Dolls

Just like anything else dolls define a generation-from rag dolls to dolls that look, act, and feel like newborns, dolls leave an imprint on those who receive them. I only remember one doll I ever wanted. She didn't cry or eat or roll over or walk-she was just a baby doll with two little braids on the top of her head, blue eyes, and a warm and happy smile. I remember the moment I unwrapped the box covered with red-tissue paper. There were no glitzy photos or warnings that what was inside was unsafe or declarations that batteries would be needed to make whatever it was function. It simply was a doll whom I scooped up into my arms knowing at that very moment Santa Claus had again received my letter and again made my Christmas dreams come true. Her name was Bonnie Braids. Bonnie and I spent many hours together-at tea parties, in classrooms on the side porch, on picnics in the back yard. We became good friends.

When my oldest child was a little girl there was one doll constantly advertised on television. Of course those big companies know just how to make kids think their products are must-have, to die for gifts. Santa bought into the hype. Under the tree on Christmas morning was that doll that ate-and then literally pooped! My daughter never realized the meaning of the latter so when "it" happened she jumped up crying. The actuality of what those ad campaigns were screaming from October thru Christmas hit home and my daughter never played with that doll again.

Sometimes micro-chipped dolls; dolls that are endowed more than a little child needs to know; dolls that do everything but be what they should be in the first place-a doll that can just be wrapped in a blanket and hugged-are discarded along the way when the novelity rubs off. That's when that hard chunk of over-advertised plastic is replaced by something simplier; something that allows a young imagination to take a baby doll into their world-and truly and beautifully play-and pretend. What a real gift that is! No glitzy ad campaign needed!