Hearts 4 Hearts Nahji's Tea Party Dance Celebration Play Set

One of my Christmas gifts was Nahji's Tea Party Dance Celebration Play Set. (I'm sorry, but that title totally cracks me up!  I mean, how long can a title be?)  I was so excited to finally have this! :)

The view in the package.

Here are all the pieces included:  a jumpsuit-style top, a skirt with an attached sari scarf (sorry to my readers from India if I have the terminology wrong!), :{ an embroidered belt, a head ornament, and the elephant tea set.  Before I go any farther, one of my friends of Indian origin on AG Playthings has already pointed out several inaccuracies of this outfit (such as the fact that Nahji isn't old enough to wear it, and that the tea set is completely unauthentic).  However, it's really cute, so I couldn't resist, inaccuracies aside. :}  Just wanted to get that disclaimer out of the way. ;)

Speaking of the unauthentic tea set, here it is.  I have to admit, I think it's pretty adorable. :)

So here's how the outfit works.  You start out with the bodysuit top.

Next comes the skirt.  It closes with Velcro at the waistline.

Then the sari piece goes over the shoulder.

The lovely embroidered belt adds the finishing touch.  It has just enough blue in it to bring out the blue in Nahji's earrings, which really wouldn't match otherwise.

And then we come to my biggest disappointment:  the headpiece.  No matter what you do, it just doesn't look right.  Part of this is that it's just a bit of material with a piece of Velcro underneath on each end.

Another problem is that it's usually worn on the middle of the head, but Nahji has a side part, so it looks a little bit funny no matter what you do.  I think this is probably the best picture I got of her.  

I even tried putting it down farther on her forehead (I didn't get a picture, though) like it shows on the package artwork.  That didn't work either, because the Velcro had nothing to hold onto.  I'm thinking I might eventually try to make my own headpiece for her out of an old bracelet or something.  [Side note here:  after taking these pics I fiddled around with the headpiece for a while and was able to get it to look a little better.  It helps to have the front hanging over her forehead instead of back behind her hairline.] :}

Here's the whole ensemble.

Belt detail

Pretty gold lace on the hem of the skirt

Unfortunately, this outfit doesn't work really well with Nahji's bangles.  They don't fit underneath the sleeve, and it's a tight fit on top of it.  

The material, while beautiful, is pretty delicate.  I wouldn't give this to a child under 8 unless they were really careful.  It just wouldn't last.

I would give this outfit a partial recommendation.  It looks absolutely adorable on Nahji, and the tea set is really cute and made of durable plastic.  However, I was disappointed by her head piece and the problem with her bangles.  Also, as I mentioned before, some of the material is pretty delicate, so I couldn't recommend this outfit for kiddos under 8 (possibly younger, depending on how careful your 6 and 7 year olds are).

She does still look really cute, and I think if I can just figure out a better head piece, she'll be just right. :)

P.S.  I realize that I  mentioned quite a while ago that I would be renaming Nahji and never got back to all of you.  Well, the fact is, I waited so long to rename her that I can't seem to call her anything but Nahji! :}  The name just fits.  So at least for now, she'll keep her original name.  I guess the next time I want to rename a doll, I need to do it right away! ;)