The Doll's Storybook

Stories about dolls who live in our world. Although these stories are suitable for children, they should check with their parents before reading and always be careful online. Readers are invited to donate to a charity supporting pediatric cancer treatment and research. Images shown are taken by the author or from a free image website with attribution and appreciation. The author has no connection with Götz Puppenmanufaktur, but gives them credit for the amazing dolls they produce.

Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts

Friday, February 3, 2023

Dolled Up

"Hi!" Pauly said to the doll who opened the front door. "I’m Pauly. Is Pippa here?"

"Silly!" Pippa exclaimed., as she closed the door after Pauly. "I’m Pippa! You know me!"

"Pippa?" Pauly asked in surprise. "I didn’t recognize you. You look different."

"It’s because I got all dolled up for Veronika's party," Pippa explained.

"Mandy and Mariah washed my hair," Pippa said. "Then they rolled it up in curlers."

"I had to sleep in them."

"Then," Pippa continued, "they fixed my hair for me. They brushed it out and tied up the front with a ribbon. Do I look pretty?"

"Mandy said I looked like a famous country western singer," Pippa said.

"It’s different," Pauly agreed, "and I haven’t seen that dress before."

"The dress has a story," Pippa told him.

"The Writer ordered me a cute snowsuit for Christmas," Pippa told him, "but it wouldn’t get here in time. When I opened my present," she said, "there was a note that told me what I was getting. It was hard to wait, but I was so excited!"

"It came from a long way away, on the other side of the world, almost," Pippa explained. "It was made by a lady who lives in a country called Ukraine.(YOU-krayn). It took a long time to get here, but it came this week."

"That was good, because we finally got snow again. When it came, I put it on and wore it outside in the snow. It kept me nice and warm."

"But back to the dress," Pippa said. "I was telling you about the dress."

"In the same box as my new snowsuit," she said, "there was this dress."

"The Writer was as surprised as I was when we opened it! There was a card that said 'Thank you,' in the package."

"I’m the only doll it fits, so it’s mine!" Pippa exclaimed. "It was like getting an extra present!"

"I decided to wear it for Veronika's birthday party," Pippa said. "Isn’t it pretty?"

"Yes," Pauly agreed.

He wondered if he needed to say more, but Pippa seemed satisfied, so he didn’t.

"How old is Veronika now?" Pauly asked, as the dolls walked down the hallway to the kitchen.

"We don’t know exactly," Pippa said. "We celebrate the day she came out of her shipping box at The Writer's house, February 2, six years ago."

"She lived with someone else before that." Pippa explained. "I think she came out of the factory about the same time as Mandy, so about two years before that. She says she spent a lot of time standing on a shelf, watching people. She learned a lot."

"Mandy stayed in her box for two years!" Pippa continued. "She says she spent that time thinking and figuring things out. She used her imagination to keep from being bored."

Pippa and Pauly found Mandy and Mariah in the dining room, trying to come up with a recipe for a cake The Writer had ingredients for.

Hi, Pauly!" Mariah said when she saw Pippa's friend.

"Jolena is skiing in Idaho," Pippa told him, "so Mandy and Mariah are trying to make the cake on their own."

"All the other dolls have taken Veronika to see a movie for her birthday," Mandy said.

"Do you need help baking the cake?" Pippa asked the older dolls.

"Thank you," Mariah replied, but two dolls are about all who can work on it at one time, and we would have to put a hairnet over your hair."

"We have to tie back out hair when we cook," Mandy said, "because you don’t want to get hair in the food, but you have…um…too much to tie back. Jolena always ties her hair back when she cooks."

"Why don’t we sit on the living room couch, then, and play cards while we wait?" Pippa suggested. "I’ll bring us a treat to pretend to eat."

Soon both of the smaller dolls were seated on the couch with the playing cards and a plate of little donuts.

"These are mini donuts," Pippa told her friend. "The Writer gets them in great big yellow boxes. I wonder why she needs so many, especially since we only pretend to eat them."

"Dog treats?" Pauly asked.

(Pauly could be right, but maybe someone else eats them, too. Who could that be?)

"So I was wondering," Pauly said. "We’re all dolls. How much hair do you have to have to be all dolled up?"

Maybe ask that country western singer? Open the cards, Pauly! It will be a while before the party.

Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen

Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend

Pippa: Götz Little Kidz Lotta

Pauly: Götz Little Kidz Paul

Snowsuit and dress from Nataliia Onishchenko on Etsy Sofia Doll Shop.

You can follow The Doll's Storybook here.

Do you have questions or comments for us? Would you like to order an autographed copy of one of our books? You can email us at thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz, Classic Kidz or Little Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or any organization that supports pediatric cancer research and treatment. We are not affiliated with St. Jude in any way other than these donations.

"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Pacific Time.

Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook are available from BookBaby and other booksellers worldwide, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Author's page on Amazon.

Royalties (net proceeds) go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. If you don't get free shipping elsewhere, buy from Book Baby. Half of the price goes to charity (specific information available upon request). Autographed copies of all three books are available from the author. (Multiple books to the same address have a discount on shipping.) To inquire, email thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

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Friday, December 23, 2022

Pauly's First Christmas Eve

Pauly had come to visit the dolls who lived with The Writer every day this week to watch Charlotte and Emil light the menorah for Hanukkah.

Each day, they would get out the menorah while it was still daylight, so they would be ready. They needed candles and matches. The Writer had to come and watch, because matches have to be used very carefully. They started on Sunday.

At sunset they would start. On Sunday they lit one candle and used that one to light one more.

Pauly had never seen anyone light a menorah before...until Sunday. (Actually, Pauly had never seen a doll light a candle before! Have you?)

Then Emil told a story to the others. It was a story about a miracle that happened long ago. It explained why they light the candles every year.The other dolls knew the story by now, but they liked to hear it again. Then Emil and Charlotte said some words in another language. They said it was a prayer.

The dolls do this every year, but it doesn't always happen the same time as Christmas. It's a special celebration that moves around. Pauly remembered it had something to do with calendars and the moon. Mariah said it was like Ramadan (RAH-muh-dahn), which she celebrates, because that is a different time each year. This year Hanukkah starts week before Christmas Day.

Anyway, the next night, it was Charlotte's turn to light the menorah. She used the candle in the middle to light two candles. Each night they added another candle.

The dolls were very busy this week, and Pauly liked that he could watch and sometimes help. Jolena was baking.

Mandy and Veronika were finishing wrapping packages in the workroom. They would go under the tree in the living room.

When Jolena had all the baking and cooking done for the week, she cleaned up the kitchen, but she said she didn't need help.

Pippa and Pauly watched a holiday movie on the iPad while Jolena did the dishes. Santa was in it.

On another day, Billy read a Christmas story to Pippa and Pauly. They are all good readers, but it's fun to read something together, then talk about the story and the pictures.

On Christmas Eve, the dolls gave Pauly a present. It was a dreidel (DRAY-dul), which is a special kind of top (a toy that spins).

"It's for a game," Emil told him. "We play it for Hanukkah."

"Games are fun," Pauly said excitedly, "and I've never had a present before!"

"That's right!" Pippa exclaimed. "You haven't even had a birthday yet. Just wait. You'll get lots of presents, and maybe have a party."

The four of them played the dreidel game for a while. They each had a dreidel to use.

The dolls were also following Santa's trip on the website for NORAD, which keeps track of where he is all the time on Christmas Eve. Every so often, the dolls would go and check to see where Santa was on his trip.

They do this every year, but Pauly had never seen it before, of course, because this was his first Christmas.

It was a long time until bedtime, but Santa was already on his way, because there were parts of the world where it was already the middle of the night. Billy explained this to Pauly.

He told Pauly how the earth is like a ball, and day changes into night as the earth rotates, gradually turning so the sun's light on each place on the earth changes. It makes it appear as if the sun is moving across the sky and going down, when really, the place where we are is just turning away from the sun.

"Like how a dreidel spins?" Pauly asked. "Is rotate the same as spins?"

"Yes," Billy agreed. "How the earth rotates is a lot like a dreidel, only it seems slower, because the earth is so big."

They kept checking to see where Santa was. Pauly thought about how Santa was spending the whole time in the dark, delivering presents.

When the sun was getting very low in the sky, and they needed the lights, they went to look again. The dolls pointed out to Pauly where Santa was, and where they were, and Santa was getting closer.

Soon it would be time for Pauly to go home. Jeffy was going to pick him up, so he couldn't stay long enough to watch Emil light the seventh candle. Maybe next year, Pauly could stay long enough to watch each night. Hanukkah wouldn't be the same week as Christmas next year. Charlotte had told him it would be earlier in December.

While they waited for Jeffy, the dolls sat on the couch in the living room. They told Pauly all about their favorite presents for Christmas. Pippa's favorite present was her own tiny copy of Alice in Wonderland.

Billy told Pauly about his first Christmas, and the sled Santa brought him.

While they were talking about Christmas presents, the doorbell rang. The dolls heard voices in the front hall.

"It's Jeffy!" Pauly exclaimed. "He's here!"

Pauly was ready to leave, but Mariah appeared in the door that leads to the kitchen.

"The Writer has invited Jeffy to have some hot chocolate and cookies before he takes you home," she told them, "so you have a few more minutes."

Tomorrow was going to be Pauly's first Christmas! When Jeffy was ready to take Pauly home, Pauly stopped to look at the tree. His family had a tree in the living room, too. The decorations were a little different, but it was the same kind of thing, with presents underneath.

Jeffy was taking Pauly to visit his grandparents tomorrow, but the dolls promised to take pictures of Charlotte and Emil lighting the last candle on the menorah on Christmas night.

Pauly liked to think of the dolls standing around the table with all the candles lit.

Happy Hanukkah and merry Christmas from all the dolls!

Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia

Pippa: Götz Little Kidz Lotta

Pauly: Götz Little Kidz Paul

Find our how to play the dreidel game here.

Track Santa on Christmas Eve here.

You can read the story Emil and Charlotte tell when they light the candles here, a story about Emil's first time to light the candles.

Wonder what Mariah was talking about when she mentioned Ramadan? Here's a story about that from #TheDollsStorybook: https://thedollsstorybook.blogspot.com/2021/05/fasting-and-feeding.html