While trend-setting Barbie was living in her 3-story posh beach townhouse tooling around town in her pink Star 'Vette sports car, another Mattel family was taking a much more down-to-earth approach to life. Meet The Sunshine Family — a wholesome, craft-loving clan who seemed far more interested in macramé, pottery and recycling than sports cars and high fashion!

Shop Sunshine Family dolls on eBay!!

Find dolls, rare fashions and vintage playsets.

Produced by Mattel from 1974 – 1978, The Sunshine Family reflected the growing 1970s interest in ecology, crafts, and simple living. The 9-inch dolls included Dad Steve, Mom Stephie, and Baby Sweets. (See pic on left) You also see Baby Sweets grown up to Sweets!

The adult dolls featured soft, poseable vinyl bodies with jointed knees and wore prairie dresses, peasant blouses, bell bottoms, corduroys, rainbow-striped tank tops and sandals. If any dolls were destined to grow vegetables and shop at a co-op, it was this fam!

The family made and sold handmade crafts from their far-out yellow van and mobile craft shop, the “Piggyback Shack.” They probably embroidered jeans, baked granola, tie-dyed vintage T-shirts and recycled everything in sight!

Soon the Sunshine Family expanded to include white-haired grandparents, a friendly cat, a playful dog, and a red-haired aunt with her baby.

Baby Sweets grew up into big sister Sweets Sunshine, and the family welcomed an adorable red-haired baby brother.

Among the rarest Sunshine Family dolls are the red-haired aunt and baby cousin. Unlike Steve, Stephie, Sweets, and the grandparents, these relatives rarely appeared in advertising and are seldom seen today. Many collectors don't even realize they existed!

I could only find this photo from an old ad. If you have any photos of the aunt, please contact me!

In 1975, Mattel also introduced their African-American neighbors, The Happy Family, featuring Dad Hal, Mom Hattie, and baby Hon, along with their own grandparents. All of the dolls shared the same size and body style, making it easy to mix and match fashions and accessories.

Initially, the family’s clothing had a handmade, DIY look that perfectly fit the hippie aesthetic. But by the second series in 1976, the fashions became more modern. Steve traded his khaki pants for jeans, while Stephie swapped her granny-style apron dress for a cooler jumper over a short-sleeved blouse. Her hair also became shorter, blonder and more stylish.

In 1978, during the dolls’ final year of production, the line was updated and renamed The Sunshine Fun Family, while The Happy Family became The Happy Fun Family.

Steve debuted a funky tight-curled hairstyle and new outfit, while Stephie received longer hair, a softer natural color palette, eye shadow and lipstick. Blonde-haired Sweets wore orange ribbons and a cute yellow jumper, while the baby matched Dad’s outfit with brown shorts and a white top.

The Happy Family also expanded to four members with big sister Hon Happy. Because these larger family sets were only produced briefly, Sweets Sunshine and Hon Happy are among the hardest Sunshine Family dolls to find today.

The Sunshine Family’s modest fold-out vinyl home reflected their simple lifestyle. The one-bedroom house included a kitchenette, rocking chair, bed, patio, and even a wood-burning stove.

Later, the Sunshine Fun Family house added a kiddie pool and swing set.

One of the coolest features of the Sunshine Family line was its emphasis on creativity. Many playsets came with “Things-To-Make Idea Books” that encouraged kids to create their own decorations and furniture using everyday household items. Children could braid yarn into rugs, make sofas from milk cartons, grow potato plants in paper cups or build fences from popsicle sticks.

The eco-conscious family also had some wonderfully quirky accessories, including a craft store with a working spinning wheel and pottery stand, a  two-story farm complete with a cow you could milk, a baby's nursery and a three-wheeled Surrey bicycle the entire family could ride together. Separate  separate fashions, coloring books and paper dolls were also available.

My aunt even owned a macramé store in the 1970s, so these dolls always felt especially familiar to me. I spent half my childhood running through hanging macramé curtains like a true flower child!

Mattel even experimented with similar family-style dolls during the 1970s. In 1975, the company introduced the lesser-known Young Sweethearts dolls — another line of highly poseable, wholesome family dolls. While they never became as popular as Steve, Stephie and Baby Sweets, collectors often consider them a hidden gem of vintage Mattel history.

In America’s bicentennial year of 1976, Mattel released a patriotic spin-off collection called the Star Spangled Dolls. The series included Colonial Girl Alison Thompson, Southern Belle Rosa Lee Linden, Pioneer Daughter Sara Jane Benson, Indian Maiden, Liberty Patriots Regina and Richard Stanton, Jazz Performers and Thanksgiving Pilgrims. These were always my least favorite Sunshine Family dolls.

Thank you, dolls, for tripping down memory lane with me!