A Moms Response to a Merch Gap

When I say I haven’t shopped for dolls in a while, I mean a long while. My oldest daughter turned 21 this year, which should give you an idea of how many years it’s been since I last stood in a doll aisle with any real purpose.

So, walking into the toy section now feels like stepping into a completely different world with a number of new brands, price tags, new  expectations, and a lot of familiar relaunches that provided a little nostalgia. What I didn’t find was the one thing I was sure would be there, to the point that I never thought to check ahead of time.

That brings me to the point.

I’m talking about the hottest Netflix movie trending right now. It’s been sitting at the top for months, the music is everywhere, and even my teenage boys knew exactly what it was thanks to TikTok. The characters are instantly recognizable. Kids are obsessed. Honestly, even as an adult, I can admit it’s a genuinely cute movie.

Khaleesi loves it. She loves to sing along. She loves the characters. She’s typically an animal lover at heart, but anything with expressive personalities and emotional storytelling hooks her immediately.

So it didn’t seem unreasonable to assume there would be toys on the shelves at the big-name stores.

There weren’t.

Outside of Etsy, eBay, and a handful of private vendors who saw an opportunity and moved quickly, there was essentially nothing. Even then, shipping times were about a month out, and that was only if you were willing to pay a substantial amount for a number of listings that felt sketchy at best. Many had no real reviews or reviews that looked suspiciously manufactured to reassure buyers.

There were many with AI-generated photos, typically linked to the TikTok Shops, that showed exactly the kind of doll any kid would love to open on Christmas morning. What actually arrived, according to frustrated reviewers, was something barely larger than the plastic army men sold in netted bags at the Dollar Tree. Other versions I ran across were Barbie-adjacent replicas with dollar-store-level quality and nothing truly distinctive beyond trademark hair colors and identifying accessories to signal who they were supposed to be.

Needless to say, it wasn’t something my daughter gave up on. She asked daily.

So, I started looking for an alternative.

Researching the Perfect Possibility

For about a week, I compared dolls across brands. I looked at durability. Face and eye shapes.  Hair quality, texture & length.  Clothing construction. I needed to determine the most cost effective approach with this project and trying to figure out where I could get the majority of my boxes checked for the cheapest price.  The asthethic overall needee to lean farthest away from the “cheap novelty” look and more towards or the “glamour” and “luxe” kpop characters that they needed to be.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree with my lil mini me. 

Mini me, in terms of attitude, pet peeves, and OCD only. 

She of course looks more like dad.

I found myself going back and forth between Bratz and Rainbow High.

Bratz had the nostalgia, the attitude, and the strong fashion identity I was drawn to right away. The cat-eye shape alone felt closer to my original vision. But once I started pricing out the hair colors I needed, things unraveled fast. There was nothing new that aligned with what I had in mind. The few pink and purple options available were considered vintage, and suddenly I was looking at paying far more than I wanted just to get a somewhat close shade of purple, bright pink, or blackish blue, all of which were non-negotiable colors for this project.

I made multiple carts across different sites, compared prices in groups of three, and quickly realized the vintage route added up entirely too fast. And I admit, what I was doing WAS a risky venture of turning non-licensed dolls into custom characters. Either way, it didn’t make sense to invest that much up front. Especially when some of those prices for the dolls that had the main features  were all, well, essentially naked and without the feet attached.

Then there was the real pressure.

I knew I had the biggest critic in the house to impress. I couldn’t fall short because if I did, she’d let me know in the nicest way possible. She’s not ungrateful at all. She’s just high maintenance. And yes, that’s probably my fault, because I’m the same way.

I wanted this to be something she’d genuinely love, but also something that could survive real play. She’s an imaginative player, a toy extraordinaire before a device-hungry kid. That meant durability mattered just as much as aesthetics. It had to handle play and still look good.

That’s when the Rainbow High Dolls, a brand I wasn’t familiar with before this venture,  completely took me by surprise.

These dolls had ACTUAL eyelashes! That alone impressed me. They dolls weren’t cat-eyed like I initially was making an important feature, but the lashes gave them an accelerated and extintuated accent that was expressive and still was doable with the animated look that naturally bridged the realism and animation together.  They didn’t need to be almond shaped to make it work.   Add in the Y2K aesthetic, they already have with the cropped jackets, bold textures, layered fashion and suddenly these dolls looked like they belonged in the same visual universe as the movie without me having to force it.

They felt durable. Thoughtfully made. Intentional.

That’s what sold me.

And I almost forgot the biggest incentive…

Duh, the price point.

Oh, and I can’t forget the color options.

I guess that’s to be expected when the word rainbow is literally in the name.

The eBay Gamble That Paid Off

A Local Toy Store Win

While killing time during my two teen sons’ barber shop appointments this weekend in our city’s Old Town area, we stopped into a local specialty store.

Kerbobble Toys.

Shout out @kerbobbletoys

And honestly? It was a breath of fresh air.

The store was spotless.

Extremely organized.

All genres of toys separated neatly by room and neatly organized inside each of the little areas.

Although I said “little” it isnt little like a cramped room.

Id refer to it more like little niche nooks. .

The store is filled with a range of novelty, niche, nostalgic, and collector toys.

The kind of place where you can tell the owners care.

And they do. 

I’ve never had a bad experience with anyone who worked there, and I know how retail can make people unfriendly over time.

Nothing chaotic.

Nothing overpriced just because it’s “specialty.”

There was no expectation when I went there because we were literally just killing time.

That was when I found it.

The Rainbow High Brand fold-out wardrobe armoire…

I only just recently knew it existed, and I didn’t pause to look at the specs once I saw it on Amazon for $119.

It was there on their shelf, flawless with no cosmetic damage, for only $29.

It wasn’t the armoire itself that stopped me so much as what was inside. The clothes. The final piece of the puzzle. I already knew I’d need to mix and match, maybe even grab a budget lot of doll outfits on Amazon just to get a few pieces in the same style to finish the look. But this wasn’t something I could just overlook.

Inside it also was ATLEAST ten to 20 outfits and shoes.

I couldn’t say it was a “need,” but I classified it as important because I was intent on finishing this for her.

So, I didn’t hesitate any longer and just bought it.

All in, I spent under $100 for…

•Three Rainbow High dolls
•A fold-out travel case / wardrobe
•Several outfits

This was all done specifically for a movie with barely any quality toys available. (Liscensing can get me reported)(Iykyk)
That’s why I steppedoutsidemy comfort zone and blogged about my exploits because,  it was, impressive, when it was all said and done.  

Also, maybe it can come across another person who was in a similar situation and inspire them to do a similar route after reading my process.

The Transformation

(Without Overcomplicating It)

This wasn’t about screen-perfect replicas. It was about capturing the vibe.

I focused mainly on the details. 

The identifying accents with each doll.

Hair styling that matched personality.

Outfits that felt performance-ready and didn’t have to be identical to one another to still look authentic

Accessories that didn’t interfere with actual play


The eyelashes and Y2K fashion details did a lot of the heavy lifting. Combined with the articulation and quality materials, the dolls felt intentional and not forced.

Thankfully, I knew a little about hair.  Cutting bangs to the shorter style of that whole K-pop bob with the super short bangs trademark style, was simple enough. The braiding of the purple-haired doll, I can admit, was a little challenging with such a tiny head to keep still, a different texture hair that also was in an unnatural pattern/thickness that made keeping it sleek and in place a little more difficult to accomplish.

But, overall, it wasn’t too difficult to get them to compare to the actual trio with just those minimal alterations.

AI Generated Photo for now Because the last accent, their similar wardrobe, hasnt been delivered yet for the Final Finished Product yet. I wanted the dramatic effect with their “Golden” Debut Attire for a Visual as you read.

The Part I Didn’t Plan

Here’s the part I couldn’t curate even if I wanted to.

For context, just know my daughter is up my butt. Constantly. Except when she’s asleep and honestly, during that time, so am I. There was never going to be some perfectly secret craft moment where it was possible that I could have disappeared to have this remain a secret and emerge with a magical Christmas surprise she was completely caught by suprise by. 

Yes, this project was initially intended for Christmas.

But both of us couldn’t wait.

I can admit I am a sucker and can’t contain myself with giving them gifts ahead.  Not just her, EVERY ONE OF MY CHILDREN.

Anyway, once the dolls were done, I allowed her to jump straight in. Yesterday was the day and all day, we watched the movie back-to-back for about five hours straight hours and then once more in the evening. 

Then she navigated over to the sing-along they now have on Netflix. She had me  rewind the favorite scenes and pause to get all her characters in place to reenact the scenes they were performing songs

She impressed me when she grabbed her Ty Beanie Babies, rabbits in different colors, and immediately cast them as the demons. She articulated the dance moves as it was a previously choreographed performance as she mouthed the words herself while she enacted the whole thing.

This isnt out of the ordinary for her and that, I knew ahead of time and looked forward to that moment.

If that ends up being my only gift this year at Christmas then I will be satisfied.

So, while I failed at achieving the desired calendar date I can say that i saved on the  wrapping paper, at least too.

The shared time, music, imagination, and a kid fully inside her joy.

And time wrapping. 

Christmas can wait. I don’t know how long I will have this version of her.  She might lose interest in toys once she starts school like my other two did.  These Memories will not be forgotten and when years pass and Im going through toys,  Ill run across these, and reminese to this whole process and relive it a little bit, hopefully. 

Final Word

Jumping back from the sentimental stuff, I wanted to add this to the end so it doesn’t make it seem as if I am insulting the creators because I am not. I know that many times you’ll find that licensed  toys are often rushed when demand spikes and corners do get cut as a result.  The materials also get cheaper, and designs also get simplified.

So, the fact that wasn’t done tells me that whatever toy they do release is going to be one that we will most certainly be buying down the road.

This wasn’t about criticizing a movie or calling out a brand.

It was about noticing a gap and filling it with care.

Sometimes, the best toys aren’t the ones pushed hardest. They’re the ones adapted, reimagined, and made personal. And sometimes, letting joy spill over early even if it was messy, loud, and unpolished, it is better than waiting for the “right” day.

Even if it didn’t get revealed on Christmas, I wouldn’t change a thing.

You Tell Me What you Think??