How to welcome a doll that comes in pieces?

I put together a hybrid doll, and I gotta say there's no way I could have waited for all the pieces to arrive before opening them XD not just because of impatience, but also because you really have to check your package to make sure nothing arrived broken and such.

The way I handled it was after getting all her pieces I did an "Introductory" set of pictures where I introduced her to my other dolls and gave her some clothes and accessories and things. Since she'll be your first doll, maybe once she's all put together you can do an introduction where you show her around your room or your garden, and give her gifts of clothes and things.

There's something magical when the right eyes and wigs and clothes finally show up and get placed on the doll. This could be your "box opening" as well There are lots of creative ways to bringing a doll into your life even if they arrive in pieces.

 

To me... a doll arrives when the head arrives. So even if it's just a head, I associate the personality with it and even without a body/faceup/wig/proper eyes I feel like my doll arrived.

I don't know how it would feel to have a first doll come in pieces though - mine came with pretty much everything I needed for a start (though except for the sculpt itself, everything's been changed on him since then). But I know that many people get doll heads (a bit less often just bodies) as their first piece. I think if your dream requires you getting the doll in pieces, go for it - you'll be happier with the end result than with something "complete", but not what you really want...

And I would also advise against waiting with the opening. Most companies accept shipping damages for a limited time (usually less than a week after arrival), so you should definitely check if everything is all right. Though - you could always pack it back once you checked^^

Maybe just get the head first? You can practice faceups on it and with a bit of clever positioning and some props you could even take pictures that give the illusion of a full doll...

 

Well, I only have my one doll, and she came whole, but... I was thinking that what you can do to make it special is, when you finally get all the pieces, maybe have a photo shoot of you putting all the pieces together, making your doll into one whole. You can make it so that no one can really see what the doll really looks like, until the final image of the doll put together and looking exactly how you want it: the special reveal! Shoot, you can take it a step further and take pictures of you opening the boxes the pieces come in, and then the "operation" to put her together, then the reveal. I would think this would be just as special as a box opening for a whole doll?

 

There is no shame in ordering parts piecemeal. But I would open everything as soon as I received them for the boring practical reason of checking for damage. Delaying that until the end is opening yourself up to a massive disappointment if there was damage after all--you thought she was complete, and she isn't!

The one assembled doll I own was in the order: wig, clothes, head+eyes+face (a limited), then body. I personally did not treat her as a character until both the head and body were together. If I had needed the eyes and face, I would probably have delayed celebrating until she had both of those things. But that's just me.

There is something to be said for treating the doll's head as the "real" arrival though. I have mentally considered what I would do if a doll was damaged in an accident. I concluded that for me, damage to the head was the defining point--if only because it is generally easier to get identical replacement bodies.

 

Oooh, I'm putting together a doll that comes in pieces too. She's not a hybrid, but I bought her head seperately from the artist that did her mods, I just ordered her wig a couple days ago, and as you can see from my sig I'm very close to getting her body... Well, I posted the opening of her head in the Arrival gallery, and when she gets her body I'm gonna do a box opening for her body and then put her head and wig on during that, too.
For me, I think getting the head was just as exciting as getting my MSD girl that came with everything she needed, and I'm sure getting the body will be just as exciting.
I feel like, maybe it's even more exciting and special to get them in pieces, because it draws out the proccess, adding to the experience and tension, and for me; making it all that more worth it. It feels more like I've actually done something, I've had to work harder and longer to get this finished product and I've earned it.

But that's just me! I really prefer/enjoy the easiness (that's probably not a word) of getting a doll all in one piece, but I also enjoy the special feeling of getting them seperately.
Although, from a technical point of view I try to get them all in one piece. It cuts down on the shipping costs and the wait times.

Edit: Also, idrisfynn; I really like how you described that! I love the way getting a body first made you appreciate the body as well, and not just the head, that's so cool. Because it's true, while for most dolls the face is the most aesthetically prominant objects, they'd be nothing without their bodies!

 

Just think about it as twice the fun of a box opening..
I didn't mind getting one of my boys in pieces. And yeah it makes you appriciate the body more, when you get it without a head..

 

I have a lot of hybrids, and it's true that box openings aren't quite the same when it's just a head. I usually end up with heads first, and don't do much with them until I get the body. Getting the body, therefore completing the doll is very exciting, and that's the point where I really feel like the doll is fully a part of things. To me, the benefits of hybridizing vastly outweigh the whole box opening thing.

 

I really don't recommend waiting to open any boxes, ever. If there was any damage, you'd need to let the company know as soon as possible, otherwise it might be really difficult to get a replacement piece. There was a thread a while ago about a doll that hadn't been opened for a few months, and when it finally was, it turns out that one of the ankles was cracked. The company didn't believe him/her, which is understandable on their part, but still very unfortunate for the buyer.

 

I am doing my first hybrid doll right now. I ordered my girl's body a couple weeks after the head, but the body got here first. Getting the body first, while certainly far more exciting than getting clothes or eyes, is more like getting things for my doll than getting the doll herself. Yes, I have her body and some clothes home now, but until her head arrives, she really isn't "here". When I get her head I will consider her officially "arrived".

On the other hand, I definitely see the merits of getting the head first. ^_~ My sister has a several heads that she plans to get bodies for later; she just packs them away and won't consider them here until their bodies arrive.

So I consider a doll officially here once the last (major) part to complete them arrives. That's not to say it isn't fun collecting the parts separately though! We both like to use a pretty wooden box for floating heads -- the heads are out of sight that way, but the box being displayed on the doll shelf is a reminder that your doll is a work in progress. ^^

 

If the doll parts came in and the boxes weren't opened, what would you do if you found out that the wrong parts had been shipped in some of the boxes? Sometimes companies have a return window, and if you don't return it in that time frame, they charge extra for restocking fees, or worse, won't accept a return after the return time frame?

I would open each and every box as it arrived to make sure that the order had been filled properly. The parts can always be put back in the box, and saved until all of them have arrived. Then you can have an 'opening ritual' where all of the boxed parts are opened and introduced to each other at the same time? The introduction could be in the form of stringing them?

While waiting for all the parts to arrive, you can make a special box with a liner, pillows, and so forth for your completed doll.

 

Definitely open all of your packages as they arrive to inspect for damage and make sure the right items were shipped.

Honestly, I think box openings are overrated and don't understand the appeal at all, so you're not actually missing out on anything by buying your doll in pieces than you are if you buy it as a whole aside from maybe missing the time required to acquire all of the pieces and have them ship? I suppose it's probably more expensive in the long run to buy in pieces with shipping, but I think it's worth it to end up with a better final result.

I don't consider a doll complete until it's COMPLETE, which means right head, body, eyes, wig, clothes, and faceup all together and finished. That's when I begin actively enjoying my dolls as dolls and not so much enjoying them as collecting projects. I love planning and hunting for the right pieces to the puzzle.

 

I think you'll get that "Ooh, aah..." feeling when you put the doll together and finally get to look at it in its entirety.

 

I haven't ever had a doll come in pieces, but I did Andi through a friend. My partner bought her off my friend, because the doll in question (at the time she was called Amelia) had come to visit me to get her lips glossed, as my friend had run out. I got really attached, and without telling me my partner bought her off my friend. So I was sitting at home one day sewing a skirt for the doll, and saying how she could take it home with her and such, and my friend just turned to me and said "She can live here, if you want her" - I was thrilled, and stunned, and all that right then. But, I didn't really feel that 'oooo ahhh awwww' like I did with my other box openings until after I had given her my own faceup, and given her a new name. Because until then she didn't feel like mine.
My partner is getting a pukipuki in pieces though - he is buying two so he gets the event fp, and I am buying him the body as an anniversary present. So we have decided that, as my order will arrive first as I am on a shorter layaway, we will make a mask for the body to wear, so it has a face.
The other thing you could do is once you have checked that a piece has arrived without damage, keep in in the box somewhere in your room where you can't see it, but where it can't get damaged, like in an empty drawer you don't use. That way, you won't be seeing it everyday, so you won't have the reminder that the whole doll isn't home. That way, when the final parcel arrives, you can open all the boxes again, and it will be like a surprise!