She had her eye on the doll she loved and I had an idea.

It felt a little like a “Little House on the Prairie” idea and I liked it.

It was the kind thing my Grandmother Clara would have done.

I still remember her Christmas dolly blankets made from scraps.

Rather than buy something new, I would make a gift of Maya’s favorite playroom dolly

in a way that would make the gift personal and special.

She had long wanted to take this dolly home and so she did on Christmas Day 2020.

*

Now and then I had asked Maya to remind me what she had named the playroom dolly.

She told me but I couldn’t remember and since there are many baby dolls in the playroom,

I was pleased that this little dolly was unique, with a smile that couldn’t be mistaken for another.

What I did was really very, very simple and very, very fun and so you see that

sometimes the very best gift is right under your nose.

*

I made a little dolly blanket in Grandma style. That means “by hand”. I sewed on a new fabric label which I bought from MommieMadeIt on Etsy. Next I made a pillow out of white “pillow” fabric and stuffed it. Then I made a pillowcase for the pillow. The basket for the baby came from the thrift store, the very store from which, some years ago, I had brought Maya’s baby home in the first place.

This baby doll wears “preemie” clothes.

I found a set of two swaddlers with hats for bitsy babies on Amazon

and wrapped the dolly in one.

Maya will have fun changing the dolly’s clothes.