Dolly Review: 18″ Madame Alexander Play ‘Party’ Doll and Accessories

For review today are two items sent to me from the fine folks at Madame Alexander.  First, we have an 18″ Madame Alexander Play ‘Life of the Party’ doll.  This is my first experience with an 18″ Madame Alexander doll. Designed for ages 3 and up, this Madame Alexander is part vinyl and part stuffed.

Her torso, starting just below her chest to her hip joints, is stuffed, while her head, shoulders, arms and legs are vinyl.  The combination body makes her more floppy than I anticipated, having assumed she’d have a fully vinyl body. Because of her floppy body, she’s a very huggable 18″ doll.

This ‘Life of the Party’ Madame Alexander has a cute little face.  It has a very Madame Alexander feel to it, which I love!   She has brown almond-shaped sleep eyes, chubby cheeks and plump red lips. ‘Life of the Party’ has light blush on her cheeks and painted light brown eye brows.

This Madame Alexander has rooted dark brown hair with a little wave to it. She rocks two simple braids that hang down on both sides of her face.  Her hair is held back from her face with a simple pink ribbon. The hair used is very soft and while it doesn’t come with a comb, you could comb and style it if you wanted.

‘Life of the Party’ wears a sparkly pink dress.  It covers her stuffed body well.  The dress is sleeveless. One sleeve likes to fall down a little, but the outfit looks to be of Madame Alexander quality.  Be prepared for some of the sparkles on the dress to shed a bit when handling it, though.  This Madame Alexander wears removable pink flats.

Because of this dolls stuffed body, she doesn’t stand on her own. Also, posing is limited because she lacks knee or elbow joints.  That being said, I don’t think this doll needs them like some other 18″ dolls.  Her head tilts slightly up and down and turns left and right.

The doll is great, but if you want to expand on the party theme, look no further than the It’s a Party Play Set, sold separately. The Party Play Set comes with a sparkling pink party dress, tiara and gloves, birthday cake and serving dish, and plates, forks and glasses for two.  Also inside the box is a do it yourself party banner.  Provided letter stickers make it easy to customize the banner for whatever party you are imagining!

Do I love the outfit provided in this accessory pack? Not really. The companion doll is wearing, as I mentioned, a pink dress, so I don’t think this outfit in the Party Play Set needed to be pink.  I do like the polka dots on the pink dress, though.  The thin ribbon sleeves on the outfit bug me a little bit, as well, as you can clearly see the shoulder joints.  I would have loved if this outfit had cap sleeves to cover up the joints.

The other accessories, though? I love most of them!  The cake is fantastic.  As you know, I am a huge fan of doll sized food. It is ‘cut’ into six slices.  The inside is, you guessed it, pink.

The only disappointment I have with the cake accessories are the plates.  The serving dish is fine and made of a durable plastic, but the two cake plates are made of flat, thin cardboard.  I wish they’d been made from a stronger material. They don’t fit the look and feel of the other durable accessories in the accessory pack.

Overall, this Madame Alexander Life of the Party doll and It’s a Party Play Set is very cute!  I love the Madame Alexander face and the uniquely soft hair this doll has. The soft body makes this a great 18″ doll for someone who wants a huggable friend.  She isn’t too heavy for the younger set to carry around or put in a backpack, either.

To learn more about this and other Madame Alexander dolls, visit the historic company online on their website, twitter, facebook and instagram.  Better still, get $5.00’s off on your next purchase by entering coupon code MOMS15 while checking out on madamealexander.com. (You can use this code once on a doll of your choice, not just the Party dolls.)

Video Review Below:

What do you think of the ‘Life of the Party’ Madame Alexander Play 18″ doll? Share your thoughts below.

These products were sent to me for review as a member of the Madame Alexander Mom Advisory Board. All opinions stated are my own.(Technically, I’m not a mom or mommy blogger, but they were kind enough to let me on the board to share these dolls with you!)