Portsmouth family's homemade Barbie wardrobe built to brighten daughter's Christmas goes viral

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.

Now 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.

‘‘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.

‘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.’

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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.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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