Monday, December 20, 2010

"The Doll"

Christmas memories are steeped in tradition.  We associate with our inner-child at this time of year more than any other.  Don't you agree?

When I was a kid, all I ever wanted was the popular Cabbage Patch Kids doll.  All my friends had them!  (No, I would not jump off the proverbial cliff!)  I just desperately wanted one!
Well, I never got one.  Not really anyway.

My older brother must have felt like I deserved one though!  When I was maybe ten years old, he got me "The Cabbage Patch Doll Kit".  It was a DIY...make it yourself Cabbage Patch Kid!  I was in dreamland!  That very same year, we had horrible weather and were snowed in.  Much to my delight, my Grama was snowed in at our house too!  Grama sewed...really well!

So on that snowy day, Grama and I made my first Cabbage Patch Doll!  She was beautiful!  Grama and I laughed and had so much fun putting her together.  This my friends, is a most cherished memory of both Christmas and Grama.

I loved this doll so much, that the very next year for Christmas, I gave her back to my brother!  She has been floating around the family every year for -a really long time- umm, 29 years!  (How'd that happen?) 

We call her "The Doll".  She has had some upgrades over the years.  My SIL, Laura, gave her lipstick, and boobs.  Mom gave her some new hairs and she's had an outfit a time or two.  But mostly, she's holding up well and is as pretty as ever.

This year, Mom got her.
Cute...ain't she?

Betcha wish ya had "The Doll" too, huh?  Ah, yes!  She's the gift that never stopped giving! 

Don't go falling in love with her now!

Since then, I have learned to sew much better...(wall hangings I made for each of the guys):


 and...Mom did get me a Cabbage Patch Doll.  Chuckle, chuckle, guffaw...Two years ago!  ;o)

What goofy, eye-brow raising, crazy kind of stuff do you and yours do... but might be a little ashamed to admit?

13 comments:

  1. I can't answer your question right now because I am a little traumatized by Chucky...er ah 'the doll'. I am going to go rock in the corner now. The wall hangings are wonderful. Excellent job on those.

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  2. Ours was a bottle of Dr. Pepper. One of the old bottles, small and thick glass. My grandpa and older sister both hated Dr. Pepper, and some how, one year, one of them gave the other a bottle. The next year, it came back to the giver. The next year, regifted yet again. And so it continued for years and years. Each year the wrapping got more creative and beautiful so as to disguise the contents.

    I had forgotten about that, and the fun of discovering who got the dreaded Pepper! I wonder what happened to that bottle? Thanks for a nudge to remember that!

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  3. Can't say we have been privileged to have anything going on like that in our family. Or maybe I should count that as lucky. I had exactly the same reaction as Jane did. [Dolly needs some time in a health spa with maybe a little reconstructive surgery?? ;o)]

    Good job on the wall hangings for the guys. Cool!

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  4. APG - those wall hangings are amazing! You sure did advance in the sewing category. I used to have a revolving "gift" with some friends many years ago - it involved my winning a prize for the lowest bowling score of an adult in a local bowling establishment. The prize? A bottle of "Cold Bird" - some fizzy gawd-awful concoction. We took turns bringing it and hiding it at each other's house. I finally 'won' three years later - I moved and they were stuck with it!

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  5. I remember one year my girls wanted Cabbage Patch dolls but they were so expensive, well I found a kit also, but they had the real heads, so they weren't quite as beautiful?HA HA The wall hangings are great.

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  6. Hope, sounds to me like someone needs to bring The Pepper back! Bet your sister would flip out!! That'd be a hoot!

    MamaPea, she needs waaay more than that! Sorry to have traumatized you as well :o)

    Susan, thanks ma'am! I think the last laugh was on them then! Never heard of "Cold Bird" and from the sounds of it...don't want to either!

    Alla, your girls can count themselves as lucky little ladies then! At least they weren't afraid of it! Not that I ever was, but can you see it crawling out from under the bed? Yikes!!

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  7. Jane's Chucky comment was exactly what I would have thought. That could produce some nasty nightmares. She certainly doesn't photograph well. S..C..A..R..Y!!!!!!

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  8. Jan, careful now...she might make an appearance out of spite now! How'd you like to wake up next to THAT?!

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  9. What a lovely memory. When my daughter was barely a toddler, one of her grandmothers gave her a Cabbage Patch Kid. She was too little to know how popular and trendy they had become, but she absolutely adored that doll the first time she laid eyes on it. The appeal was very real, not just advertising hype.

    Love your wall hangings for the guys too. Very creative!

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  10. My best friend was Cabbage Patch Kid crazy! I think she even still has them. I think it's pretty funny. As a kid I was obsessed with My Little Ponies though.

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  11. Hi Rachel! Thanks for popping in and commenting! Yes, I remember My Little Ponies but don't think I ever had one. I did have one or two Strawberry Shortcake dolls.

    Now here's a stretch...ever heard of "Glamor Gals"?

    Loved'em!!!

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  12. I had a little red haired cabbage patch doll when I was a little girl. Loved her!

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  13. I like the pink doll! It's perfect for my little girl's birthday next week. It's my sister who loves to collect dolls. She knows how to discreetly ask our relatives to buy her some dolls as presents during special occasions. I remember her save some money to buy an American doll. A year ago, she had her complete collection of pink doll clothes for 18 inch dolls. She really likes doll clothes. For 18 inch doll to be fantastic, Averie mentioned that its clothing must be nice.

    Thanks for sharing the incredible post! It's so inspiring!

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