Winter Fun

Kelsey and Dana Go Tubing

On a beautiful Minnesota winter day, meaning the temperature is just above freezing, Dana and Kelsey grab their winter outerwear, getting ready to go tubing.  They grab their matching donut snow tubes after putting on their snow-pants, jackets, hats, and boots.

They arrive at the hill, joyfully bounding up to the top.  Kelsey turns to Dana, "I'll give you a push so you go super fast!"

Dana hesitates, but sits down in her donut tube.  "Let's do it!"

Kelsey begins pushing Dana's back, running behind her as she closes in on the lip of the hill.  Once she crests the lip she gives Dana one final shove, then runs to get her own tube.   Dana squeals with glee as she cruises down the hill. 

Kelsey runs to the lip of the hill, jumping on her tube.   She flies down the hill, laughing as she goes.

Dana slows down as she gets to the flat area at the bottom of the hill, allowing Kelsey to catch up to her.  They both race up the hill again. 

This time down each of them run and jump on their tube together.   Neck and neck, they slide down the hill.   Kelsey begins to pull ahead of Dana, then suddenly she hits a bump.

CRASH!

Dana rushes over to Kelsey, "you okay?"

"Oh yeah," Kelsey giggles as she gets up. 

Grabbing their tubes they make their way up the hill again. 

After many more times down the hill, they call it a day.

"Before we leave, let's get a hot chocolate from the lodge." suggests Kelsey.

"Oooo...that sounds wonderful!" agrees Dana.

Sitting on one of the benches the girls drink their hot chocolates, enjoying the beautiful scenery as well as their hot drinks.

"This was a lot of fun!"

Kelsey nods, "absolutely!"

Amazon Exclusive Journey Girls Outfit

Megan Wearing a Blue Dress

As Toys R Us is still figuring out their online presence they have begun distributing items through Amazon.  Besides the Japan line of dolls, they have released four outfits to go along with the dolls.  Over the next month I will review all four of the outfits.

The first of these four is a royal blue, knee length dress, silver sandals, and a silver handbag.  This outfit, along with the other outfits released this round, have some interesting qualities that we will look at.

Although the dress stops around the knees, the sleeves go to Megan's wrist, with open shoulders and a high neckline.  The blue fabric has a slightly lighter blue, lace overlay.

On the back of the dress is Velcro to help get the dress on and off easily.  Thin fabric hems the sleeves, neckline and hemline of the dress.

Made of really good quality materials, this dress feels very high quality.   The strange thing is it does not feel like the dress is made for the Journey Girls dolls.  Megan looks like she is swimming in this outfit.  The waist is much larger than normal for a Journey Girls outfit, as are the sleeves.  In years past the Journey Girls outfits have fit snugly on the dolls, making it a challenge for the clothes to fit American Girl dolls and Our Generation dolls.  This dress is much looser and fits the American Girls much better.

Not sure if that just happened, or if it is purposeful.  As happy as I am for the versatility to now use the outfit with AG dolls, I am a little disappointed that the outfit doesn't really fit the doll it was originally designed for.

Shoes can make or break an outfit, or in some cases just be there.  These shoes are similar to other sandals/shoes released with other outfits.  The silver leather wraps around Megan's toes, goes up to her ankle as a single large strap, wraps around her ankle, and goes down her heal.

There is Velcro on the back to make it easier to get the sandals on and off.  Unfortunately the sandals are a little difficult to get on.  You really have to shove the doll's toes into the sandal to get the Velcro to close.  Personally, I am not fond of the bottoms of the sandals, as they are so smooth the dolls slide on almost all surfaces.   Maybe only a big deal to people like me that pose the dolls, rather than play with them.

Matching the silver sandals, the handbag is made of the same silver "leather" that the shoes are.  On the flap of the purse are three lines formed by the leather being pinched, giving a little design to the purse.

Also on the flap is a small piece of Velcro to keep Megan's valuables safe inside.  The wrist strap made of a rope like material is a perfect size; big enough to get the purse on Megan's wrist easily, but not big enough that it falls off.  It's a simple, cute purse.

All ratings are out of 10

Value 7 – Although the $14.99 price is less than the normal TRU cost of $19.99, there isn't much to this outfit. The value is really in how well the dress is made, as well as the handbag.  It would be nice to get another accessory.  Maybe a necklace, or a headband or even tights.

Fitment 7 – Megan looks as though she is swimming in this dress, which is strange for an outfit specifically designed for the Journey Girls. My guess is that TRU decided to make the dress fit other types of dolls better.   Even the sandals, which will not fit other dolls, are difficult to get on Megan's feet.

Versatility 6 – The dress doesn't have a lot of options for different uses.  The sandals and purse can be used with many different outfits.   Maybe if you add other accessories you can use the dress in different situations.

Cuteness 6 – This was my least favorite of the four outfits that can be found on Amazon right now.   The fabric is really beautiful, but the design just doesn't lend itself to the Journey Girls.  I still like it, but it's lower on the list than any of the other outfits available from the Japan line.

Overall 7 – Such a well made dress should have a higher score, but the design of the dress just isn't great.  Along with the issues with the fit, and the lack of much in the way of accessories, this outfit is just okay.  If you love the design of the dress than it is worth the $15.  If you don't love the design, I think the outfit is worth closer to $10.  I do really like this outfit on dolls with blue eyes (Meredith, Dana, Kara Rose, Mikaella, and Giovanna) as it brings out their eyes.

As Toys R Us (or TRU Kids) starts the process of redefining themselves, it would be wonderful to see them spend some time with the Journey Girls.   I have been very happy to see their social media presence expand (go follow their Instagram account @journeygirlsofficial or check out their web page - www.journeygirls.com) but the product is still the same.  The Journey Girls have always been travelers (maybe that is going to change).  It would be awesome to see accessories that better fit the girl's stories and personalities.  Personally, I would love to have accessories other than purses. One of the things that I love about Our Generation outfits is that many of them come with little accessories like a necklace, a camera, or a drawing pad.   It would be great if there were accessories for the different doll's personalities. Such as a book about animals, or a ticket or map from the local zoo for Dana.  Or some local treats for Mikaella (the baker).  We'll have to see what TRU decides to do.