Chad Valley Toys "Design A Friend" Doll- Sneak Preview and Review

It isn't very often that I find a toy that isn't electronic that my children fight over. I was sent a doll made by Chad Valley Toys called a "Design A Friend" doll for my girls to preview. To be honest, I figured it would keep them occupied for about five minutes. I was wrong. This doll has become the item de jour at my house and provided hours of fun imaginative play for my daughters.

(LaLa with the "Design A Friend" doll in it's pretty pink box)

The "Design A Friend" doll is pretty fantastic. It comes in a nice fancy pink box, that makes the doll feel extremely special and in the box along with the doll is a small silver charm bracelet. The doll itself had thick hair, that actually feels like real hair. It honestly does not feel like the typical straw like doll hair that you find on most dolls. The clothes the Design A Friend doll comes in are very trendy and appeal to little girls. My girls especially like the shoes.

(KiKi holding my favorite blue shoes that came with one of the outfits)

(LaLa wearing the charm bracelet that came with the doll)

For the purposes of the review my daughters also received three other outfits for their new "Design A Friend" doll. Each outfit came with another charm for their bracelet. The charm was actually just an additional thing for the girls to squeal about when they opened each outfit. They were mesmerized by the fashionable clothes and shoes that came in each little pink box.

(two of the outfit packs, some accessories, and the outfit that came on the doll)

The girls also love the accessories that were available for the "Design A Friend" doll. They absolutely adored the gray headband, scarf and mitten set. However the most adorable moment that I saw was when LaLa grabbed the glasses put them on the doll and then said "She has glasses just like me!" I think that is the most fabulous aspect of this doll. Each child really can customize their doll to their own fashion sense.

("She has glasses just like me!")

We have had the "Design A Friend" doll now for over a week. The girls interest in the doll has not lessened at all. She has gone through more outfit changes and style revamps than I ever thought possible. The outfits are being mixed and matched depending on the mood of the child dressing her. The "Design A Friend" doll has been brought along to show and tell at school, shopping trips and baseball practices. LaLa relocated her other doll clothes and accessories to another bag in order to give the Design A Friend doll the most stylish of all her tote bags for her accessories and outfits.

(Very stylish in her gray outfit and accessories)

The "Design A Friend" doll will be in the new Argos catalog which hits the stores on the 30th of July. Each doll of the four dolls to choose from will retail for about £20 and will include the charm bracelet. A special offer will be a doll, an outfit and an accessory pack for £30 with 12 different outfits and 5 accessory packs to choose from. Each outfit comes with a charm for the charm bracelet.

*For the purpose of this review I was provided with a "Design A Friend" doll, three different outfits and two different accessory packs.