Melting Snow

Memories of Christmas-Birthday Presents

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Christmas is a time for giving:
Giving joy to the planet,
and helping humanity.

The "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise"  prompt for Day 1457
Most people have at least one memory of a present-given or received that continues to glow in the mind like a good story. What are some of the best presents you have ever received?

Memories of Christmas-Birthday Presents

Because I was born on December 24, Christmas and Birthday presents are intertwined in my mind. This means that I cannot remember which items I received for Christmas or which were birthday presents. Some of the more memorable items were toys. When my parents and grandparents gave us presents they were gender specific, which means my sister and I got doles or other girly gifts. I remember three dolls that I received, but I am not sure if they were Christmas or birthday gifts. Neither do I remember the years or the order in which I received them.

One was a black baby doll, my Grandma Mary purchased this for me because I ask for the doll. Grandma never suggested, or at least I don't remember her suggesting, that it was inappropriate for me (a white child) to have a black doll. Indeed, I didn't know there was difference until some of my friends implied (through their actions and words) that it was inappropriate, and to this day I don't think it was. This incident proved to me that prejudice is learned, that it is something parents teach their children, and not something children are born with.

Someone, I think my mother, purchased a Betsy Wetsy doll. Her insides eventually rotted out because of the water that we put in her bottle. The third was a dolly the size of a three year old child. Those three dolls are the only toys that stand out in my memory. I also received paper dolls and clothes, but none of them made a big impression on my mind.