As promised… we have a wonderful array of beautifully dressed dolls in their prettiest Christmas attire! I’m sure you’ll find one or two that make your heart pound a little faster…
This is what Kathie said about them…
My favorite…can you tell? ☺️
Ann Estelle twins.. they have personality plus!
A sweet but sad “ Baby Grumpy Compo from the 20’s or 30’s and a repro Bleuette.
My newest RRFF. Her original outfit was so cute I hated to change her but she liked it😉
Ann Estelle’s friend who’s name escapes me at the moment🤪 (Kathie, I think this is Sophie.)
Reproduction Dewees Cochran by Effanbee.. I think she is Susan.
A sweet Paola Reina, she said next year she gets a dress…this is too scratchy!😲
A Helen Kish doll with such a fun expression, a gift from a doll friend.
#3 mold of a Little Darling ❤️
#2 mold of Little Darling
#1 mold of Little Darling, made and sold a few of this coat. She likes it a lot!
I do love Asian dolls..this one looks quite happy
I only made the white coat, the dress on the repro Bluette and the red plaid taffeta were from the Little Darling Christmas exchange. The rest are cheaters. They were either ornaments or wine bottle covers that with a slit in the back and a snap or two worked as a cute outfit!
NOW… here is a little extra BONUS from Kathie… You’ll LOVE this part!
WHITE CHRISTMAS DOLLS FROM ROBERT TONNER
My daughter took us to the Durham Museum today to see the display about the making of the movie “White Christmas” starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen. They must have asked Robert to do dolls because on display are two outstanding dolls in the exact copies of the red dresses trimmed in white fur on beautiful Tonner dolls that look like Rosemary Clooney and Vera Allen. Enlarge these pictures 😉 what a fun display!
Along with the 40+ fabulous tree the Durham has every year. I’ve gone for 70 years!
Along with the “White Christmas “ display was one about Julia Child. She came from a pretty wealthy family and the pictures of her were so impressive. Way more to her than the large Chef with a squeaky voice cooking on TV. Isn’t that picture of her with her Kewpie so cute! I think the other one was High School.
Well, I guess I’ll see you Christmas morning! Have a wonderful weekend!
Blessings, Jeanne
Merry Christmas to you Jeanne and All of the Sofa Sisters
Oh, what a fun post, and lots and lots of eye candy!! Kathie, I love all your dolls, but the one in the white coat is probably my favorite. Love that coat, too. It’s so cute!!
And then the Tonner “White Christmas” dolls….and the original dresses!! What a treat to see that display! I love that movie, such a nice story and heartwarming, too.
Interesting about Julia Child. She was quite a lady!!
Thank you for sharing all those wonderful pictures.
Barbara, your Azure’s birthday is the same day as my husband’s! My cousin Monnie, and my late friend/former coworker Sheila shared that birthday, too! With the addition of our great-grandson, we now have nine immediate family birthdays between Jan. 13 and Feb. 9, including Ron’s and mine, two of our grandsons, our son, Ron’s daughter, Ron’s brother, and the mother of the two above grandsons! Phew!
I meant to add, a very merry Christmas to all the sofa sisters and their families!
Azure’s birthday is also his mother Dionne’s birthday. A year before Azure was born we gave Dionne a reborn baby doll for her birthday since she thought they were adorable. Surprise! A year later she presented us with the real thing. It was a surprise because Jaiden and Skyy were 9 and 10 at the time. Jaiden adopted Hazel Grace because she said she was collecting dust in the closet since Azure was born. As for birthdays, mine is 12/26, Jaiden is 12/31, David is 1/6, our anniversary (will be our 44th) is 1/19 and Dionne and Azure’s birthdays are 1/21. Quite frankly by the end of January I’m occasion weary.
Good grief so many birthdays! You can add mine too. Dec 27 along with my son on the 16, my sister on the 6, my Son-in-law the 10th, my grandson on the 27 th too
Wow, We have 3 granddaughters with December birthdays. What is it about 9 months before December???
Great question. My daughter is April and my son is October. Grandson Skyy is in July, so at least we break things up a bit. But it was always difficult trying to figure what to give Sean for his birthday so close to Christmas. Still seem to have that problem.
Happy Birthday Kathie. A little early but just in case I don’t remember next week. What a lot of birthdays in just one month. I have a good friend on 12/6 and another good friend who shares my date on the 26th.
Oh Kathie, what an adorable array of Christmas dollies! You have such a varied collection of dolls, and such darling ones at that! I love how they are displayed, with the twigs of evergreen in the background!
I see several that look familiar to me that you say are ornaments or wine bottle covers. What a cute and unique way to dress the dolls for the season! I also turned a cute ornament into a sweater for Betsy, since she was the perfect size!
That white coat!! I have been looking and looking for a nice dress coat for my Emmy, a Wellie Wisher, that is not a jacket, and that coat is just what I am looking for! Is it a current pattern?
What a wonderful display of the dresses from the movie “White Christmas” that Robert Tonner made! I love that movie, and those doll dresses look like the real thing!
Amazing pictures of Julia Child! So interesting to see, and she was a beauty as a young girl.
Then you! So nice to see a face with a name, and I would guess tht is your hubby with you! Such a nice looking couple! Thank you so much for sending all this to Jeanne for us to enjoy!
Merry Christmas to everyone!
Hi Linda, I just loved the Christmas pictures of your girls you shared on Jeanne’s post yesterday. It’s always so much fun to see how you dress them and how you arrange the scenes the girls are in. The lace covering on the tablecloth is especially beautiful. All the girls are certainly ready for Christmas!
Thank you so much Paula! That lace tablecloth is actually a red kitchen towel with a doily on top! I hope you are ready for Christmas too!
I really appreciate your nice comments especially since you treat us to so many fun displays all year!
I made up the pattern so will look and see if I an find it…was quite a few years ago🤔
What a wonderful post! What a varied collection and all dressed so appropriately for Christmas. The #3 Little Darling looks like Jeanne’s Rebecca was the model for the doll, red hair not the least of the resemblance.
Love seeing the picture of you and your husband, Kathie. You both look so happy 🥰! Thank you again for restoring my Mary Hoyer Doll. You are a very accomplished seamstress to have created the lovely ensembles for your dolls.
What an interesting museum. Reminds me of the exhibits at the Motion Picture Museum in Los Angeles that has hundreds of the original costumes from the movies of every era and genre including a pair of the Ruby Slippers from Wizard of Oz. Don’t miss it if you’re ever visiting here. The Texas contingent of my family is arriving this afternoon and I’d forgotten about that museum which they will love. Thank you for jogging my memory, which happens often when reading the blog.
Merry Christmas 🎄, Jeanne and all of the Sofa Sisters!
Thanks Susette for the nice comments. Yes that is my sweet hubby. He has dementia but is hanging in there. It is odd the tricks your brain plays on you. Luckily he has kept his easy going personality.
The Durham was originally the Union Pacific Railroad station…an impressive building very similar to the RR Station in St Louis by the Arch. It has been kept up wonderfully and has awesome traveling exhibits. Plus’s the 40 foot or more Christmas tree every year. Their website has good photos.
What a great 2023 Christmas Special. Loved seeing the photos. Thanks Jeanne, and Kathie. So fun seeing my favorite Ann Estelle dolls. Those here however, are unfortunately not dressed for the holidays. Love the dress on Kathie’s Bleuette, and Grumpy’s sweater is adorable. I got a laugh from the wine bottle outfits. Great idea. Yesterday, at Kohl’s, we picked up a snowman bottle cover for some champagne for a friend. Guess I should have looked for some outfits as well. 🙂 And the Durham Museum looks so interesting. Loved the Tonner White Christmas outfits. Thanks so much Kathie for sharing your fun pics with us.
Hope everyone has time to take a break and enjoy the season this weekend. Here, I’ll be wrapping gifts and loading the sleigh to head out to see the grands, Looks like it will be clear sailing for us.
Have a wonderful holiday everyone. 🙂
Hmmm I may have to check out Kohls for the Snowman wine cover🤗Glad you enjoyed the pictures. I do love the Ann Estelle dolls too. Grumpys sweater was from the Little Darling Christmas exchange as was the Bleuette dress. I have several sweaters from that exchange and appreciate them ..I am yarn challenged!
Have a great Christmas with your family!
What fun to see Kathie’s girls all dressed up for Christmas! Love the Christmas tree costumes! It’s interesting to see allthe various dolls and their Christmas outfits. All are adorable.
It was really neat to see the Christmas gowns too – that movie is one of my favorite Christmas movies. And nice putting a face to your name. It’s a lovely picture of you. Thank you for sharing Kathie.
Jeanne, and all the Sofa Sisters – Merry Christmas!!
Thank you Paula! Maybe you can find a cable channel that has the White Christmas Movie running? I do want to see it again too. There were several different dresses from the movie and oh my…so pretty. Remember Edith Head? She was the designer.
Have e wonderful Christmas!
I know it’s late so I hope you check your comment.
I do remember Edith Head and that movie will remain a special Christmas treat forever.
I get teary eyed when Bung Crosby sings any Christmas song as they are so beautiful and nostalgic.
What a wonderful display of pictures. I totally enjoyed them. The white coat was beautiful. I don’t usually have coats for my dolls because they’d probably be wearing them all summer since I’m terrible about getting their clothes changed, but I can still admire a coat I’d love to have if I was a better dolly mom.
I do have my Christmas village up but what used to take me a Saturday when I worked now that I’m retired takes me several days. It does entail some work and I’m no longer a spring chicken. Thankfully my son is still young enough to crawl under the table and plug everything in for me. If anyone wants to see the village maybe Jeanne could refer to the post that included them. Nothing has changed since the last time I sent pictures (mostly because I have no more room LOL) and it might be easier.
Jeanne, I’m so glad you checked out the house. It is lovely. Built in 1875 but definitely not a fixer-upper. Don’t you love the kitchen?! And I can definitely picture one of the rooms as a sewing room, preferably the one off what they call the primary bedroom. David loves the “pub” in the basement since brewing beer and wine is his hobby. And it has a wonderful outdoor entrance. I’m assuming it was just for personal entertaining and not a commercial establishment since I don’t think that would be allowed in that neighborhood. I love seeing older homes that have not be allowed to become dilapidated and Bethlehem has been amazing at keeping that from happening.
Speaking of Bethlehem, I did watch “Miracle in Bethlehem, PA” last night and it was very good. My only disappointment was that it had nothing much showing that it was the location of the story and Bethlehem has some wonderful places to film. But since it was a Christmas movie and I’m sure had to be shot earlier in the year so it could be shown at Christmas, the great spots to film would have been more summer than winter in nature. But the acting was very good and the actors seemed very comfortable in their rolls, so it was fun to watch. It was on the Hallmark Channel which I get through HULU, but since I’ve been watching the more classic Christmas fare and Hallmark tends to have more modern shows these days, I wasn’t even sure where to find it. I want to thank Dorothy in PA and the World for letting me know when this would be on ahead of time enough for me to seek it out. I knew of the show but not when it would be shown. A big thanks Dorothy.
Well I guess I’ve put off the final stages of my gift wrapping long enough so I must get back to it.
Merry Christmas to all my sofa sisters and I will be looking forward to all your wonderful Christmas holiday stories next week. Have a great one. And in the immortal words of Tiny Tim (or Charles Dickens) God Bless us everyone.
Oh, I forgot to mention I loved the Robert Tonner renditions of the beautiful gowns worn by Rosemary Clooney and Vera Allen worn in “White Christmas”. He is amazing and the Durham Museum looks wonderful. Great picture in front of the tree Kathie.
Awe thank you Barbara. I do love changing them for Christmas and Spring and maybe Fall 🫣
There are probably more pictures on the Durham Museum website of the White Christmas display.
Enjoy your Christmas🤗
Dear Barbara. I am so glad you got to watch the show. I enjoyed the story. I too wished there had been more outdoor scenes. SPOILER ALERT – I started crying when she called her mother.
I will have to go online and see what the local folks thought of the movie.
Happy Holidays!
The show was a bit of a tear jerker at times but I loved it because there wasn’t a lot of angst in it. The story flowed very well and I loved the ending. I think we need a sequel done in the summer with lots of outdoor scenes.
Dear Barbara, I agree! Maybe they will do one. I sure hope so.
Thanks so much for all the nice comments! “After Christmas shopping” for wine bottle covers may be on your lists?
I should have taken more pics of the Julia Child display. I didn’t know Jeanne was going to post them…but wasn’t she the cutest toddler? She met her hubby when they both were in the OSS as spies in WWII. There was a set of her yellow and green kitchen from her TV show too. Who is going to visit and put all those girls back in their regular clothes?
The Merriest Christmas to all of you!
Dear Kathie, thank you for the lovely pictures. Your doll children are so cute.
Last year I watched a TV series on Magnolia Network called The Pitch. It featured the American couple who purchased Julia Child’s house in France. The wife and her best friend run a cooking school and bed and breakfast. Here is a link to a Facebook page about the show. I don’t know if there will be any episodes made again. There are also some videos on Youtube.
https://www.facebook.com/LaPeetch/
The owner still has some of Julia’s cooking tools!
Happy Holidays!
What adorable dolls you have, Kathie. The #3 Little Darling is my favorite as well. Love her smiling face and gorgeous red braids. The Bluette is sweet and baby Grumpo should be happy once she gets her gifts. I have the Mary Engelbreit magazines so Ann Estelle is quite familiar from the paper dolls therein. The Christmas tree dresses are so very cute.
The white coat is darling. So snuggly and warm
I love the movie “White Christmas” among many, many others and Rosemary Clooney is a household face because she was often on the Bob Braun Show (Cincinnati) which my grandmother watched as she did her daily work. Cincinnati is my birthplace and where my grandparents lived.
Such a lovely photo of you and your husband. Thanks so much for sharing.
Merry Christmas to all the Sofa Sisters!!! 🎄🍄⛪
So fun to see your dolls, Kathie! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Wow, Kathie, what great eye candy today! Thank you so much, I loved it all, especially the tree dresses. They reminded me of the tree outfits I made from paper for a Christmas play when I taught 2nd grade in the 60’s.
I still have a lot of the funny sweater ornaments that fit AE dolls. I really ought to finish them. Yours are so cute.
Thanks for it all.
Dear Jeanne, I wish you and the Sofa Sisters the merriest of all the Merry Christmases.
May you and the Sisters enjoy whatever holiday you celebrate.
May friends and family (human and dolly) surround you in love and joy.