Portsmouth family's homemade Barbie wardrobe built to brighten daughter's Christmas goes viral
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Stacey Prior, who lives in Olinda Street, Fratton, was determined to put her money-saving skills to good use when her four-year-old daughter, Alexa, asked for a set of Barbies for Christmas this year.
The jewellery maker snapped up more than £100-worth of previously-owned Barbies and accessories for free on a Facebook Marketplace page, before Alexa and her dad Warren spent Boxing Day building a wardrobe to store her new toys.
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Hide AdNow the family’s DIY efforts have inspired thousand of others across the country, after a post on Facebook group Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK attracted 21,000 Likes in less than 24 hours.
She said: ‘I picked them up from a seller in Hayling Island before Christmas – I couldn’t believe how good they were.
‘When Alexa got them, she was ecstatic – she was like ‘another one! and another one!’.
‘We hid their clothes around the house and she went round finding them.
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Hide Ad‘‘All our Christmas plans were cancelled, so the DIY made what could have been a boring couple of days really exciting. It was a lot of fun.
‘I was quite emotional because there was a lot of vintage stuff, and it reminded me of the toys I used to play with.
‘As a mum, I had been waiting for this day.’
The mum-of-two said she has been a keen bargain hunter for years – but never expected her efforts to receive so much attention.
With the Barbie wardrobe costing less than £5 thanks to bargain items at B&Q, thousands of people praised Stacey for her money-wise and family-focused Christmas.
She said: ‘I just wanted to inspire other people.
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Hide Ad‘I’m still getting the notifications on my phone – it’s mad.
‘We got so many heart-felt comments, I was crying reading some of them.’
Stacey said her daughter’s sudden interest in Barbies came as a bit of a surprise as she can be ‘a bit of a tomboy’.
The 43-year-old said: ‘She has a toy tool kit and loves making things and going down the allotment.
‘All of a sudden she’s really into Barbies.
‘She’s very strong minded about what she likes.’