wanted to spend. My Clever Little was actually also half a birthday gift-- mom was at the convention where I found him, saw me fall in love with him at first sight, and when I told her I couldn't afford him at the time, she didn't let me leave him behind.

And my sisters and I went together to get mom her pukifee (plus wardrobe and wig) when she joined the hobby-- again, though, she chose the doll she wanted. She knew she loved the pukifees after handling one at the same convention, but had to research the different possible faces before we ordered one for her. Then we started sourcing props/supplies and my sister built her a tiny roombox inside one of those boxes they sell at Michael's that looks like a book, just folds out into a diorama.

So yeah, I think a doll as a gift can be a great idea, but I agree that you should make sure it's a doll the giftee will love-- you can make a little 'gift card' to give her and then look at dolls together online, if you don't know what The Doll is, but if you've talked about grails before and you know she has a dream doll available in your price range, then it's lovely.

 

Perhaps you've never heard about it because people don't feel the need to brag

 

My mom has gifted me dolls for holidays and birthdays before, and my boyfriend once got me an artist doll I really wanted! For me personally it's the thought that counts and even if it wasn't a sculpt I was dying to have it still made it special. Nowadays as I've become more selective most of the time they ask me to pick one out. I am making plans to get my friend her first resin doll for Christmas because she's getting into the hobby, and although I can't afford to get her a doll off her dream list I know she'll appreciate a doll to practice on.
Ultimately I think it depends on the person you're gifting and what part of the hobby they seem to be into! A photographer may want to pick their doll, but a painter may appreciate something to practice especially if they're new. I am also a person who very much enjoys surprises though.

 

I have received a doll as a gift. It wasn't a complete surprise—the gift-giver asked me if I liked <specific doll> and if I might want one, and I was delighted to have been considered for such a generous offer. It was very sweet, and I feel that the act made the doll feel quite special. This does also mean that personally, I will never sell this doll. Exchanging money for something that was given to me feels somewhat disingenuous in this case. If I ever needed to find this doll a new home, I'd aim to give it as a gift to someone else.

 

I've never gifted an expensive one, just because I don't know anyone who is interested in them enough to appreciate it, and I've never received or asked for one as a gift because I'd feel kind of bad asking...That's just me not wanting to ask for expensive gifts, but I think it's lovely if someone wants to gift you a doll you really want! It's a sweet gesture. I'd definitely gift one if a close friend or family member really wanted one, but they would definitely think "what is that?".

 

I am about to give my eldest two daughters ( 6yo ) their first "expensive" Bjd. They have some off topic bjds from over the counter brands, but want a Yosd to dress up and pose with my MSDs.

So I bought a second hand Lekeworld doll and Angel Studio to give to them for Christmas. With clothes, eyes and outfit with shoes, it's going to be about 175$US. They will be their most expensive present to date.

They have several hundred dollars in off topic dolls given as gifts over their lifetime. So I feel like a Yosd isn't that much more expensive compared to the expensive 18inch doll brand they were given several years ago.

 

I got a doll as a gift for Christmas once, and another time I got a head. Both unexpected and wonderful gifts which I cherish.

 

I would kill to get a doll as a gift, but nobody in my life is really supportive of my hobbies. I would consider buying a little pet or making clothes for my friends bjds, i think it would be cute

 

I've given bjds as gifts twice. The first time was about 9 years ago. Hr was YouNan by Only Doll, bought from Mint On Card.
My friend collects anything to do with ducks, and her favorite is a big yellow duck plushie, which her husband gave her on their first date.
For their 10th wedding anniversary I dressed the doll in a yellow duck costume, also from Mint On Card, and gifted him to my friend. She was so moved by the gift, that it brought her to tears.
Her little duck boy now resides in a place of honor in her China cabinet under a glass dome.