HABA 12" Doll Mali

So, I've read all these things about how your child should have a doll that looks like them, not some blonde haired, blue eyed doll, that will give them a complex. As a naturally brown haired, dark brown eyed, and medium tone skinned woman, who grew up in so-cal where being blonde haired and blue eyed was idealized, I get this. Imagine my surprise, though, when I gave birth to a blonde/blue girl. I'm all about gender neutral toys, too. My daughter loves playing with cars and faux tools. One of the first things she did with Mali's stoller (not included) was try to "fix it." I wasn't trying to deny her dolls, but I didn't want to foist them on her either. When she started trying to change her stuffed animals diapers and offered them pistachios, tempeh, and coconut water, I felt I couldn't deny the girl a doll any longer. Plus, grandma was on my case.

So, much to my chagrin, I found myself looking for a blonde/blue doll. Of course, it couldn't be plastic, creepy, or princessy. I was hoping for a lack of pink, as well, but that's hard to come by. I finally decided on Mali because HABA is good stuff, and her dress is mostly green (I also hate yellow, so the yellow dress girl was out).

So far my daughter loves shaking her so that her hair flies around, periodically stopping to lovingly fix her hair. She loves checking her diaper (which doesn't exist. I think they should give the dolls undies so I can say "Mali uses the potty." all passive-aggressively :P)

Oh wait, this is a review, right? It's well made, not hideous or creepy, and has too much pink and flowers. There you go.

I purchased Mali for my baby girl (4 months) because her older sister received Clara (another Haba doll) as a gift and the baby just loved the texture of her hair. I thought Mali would be perfect as a first doll. When we received her, I was a bit disappointed. Her face did not look like the photo, it was similar, but not as cute and one of her eyes seemed a little "off" to me, like it was sawn funny. I know, I am picky. Thinking it was a fluke, I ordered another Mali. The second one was worse. Her eyes looked weired once again, had loose threads, and were pulling too tight on the material of the face. My other concern was that the hair is SO light, that it would look dingy all the time (although the doll can probably be machine washed in a garment bag). Please don't get me wrong, if Mali was the only one available, we would have kept her, but I feel there are better options (Clara, Elise, or Annie). Both Malis went back and we ended up with Elise instead, she is really adorable.

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This doll is beautiful, durable, cuddly, and well made. My daughter absolutely loves this and loves taking the clothes and shoes on and off, and the clothing and shoes are durable enough that she can take them on and off with no rips or anything...my daughter is a rough 3 year old so that says a lot. This is a wonderful product and am very thankful my daughter can have this for her doll.

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she is a beautiful little doll...very well made. cute face and clothes, my two year old loves her. named her "bob". this doll is the perfect size for toddlers.

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We bought this to go with my old doll bed from when I was a toddler and gave it to our daughter for Christmas. She LOVES it. She sometimes drags it around by the hair, but the hair is made of chenille, and is sown in really well. She likes to take the shoes and hair piece off, but she manages to get both back on without help. I love that it's completely fabric, and washable. It isn't super soft and squishy, if that's the kind of doll you are looking for but it is durable. Our daughter definitely seems to appreciate this doll more than others she's received, and she lays cuddling with it before naps. We'll definitely be adding more Haba dolls to the mix as she gets older, perhaps the 14" tall one next time. It is a 12" doll, from bottom of feet to top of head, so understand that when you buy it. My husband thought it was going to be larger (even though it says it's 12"...I think this is how fish tales begin). So happy with the purchase!

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