Homemade for Christmas

Archive for December 8th, 2010

Simply made with a few scraps of fabric, batting and yarn, this homemade for Christmas gift should save memories for a life time. s

A Raggedy Doll For Christmas

Last Saturday I gave my youngest grand daughter a rag doll. It wasn’t Christmas, but her first birthday on December 3, so there was even more pressure on the reception of this present. Even at only a year old, she had all the trappings of the modern child. Her toys were way more sophisticated than blocks, or even a Jack-in-the-box. They squawked and visually stimulated her in as many variations as you can entertain a baby without frightening them

What would be the appeal of a floppy little rag doll, with a crooked grin and embroidered eyes. There was nothing about this toy that responded back, at least not in any obvious way. It was the second present she opened and she was upset that we took the first away. She was interested in a blinking squeaking kangeroo that rewarded her each time she put the right shaped block in the right spot.

Opening the present was easy because I just slipped it into a gift bag. I didn’t even bother to wrap it in tissue. She reached down inside and pulled it out and immediately smiled. She recognized its humanness, despite the fact that it resembled no human ever born. A flat pink face, bright red hair, and only a nose for facial features, yet instinctively she gave it a hug and started to rock it like a baby in her arms. This was a smart one year old who already communicated in sign language and she let us know not only that she knew what this toy was, but how she was so supposed to react to it. When someone gives you baby, you give it a hug.

This simple rag doll was her buddy all night long. There was nothing on it to hurt her. No loose buttons, or snaps to chew off. The apron could be undone, and used to practice tying at a later age, that was the extent of learning with this toy, but there was tons of interaction. This simple little doll could come to bed hear secret baby whispers. It could console with its softness and be easily dragged around. It was tiny enough to go in a backpack or diaper bag, but big enough to be used as a pillow.

She will learn, her female instinct taking over, that babies are to be held and cuddled. Hopefully her ragdoll will be a friend to watch television with, to share tea parties, to be part of her family of toys. Every little girl or boy deserves the simple pleasures of cuddling a homemade bear or rag doll. Every grandma deserves the pleasure of making one, and watching it be received with  interest and joy.

Carrying her favorite present.