Chanukah Barbie (Photo-Mattel)[Missing Credit]
Mattel also recently brought out a Lenny Kravitz doll in its ‘Kenbassador’ collection, and it is sold out in the US.
Krabitz is half-Jewish.
Barbie was created by Jewish businesswoman Ruth Handler in 1959. She co-founded Mattel with her husband Elliot.
One fan of the Chanukah doll is American Rabbi Yael Buechler, who said: “Ruth Handler was Jewish, and I think she would be kvelling to know there’s a Chanukah Barbie.”
“I’m sure generations of kids have had Barbie celebrate Chanukah long before Mattel made Chanukah Barbie. Now Chanukah is officially part of Barbie’s world, and that feels so special.”
In a promotional poster, Mattel said: “Barbie Holiday Sweater Doll has just the right look to light up the night – and the Chanukah menorah!”.
When a hidden button is pressed, the candles on the menorah flash in a sequence of red and blue.
Reactions to the doll have been positive, and it is completely sold out for UK shoppers on the Creations Mattel website, the official store for Mattel products globally.
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Holiday Sweater Barbies (Photo-Mattel)[Missing Credit]
Customers on Creations Mattel have expressed their love for the doll.
“She is stunning! I love her! This doll is perfection!!”
Another left a review saying: “This Barbie for Chanukah is so beautiful. I love how she looks, her outfit, and beauty design of the box. She is a new addition to my amazing Barbie collection.”
Legendary singer Kravitz, who has Jewish heritage through his Ukrainian-Jewish father, Sy Kravitz, got his own plastic lookalike in September.
Mattel's Lenny Kravitz Barbie 'Kenbassador' (credit Mattel)[Missing Credit]
This made him only the second ever ‘Kenbassador’, with LeBron James being the first and only other individual in the collection.
Kravitz, who has had two UK top 10 singles, commented on the news; “Barbie is an institution and as a kid growing up, I could not have imagined this.”
“To be chosen by Mattel as a Kenbassador, only the second one in history, is an honour and absolutely surreal.”
Kravitz’s edition is selling extremely well, with Billboard claiming the Barbie is “flying off the shelves just hours after its release”.
In the US, the doll’s direct inventory had sold out on Amazon within the same day.
In the UK, the doll can still be purchased at major retailers such as Smyths Toy Superstores, Argos and Amazon with prices varying from £70 to £80.
Mattel says the ‘Kenbassador’ collection “celebrates influential figures who are creating positive change and contributing to a better world for all”.
