By Jeanni Ritchie
World Doll Day is celebrated on the second Saturday of June each year to celebrate the idea that dolls can convey a universal message of love and happiness. The first World Doll Day was created by Mildred Seeley, an artist and doll lover, on June 14, 1986. The United Federation of Doll Clubs (UFDC) continues Seeley’s legacy of doll collecting.
I was an admittedly spoiled child who took for granted the many dolls lining my bed and surrounding the tree each Christmas. I loved my dolls, especially my Baby Alive doll. It wasn’t until I got older that I realized not every little girl had an abundance of dolls to love and care for.
I’ve seen children wrap blankets around old mop heads and lovingly rock their “babies”. I’ve seen little girls cherish discarded dolls of the more fortunate with more gratitude and thankfulness than I had as a child. It humbled me.
After my daughter died in 1994, I brought a new wrapped doll to the Shepherd Center on her birthday each year. I couldn’t give it to her, but I knew I could give it to someone who would love and appreciate it. It felt good to give.
The UFDC encourages people to do just that. “[We encourage participants] to give someone a doll, especially a child that does not have one.”
My mother saved my dolls and they sit high on a shelf now out of reach of the rambunctious boys that prefer Tonka Trucks and fire engines. But one day I’ll share them with a granddaughter and we will have a tea party with Raggedy Ann, Barbie, Baby Alive, Mrs. Beasley, Cabbage Patch Kid, Baby Born, and Chatty Cathy.
Share your favorite doll memory online with the hashtag #worlddollday and give someone special a doll of their own!
Jeanni Ritchie is a girly girl journalist from Central Louisiana who still enjoys baby doll playdates. She can be reached atjeanniritchie54@gmail.com.
