As most moms can relate, a little girl’s dolls help shape them from early on into the mom they will eventually become to their children. I, for one, played with my dolls endlessly as a kid. And, because of that playtime, the one thing I knew for sure as a kid is that I wanted to be a mom more than anything when I grew up. I also learned that I am a very motherly type of person to others. Always have been, always will be, and that’s a good thing in my book. All of my dolls were also best friends, because I was a people-person even as a kid - it only made sense that my dolls would be quite social as well.
There have always been doll brands and trends around - even back in the ‘70s when I was a little girl. Some have lasted many years, some only for a short time. But one brand that has been around since even my grandmothers were kids is Madame Alexander. The Madame Alexander Doll Company was founded in New York City in 1923 by Madame Beatrice Alexander Berhman and is still going strong today. Madame started the company with the belief that dolls could be valuable learning tools that could teach children kindness, compassion, and responsibility. Madame also saw the importance of free play in helping further child development; which is important, in my opinion, today more than ever as parents are being encouraged to reduce children's screen time - better children mean better adults.
Today, the Madame Alexander Doll Company holds true to Madame Alexander's original vision - to create quality dolls that can be passed from generation to generation, helping children form meaningful and enduring relationships. And that is exactly the belief and experience I am hoping to hand down to my girls.
The other thing that I love about the Madame Alexander Doll Company is that it has worked very hard to keep its dolls current with today’s trends to keep little girls enjoying playtime while doing what they love and adore at this point in their little lives. So, when I was given the opportunity to share the Company’s Splash and Play Mermaid Doll with my girls, I jumped on it. My daughters are obsessed with mermaids, and by obsessed, I mean I am pretty sure they think mermaids exist, and being a mermaid is a career choice later in life.😊
The Madame Alexander Splash and Play Mermaid Doll is fully submersible and has a soft body that is designed for time in the tub or the pool. The doll, which is appropriate for children 2 or older, is dressed in a mermaid swim set with a hooded towel "tail" and comes with a bottle and fish toy. She's ready to go anywhere for some water fun! And, straight to the pool is where we headed with ours, which was unanimously named Meri. 😊
My girls donned their favorite mermaid swimsuits - with matching tail skirts, of course – and off they went to create a whole new mermaid underwater adventure for the new addition to the family. She dove off the diving board, went down the slide – several times, and enjoyed a leisurely float. They then all lounged poolside for a while to take a break and enjoy a refreshing snack, before jumping back in to dive for shells. I think they all enjoyed pool time immensely, especially Meri according to my daughters. I have a feeling a nice warm bubble bath will be next on the agenda for Meri.
Here are some of our takeaways from our pool time with our Splash and Play Mermaid Doll:
- The doll is made very well and truly is submersible and can withstand a lot of water time. And I speak from experience. We’ve had others that have not held up nearly as well, which led to some major tears and disappointment.
- The accessories are great as well. My girls play hard and the towel, toy fish, and bottle held up to some major “mothering,” just like the doll.
- Because the dolls are made so well, they will definitely be around for even more pool time or bath time playdates. The doll dried well and quickly and was ready for more fun water time before we knew it. All a big plus in my mom book!
- They also make a great addition to your children’s Madame Alexander Doll collection (or a great choice to start a new collection) and will become a great doll for your littles to hand down to their littles in the years to come.
For this review, I would give the Madame Alexander Splash and Play Mermaid Doll 5 Mermaid Tails out of 5 … my girls gave it 6 Mermaid Tails out of 5. 😉
The Madame Alexander Splash and Play Mermaid Doll is available to purchase on Amazon.
And as an exciting bonus, 5 winners will be randomly selected to win a Splash & Play Mermaid Doll from Madame Alexander PLUS an exclusive invitation to an online Madame Alexander party where the girls will unbox their dolls together and have a party led by Macaroni Kid! To enter, just click HERE!
(To see a video of our fun in the sun with the Splash and Play Mermaid Doll, click on the image below.)
Please Note: Madame Alexander Doll Company is a sponsor of Macaroni Kid. Compensation and/or product was provided for the writing of this article. However, all thoughts and opinions are that of the author.