Unique Serving Platter

My husband and I have a tendency to stretch ourselves too thin. We get overly involved in community and church activities to the point of feeling used. In our former parish we were lectors, Eucharistic ministers, on the parish council and the environment committee. When we were asked to chair the fund raiser we agreed to do it for one year. We ended up heading it for five. When we relocated to a different area we agreed that we would not jump in with volunteering with our new parish. Within a year we were both on committees. Last year we were asked to head our parish fund raiser. I cannot believe that we said yes.

The parish had tried an adult prom the year before as a fund raiser. It was to be a formal dinner followed by a dance. Such few tickets were sold to parish members that the event needed to be opened to the community. The event raised a small amount of money once all the expenses were paid. The young families in the parish could not justify the price of the ticket and the cost of a babysitter for the evening. This year it was decided to have a family event. It was going to be a carnival evening with games for children and adults and concessions. We wanted very nice prizes. We decided that stuffed animals go over big with kids of all ages. We needed to find wholesale stuffed animals so that we would be able to keep the cost of the event down. We also solicited prizes from area businesses and took in donations for a silent auction.

One person on the committee volunteered to locate wholesale stuffed animals. They had worked in a large toy store for a while and thought that they could get some resources from the manager of the store. They thought was if we could not find wholesale stuffed animals, the manager of the store maybe willing to sell us some of the store’s supply for the store’s cost. The donations for the silent auction were very generous. People had great ideas of donating fishing trips, homemade cookies for the holidays, lawn and yard clean up and other services as well as items.

A week before the carnival we had a meeting with all the committee members to make sure everything was in place. The person in charge of the wholesale stuffed animals came into the meeting carrying four huge stuffed bears. He said that he had several more in his van as well as smaller stuffed animals. He would not give us the name of the benefactor, but it turned out that an owner of a warehouse for wholesale stuffed animals anonymously donated the prizes. We knew that all the kids that came were going to be delighted with the animals.

When most people think of Native American dolls, the first thing the picture are Kachina dolls. In reality Native Americans are a pretty broad and diverse group of people, but certain images stick with mainstream society and are confusingly thought to apply to all of them. Kachina dolls are one of the big ones. These are fascinating and odd miniature models of spirits. In Hopi tradition, the spirits actually visit the culture at certain times of the year. People get dressed up in elaborate costumes and dance around, imitating the Kachina spirits.

Native American baby dolls are quite popular. In a lot of ways, they are just like any other baby doll toys. They are small, cute and easy to hold. Native American girls absolutely delight in them and it is nice that they’re being made. For a long time there was no such thing as a Native American doll. People in the Native American Indian cultures were discouraged from embracing their own cultural heritage and were supposed to play with light skinned baby dolls. They were taught to feel shame about something they should feel pride in. Things have changed a lot in recent years and you can see the results.

There are many native American doll toys for boys as well. Anyone who has ever played cowboys and Indians with toys knows exactly what kind of Native American dolls I am talking about. A lot of these are shaped to look like Indian chiefs, complete with elaborate headdresses. Sometimes people say that these toys reinforce old stereotypes, but I have always thought that they’re very noble looking. They look strong, fierce and powerful. As a matter of fact, when I would play cowboys and Indians, the Indians would win more often than the Cowboys!

If you are ever on an Indian reservation, you should consider bringing back a Native American doll or something else. Native American crafts are famous all over the country and much of the world as well. They are well made and they have a unique look that you can’t find in many other places. In addition, by buying Native American crafts you are helping provide an income for people on some pretty poor and economically depressed reservations. That is always a nice thing to do.