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I kind of did this awhile back with my first doll, Amir. Since he’s 1/4 and I now only collect 1/3 and 70cm, I had ‘retired’ him to his box in the closet. I had sold off all of his things so he was naked and bald. After a few years in the closet, I decided to get him back out, buy him a new wig and eyes and a new outfit and give him a new faceup. While it wasn’t the same as unboxing a new doll, it did revive my feelings for him.

 

Unboxing a doll or even an item is always so exciting ! The progressive reveal, the discovery of what it looks like in real life, that's pure joy ! I never thought about reboxing my dolls, but I think it's an interesting idea, especially when I get tired of seeing them everyday on my desk... I should definitely try this out

 

Some of my dolls have moved into a room that really needs to be repainted.
I just set them up in a scene to enjoy for a bit but then I am thinking of getting their boxes out & packing them away until after the room is repainted, & after my dd & the grandcats have come to visit for the winter holidays. Then, when the late winter blahs strike I'll have dolls to unpack & set up again. Yep. Almost like a new doll event to look forward to.

 

This sounds really nice. A really cool idea especially when a bit down about some dolls or if you're uncertain wheter you should sell a particular doll. If opening the box again sparks joy or just neutral, then there is your answer. I should go and try this

 

To be honest, every time we moved and we were unpacking things, sometimes we rediscovered some stuff we had bought for our dolls years ago or gifts that were given to us from our friends for our dolls that we had never opened because we didn't have space for them at the time. Every time that happened, it definitely rekindled the hobby again. It also happened when we didn't have space or were afraid the dolls would get damage so we would keep the majority of our collection in their boxes until we had a permanent residence. Now that we have a permanent residence, I still get a surprise here and there as we haven't fully unpacked even after all this time. But yes, definitely that feeling from the first unboxing happens again, especially if we had repackaged them the way they were back when they were mint in box.

I think I like your idea of reboxing some of the items and opening them up at a different time. Since the holidays are coming up, you can do like a non-specific holiday calendar where you open a box each day leading up to the final day or a time capsule like you mentioned where have something to look forward to in the future. Something I did years ago with a best friend was throw a birthday/tea party for one of the dolls. Literally, most of the gifts were recycled gifts or items the doll already wore/used, but it was fun pretending having the dolls give the birthday doll their "gifts" with some new things thrown in.