How to Be Creative when Playing With Your Barbies

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: March 6, 2023 References

There are endless fun possibilities when it comes to playing with Barbies. If you need ideas for activities, consider doing things like creating a beach for Barbie, pretending she's a doctor to help sick patients, or hosting a fashion show to show off all of her clothing. You can also create things for Barbie, such as furniture to go in her house or new clothing for her to wear.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Doing Activities with Barbie

1
Create your own Barbie mansion to play house with Barbie. If you bought a playhouse just for Barbie, great! If not, empty a bookshelf or stack empty boxes on top of one another on their sides to create your own. You can fill it with furniture and have Barbie decorate her home, use her kitchen, lounge in her bedroom, or chat with friends in her living room.^{[1]
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- Have Barbie throw a dinner party in her home, inviting other dolls and eating great food.
- Barbie could host a sleepover at her house and watch a funny movie.
2
Turn Barbie into a doctor to have her help patients. Pretend that Barbie is a doctor or nurse and create an office for her to see sick patients. Use other dolls or toys to be the sick patients, and have Barbie check their throat, ears, nose, temperature, and breathing to see if she can help them get better.
- Pretend Barbie is a surgeon and is operating on another doll to save its life, or have Barbie fix up another doll’s broken arm or ankle.
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3
Take Barbie to the beach by playing in a sandy spot. Use an outdoor sandbox, sandy section of your yard, or build your own beach by pouring sand into a plastic tub indoors. Let Barbie relax on a towel under a beach umbrella in the sand while she reads a book or talks to a friend.^{[2]
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- Use a piece of fabric or a washcloth as Barbie’s beach towel.
- Put Barbie in her bathing suit so she can soak up some sun.
- Create a beach umbrella using a decorative drink umbrella, or by cutting an umbrella shape out of paper and sticking a toothpick or pencil through the middle.
- Add a small tub of water next to the sand to create an “ocean.”
4
Send Barbie to the hair salon to fix up her hair. To smooth out any tangles in Barbie’s hair, dip her hair in a mixture of fabric softener and water and then use a brush to brush out the tangles. Curl Barbie’s hair using pipe cleaners and hot water, or dye her hair with food coloring mixed with water.^{[3]
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- To curl Barbie’s hair, take small sections of her hair and roll each section up on a small piece of pipe cleaner, just as you would real hair curlers. Dip her hair in hot water and let it dry.
- Mix a drop or 2 of food coloring in a bowl of water before dipping Barbie’s hair into the colored water. This works best if Barbie has blonde hair.
5
Let Barbie be a teacher to teach other dolls new things. Set up a school room with rows of chairs and desks for the doll students to sit and learn, and have Barbie write lessons on a chalkboard to teach everyone things like math, science, or foreign languages. You can even create small books for everyone to read and learn from!
- Barbie doesn’t just have to be a school teacher - have her teach other dolls how to ride a horse, how to make a cake, or how to swim.
- Tape a piece of paper up on the wall to use as the chalkboard.
- Make books by cutting paper into sections that are roughly 1 in (2.5 cm) wide and 2 in (5.1 cm) long. Fold these sections in half and add a staple right on the folded line.
6
Have Barbie star in her own movie using a video camera or phone. This could be an action movie where Barbie is involved in a high-speed car chase, a romantic movie where Barbie falls in love with someone, or any other genre that you like. Use a phone or video camera to film each scene so you can watch it later on.^{[4]
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- Plan out each scene before filming, such as which props you’ll need and what Barbie will say.
- Ask friends or family members to help you shoot the movie so that you can have more characters in it.
- For example, you could film the movie outside and pretend that Barbie is stuck on an island and needs to be rescued.
7
Take Barbie on a road trip if she has her own car. Pack up Barbie’s car with snacks, clothing, and any other gear she’ll need for a road trip, or use your imagination and use a cardboard box as her car. Have Barbie travel from room to room, meeting new people and trying new things.^{[5]
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- Barbie could also travel by plane, bus, boat, bicycle, or train.
- For example, you could pretend that each room in your house is a different country, and Barbie takes a plane to France, Greece, and Japan to try out their food.
- Take Barbie on a road trip to go shopping, hear music, or experience a festival.
8
Create a pool for Barbie using a sink or plastic container. Fill a bowl or plastic container with water and dress Barbie up in her swimsuit so that she can go swimming. Make sure Barbie is able to get wet before dipping her in the water, especially if she has a special hairdo.
- Have Barbie throw a pool party and invite her friends.
- Play music, have Barbie sit on a pool towel next to the pool, or let her practice doing fun dives into the water.
9
Put on a fashion show using Barbie’s clothing. Dress Barbie in fancy dresses, businesswoman attire, lounge wear, or in crazy costumes. Use the clothing you already have for Barbie, or create new clothing using materials around your house such as balloons, pieces of fabric, or old socks.
- Play music while putting on the fashion show so that Barbie can strut down the runway.
- For example, dress Barbie up like a princess, astronaut, ballerina, basketball player, or celebrity.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Making Clothing and Furniture for Barbie

1
Cut up balloons to make clothing for Barbie. Cut both ends of the balloon off using scissors to create a skirt or strapless dress, or design more detailed shirts and dresses by cutting arm holes into the balloon. Slide the balloon up over Barbie’s body starting at her feet once you’re done.^{[6]
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- The balloon should be deflated to use it as clothing.
2
Create a dress out of a piece of fabric. Look around the house to find spare pieces of fabric used for sewing or projects. To make a super simple dress, cut a circle out of the fabric with a diameter of about 1 foot (30 cm). Cut a small hole for Barbie’s head right in the middle, and then 2 arm holes on either side. Slide the dress over Barbie’s head and use a ribbon or piece of string to tie it at the waist.^{[7]
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- Make sure the main hole in Barbie’s dress is big enough for her head to fit through.
- Design more complicated pieces of clothing, such as pants or long-sleeve shirts, if desired.
3
Cover sponges in fabric to create a comfy couch. Find pieces of fabric for sewing or crafts around the house and cut them into squares large enough to fit over the sponge, leaving 1 in (2.5 cm) of extra fabric on each side. You can either sew the fabric to create a cover for the sponge, or you can glue the fabric onto the sponge. Do this with at least 2 sponges and then place one flat on the ground with the other up against a wall as a backrest.^{[8]
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- For a super comfy couch, make the seat of the couch out of 2 sponges stacked on top of one another.
- To create a long sectional, use 4-6 sponges to form the couch.
4
Stack empty matchboxes on top of one another to form drawers. You can color, paint, or cover the outside of the matchboxes with paper beforehand, if desired. Place the matchboxes on top of one another, adding drops of glue in between each layer to keep them all in place. Place Barbie’s things, such as her hairbrush, phone, mirror, or books, in the drawers.^{[9]
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- If you only have one matchbox, prop the matchbox up on something like a piece of cardboard or paper clips and turn it into a one-drawer nightstand.
- Cover the new drawers with stickers, glitter, or pictures.
5
Turn a shoebox into a bed for Barbie. Find an old shoebox from your closet, garage, or other storage spot and empty it out. Place a washcloth or small blanket inside, as well as something that will be used as a pillow. Now Barbie has a bed ready for sleeping!^{[10]
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- Create a pillow by stuffing a piece of fabric or a cloth bag with tissues or stuffing.
- Decorate the sides of the bed using markers, pencils, or paint.
6
Tie ribbon onto a small hair band to make a tutu for Barbie. Find an extra hair tie and ribbon that you like. Cut the ribbon into 6 in (15 cm) sections, and then tie the ribbon onto the hair tie so that the middle of the ribbon is where the knot is. Do this all the way around the hair tie to create a fun tutu.^{[11]
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- Use different colored or patterned ribbon to make the tutu super colorful.
- If your hair tie is too big and won’t fit Barbie, find a rubber band and cut it before tying a new knot to make it the perfect size.
7
Design chairs using cardboard and paper clips. Use scissors to cut cardboard into strips that are at least 3 in (7.6 cm) wide. By bending these strips of cardboard, you can create simple chairs or chaise lounges. If you want the chair to stand up off the ground, bend paper clips to form chair ends and use glue or tape to attach them to the bottom of the chairs.^{[12]
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- Fold a 6 in (15 cm) long piece of cardboard in half to create a simple chair.
- Fold a 9 in (23 cm) long piece of cardboard into thirds to form a chaise lounge.

Community Q&A

Question

What if my friends make fun of me for playing with Barbies?

Emily Berger1

Community Answer

Real friends won't make fun of you for playing with Barbies - if you have fun playing with Barbies, keep playing!
Question

Can I make a Barbie doll crazy hairstyle when playing survival Barbie?

Emily Berger1

Community Answer

Sure! Survival Barbie could have a braid or ponytail to keep her hair out of her face. If your Barbie's hair is already knotted, you could pretend she's been surviving out in the woods for awhile and needs a nice bath and hair brushing.
Question

What are some more ideas?

Emily Berger1

Community Answer

You could pretend that Barbie is going to the zoo, working in the garden, writing her own book, performing in a dance recital, playing a sports game, or becoming a fire fighter.