Saturday, September 8, 2012

#HeartsforHeartsGirls Must see & Buy! #partyReview - Changing the World One Heart at a Time!



The front of the boxes they sent us.
Hearts4heartsgirls has dolls from around the world. Each doll sold benefits the country she comes from. Each doll is also dressed with fashions from said country AND is modeled after a real girl IN that area. They are just a little smaller than American Girl dolls. Not that I do not love American Girl dolls, but I have always thought Hearts 4 Hearts dolls were WAY cuter. Plus they also cost half as much. An AG  doll with run you upwards of 100$+ .. a Hearts 4 Hearts doll is around 30-40. I first spotted these dolls in Target stores about a year ago and fell in love. I have actually written to the company several times trying to review them on L of E, but I got lucky when they picked me to host a mommy party for them. I got lucky because we got 2 dolls. I got the pleasure of gifting one to my GF's child, who would attend the party! How neat!

What Giana loves most is that each doll comes with a bracelet for your little girl to wear as well as a storybook, which essentially is a little diary of her life, her culture, her family, her friends and what she is doing to help those around her.  With each doll purchased, Hearts for Hearts girls donates a portion of the purchase price to their charitable partner, World Vision, where the proceeds are distributed to programs that support girls in that country.  So not only will your child be learning about the doll's life and culture, but they will also be learning about giving back to others and how they can make a difference in the world around them.  The more I have learned about these dolls, the more I love them, and as a Mom I feel especially good about all of the positive benefits my daughter is receiving by learning about and playing with her doll.
Their website is pretty neat too, and has all kinds of discussion opportunities to share the importance of giving back and how the dolls give back with your little girl & they also (Giana's favorite part of the website) offer a games and activities section there too!



I gotta say, there is not one thing I can find wrong with the dolls. Not one. I love them so much, I had a hard time giving the doll to my little girl! I wanted to keep her.  :)

I know we will be buying more of these dolls, and I am sure I will get Giana one for Christmas. They are much more affordable than other lower quality dolls, and the same quality as more expensive dolls. Plus the giving back? What other brand came you name off the top of your head that does that? That is especially unique to Hearts 4 Hearts and I think makes them stand out above and beyond all the other brands. This is the brand of dolls for us. I want to thank Mommy Parties and Hearts 4 Hearts girels/dolls for sending us the 2 dolls. Alex ending up winning the doll (we drew names) and she loves it as much as Giana loves Lillian. 


Our favorite dolls used to be Dell and Consuela. I was hoping they would send one of those, until I got a sneak peek at the dolls rolling out for 2012 and it quickly changed to Lauryce and Mosi. However, since we didn't get to pick, we were sent Lillian and Zelia. Neither of which we would've picked, were we given the choice BUT both equally cute.

Here are the dolls are the countries/places they originate from:
  • Lauryce, USA, New Orleans
  • Mosi, USA Native American
  • Dell, USA Appalachia
  • Consuelo, Mexico
  • Tipi, Laos
  • Zelia, Brazil
  • Lilian, Belarus
  • Rachel, Ethiopia
  • Nahji, India

If you were going to buy any doll for charity reasons,  this would be the doll to buy, as this doll directly benefits children in Belarus, as we all know as being highly affected by radiation that escaped during the Pripyat - or the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.

The number of orphaned and scarred children there is astronomical.
It is very sad.


Say hello to Lilian, a girl who understands the power of a picture! She's from Belarus and lives with her grandmother because her parents have left to find work in the city. Lilian has an idea about helping other "work orphans" in her town.  You can read her diary on hearts4heartsgirls.com
Most of my girlfriends have little boys though, but our guest list included:


  1. Shannon,
  2. Beth,
  3. April,
  4. Alex,
  5. Brooke,
  6. Lalaycia,
  7. Amina, 
  8. Katie,
  9. Aislyn
  10. Devonny,
  11. Giana,
  12. Me &
  13. Brynna!

The back of the 2 boxes they sent to us. The old boxes don't include pictures of the 2012 dolls on the back of them.
The new dolls for 2012
Lauryce the new New Orleans doll that we were crossing our fingers and hoping to get but we didn't. In my opinion, she is the cutest one they have ever made. 
Although she was only four at the time, our New Orleans girl still remembers when Hurricane Katrina hit her hometown. Luckily, her family's home survived; but our girl (who has a dog, cat, and a rabbit) learned an important lesson about reaching out to help people—and animals—in need.
Zelia from Brazil the doll we gave away in the party!
Mosi is the 2012 new USA Native American doll, she is adorable. Mosi is a 10-year-old girl from the Navajo Nation. Her father runs a modest sheep ranch, and her mother is a potter who believes in preserving their culture's art and traditions. 
If we didn't get Lauryce we were also hoping for her. We got Lillian and Zelia, and in the end we were just as happy with them too. Mosi is now (in our opinion) the 2nd cutest doll they make. 
(( Consuela comes in 3rd and Dell 4th))

Aw they have new clothes/fashions!  see all dolls and fashions




Company Overview
It’s an undeniable fact that girls in many countries struggle against a lack of education, medical care, decent housing, and clean water and food. But when these basic needs are met, those girls achieve amazing things for themselves and their families. Sometimes, all they need is a little help.

LOVE love LoVe lOvE Lillian's nightgown fashion accessories (not included with doll) Lilian's Warm Winter Nightgown Set This fleecy, furry outfit is sure to keep Lilian warm on cold winter nights in Belarus! Soft pink flowers patterna cozy cream nightgown, with a smocked yoke, faux embroidery neckline, and bow trim. Lilian's outfit includes: Faux fur trimmed boots with fabric rosettes Matching faux fur hair accessory .
Please note: Doll and earrings not included. Product fabrics and colors may vary. 

Giana, trying to figure out which doll to keep, 
and which to draw names for at the Party!
Lillian's bracelets Lilian's girl-sized "power bracelet" is a beautiful magenta color and has the HFHG logos and inspirational tagline.  Every HFHG doll also comes with an illustrated mini-book about her life.
Zelia plays soccer, just like Giana does!!!  Zelia is a cheerful ten-year-old living on a coffee farm in São Paulo, Brazil. At school, Zelia learns how important Brazil's forests are and that they're disappearing way too fast. She wonders what one girl can possibly do to help the situation?
Giana studies them hard!
Took a lot of thinking for her to decide on Lillian. (2 weeks actually, she decided the day before the party! LOL!)


For the Party we got to make food from Ethiopia, Belarus, Laos & America! 
Here's a genuine Belarus recipe for you:

Recipe
Bite-size Belarusian Draniki

Ingredients: 
4 med to LRG russet potatoes (Yukon Gold peeled)
2 LRG yellow onions
4 eggs slightly beaten
1/3 cup matzo meal
2 tsp kosher salt, more to taste
10-15 grinds black pepper -- more to taste
3/4 cup of peanut oil (veg oil in case of allergies is a good substitute)
Applesauce, sour cream, & chopped chives for serving (optional)

Instructions:
Using the medium shredding blade on food processor, grate potatoes, grate the lengthwise as long as possible.
Grate onions on top of potatoes. The onions turn to mush, but their juices keep the potatoes from turning brown.  Lay clean dish towel inside bowl and transfer grated mixture onto the towel. Roll the towel up and wring it to absorb any water/liquid out of the food into a sink. Transfer mixture to a bowl. Add eggs matzo meal, salt & pepper, mix well. 
To form the draniki - scoop out about 2tsp mixture into your palm. Loosely pat into a pancake about 1/2 inch thick. 
Heat large non-stick skillet w about 1/8 inch of oil and heat med.high. Make oil sizzle when potatoes are dropped in before you put draniki in oil.
In batches slip draniki into hot oil & flatten gently w the bac kof a spatula. Fry until golden brown, or about 3 minutes on each side. To prevent excess oil absorption, only flip 1 time.  Serve immediately (warm) with applesauce, sour cream or chives (optional)
Voila!  You did it.

The party kit came with 20 bracelets, the girls each got 2, and one to give to a friend that didn't get to come. Plus there were a few left over for the Moms! The box came with Passports too, filled with fun things to do and fill out.  It also came with coupons with a special online code for my guests to purchase a doll for $5 off!
 THE PARTY
Shake that!
The girls LOVED the bracelets!!
The girls dancing to Pandora.
Devonny's all: "Hey Kid, I'm the baby around here!"
They stopped playing with the dolls long enough to say "Cheese!"
The other 2 are in the living room, still dancing their little hearts out.
:)


Giana posing with Lillian.


Alexandra won the doll, it looks like her and she loved it! She wouldn't even take it out of the box!  :)




Many thanks to Playmates Toys, MommiesParties and MomSelect for providing me with the Hearts for Hearts Girls dolls and party package.  All expressed opinions in this post are my own, and I believe me when I say I loved these dolls.

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