My Best Christmas Gift Ever - A Dollhouse Dream Come True

This is a sponsored post on behalf of AMP however all thoughts, opinions and this dollhouse is my own.

Christmas was always a huge big deal in our house, growing up. My mother always said that she never really got much on Christmas and one year only found an umbrella under the Christmas tree. Well to make up for it, my mom made sure it was raining gifts every Christmas morning for us. Some years, there were so many gifts under the tree that we would take a food break and come back and open the rest!

Through all the LEGO, Cabbage Patch Kids, My Little Ponies, Barbies, and piles of books, clothes, games, toys, and trinkets, there was one gift that stands out, and still stands today, as the very best gift I could have wished for.

One year, I had to be about 6 or 7 years old, my dad and mom spent months working on a handmade wooden dollhouse. My mom had a chance meeting with an old man that built dollhouses and he offered to give my dad the plans and help him get started. In my mind, I picture this man as Santa Claus.

With a few pieces of wood, some power  tools, paint, and some guidance, my dad was able to build the perfect dollhouse for a little girl. He even added electricity, so with the flip of a switch, light fixtures would go on throughout the house. My mom wallpapered, carpeted, and decorated the house to fit a little family of two parents, two little girls, and a baby. To say I was thrilled was an understatement. It truly was the best gift I ever received.

For many years I played in that house for hours at a time. I spent my allowance on furniture and accessories that I longed for at local dollhouse stores. I crafted food and toys out of clay and things I found around the house. I imagined stories and threw parties. I decorated a Christmas tree I made from a kit. I redecorated the living room from country to contemporary. The dollhouse family adopted pets that never died. My dollhouse kids "grew up" and I redecorated and put heavy metal posters up in their bedroom.

Eventually, I grew up, too, and the dollhouse started getting played with by cousins and my baby brother's friends *shudder* instead. It started collecting dust and the cats started jumping on it, tearing the roof. The front door broke off. The wallpaper yellowed. The furniture got packed up and the house moved across country with my parents, then moved into my spare room upstairs. My niece played with the house when she stayed with us in the summer.

Early next year, we are having a baby girl, and the dollhouse is in what is to be her room. If she is a girly girl, who likes dolls, decorating, crafting, and wants to spend hours tending, tidying, and imagining in a miniature home that is filled with memories and made with love, my husband and I will spend night after night before Christmas, one year, painting, wallpapering, carpeting, and remodeling the dollhouse. Maybe it will be the best Christmas present she will ever receive, too.

Now my husband and I carry on the tradition of making sure there are wonderful new toys under the Christmas tree. Childhood happens once, and it should be fun and exciting, with toys that are memorable and engaging.

Right now, if you are looking to try out the seasons hottest new toys and become an Official Toy Tester, then check out one of Walmart's Holiday Toyland Events happening at a participating Walmart during November and December. Find exactly what you are looking for to make a child's dream come true.