Christmas Dolls

If you have a daughter, Christmas means dolls!

In 1978, for our daughter Sarah's second Christmas

"Santa" gave her a new doll

From Fisher Price

It was "Beth's" birth year.    For 1978 was the year they introduced Beth.    She was made through 1980 -- a rather short run.

She was a sweet baby doll with a plastic head, arms and legs and a soft stuffed body.

She has  blonde brushable hair and big brilliant blue eyes

She came with a pink knitted sweater, bottles and cap.

Sarah loved her Beth

She was a very serious "mommy" to Beth!

Her second doll was another Fisher-Price -- My Friend Mandy.

Mandy was not a baby, she is a little girl, the perfect age to be a best friend.

I'm not sure what year Mandy came to live at our house -- but it was after 1978 but before 1982.

I'm thinking perhaps 1980.

Mandy (and her other friends) was the biggest and most successful doll line ever made by Fisher-Price.     She was in production until 1985 and the My Friend dolls are currently the most collectible Fisher-Price doll line.

In looking at Mandy and her friends, she was a "pre" American Girl doll.    

A similar style except she, like Beth, had a soft body.

And I'm not sure why, but I have no pictures of Sarah and Mandy!

But this isn't a story about Christmases past

It's about Christmas present

And a Christmas present

for the Grands!

What mothers save of their children's childhood

often does not make sense.

It did at the time . . . 

But not after 40 years!

But I did save Beth

and

the clothes I made for Beth

(as well as the other clothes I bought for Beth)

And I decided Christmas 2018 would be a good year for Beth to have a new home! I washed Beth I washed her clothes I had also saved Mandy But alas, all I had for Mandy was the outfit she came in! (including the hat!) So I spent many hours in December using mostly fabric scraps to make her some clothes! For we decided that Christmas 2018 would be a good time to pass these dolls on To the grands . . .  Piper (the three year old) got Beth and Lucy (her older sister) got Mandy And the trunks that I had for my dolls  and Sarah had for hers have been replaced by telescoping handled rolling suitcases! They were thrilled! Sarah was thrilled!