The finishing touch

americangirl.com

When I heard new items for the Historicals had been released at American Girl, including my doppelgänger Addy, I raced to their website to take a gander.

While some of the new items are awesome, I was sadly disappointed by Addy's addition: Addy's Hairstyling Set.

Seriously? That's ALL?

For $22 "your girl can create a fancy hairstyle for Addy with this set! It includes:

• A snood that fits perfectly over her hair
• A pink cameo & bow
• A double-braid hairpiece for the finishing touch"

I think my snoods are better (Thanks Mama Lisa!) and so are my hose-clamp headbands.

americangirl.com

At least Betsy is excited. She hates her stick-straight hair and can't wait to get Rebecca's Hairstyling Set, which includes a pretend curling iron with a handle that opens and closes.

(You might recall in Betsy was a Junior by Maud Hart Lovelace that Betsy burned her bangs with a curling iron while getting ready for a dance.)

At least Rebecca got an costume, too.

 

Bluestocking? No. Blackstocking? Yes!

Inquiring minds have been asking about the status of my library in the sky.

So far I have mini copies of:

• Meet Kaya
• Meet Felicity
• Felicity's Surprise
• Very Funny, Elizabeth
• Meet Caroline
• Meet Josefina
• Josefina's Surprise
• Meet Kirsten
• Kirsten's Surprise
• Meet Marie-Grace
• Meet Cécile
• Meet Addy
• Addy's Surprise
• Meet Samantha
• Samantha's Surprise
• Nellie's Promise
• Meet Rebecca
• Meet Kit
• Really Truly Ruthie
• Meet Molly
• Molly's Surprise
• Brave Emily
• Meet Julie

I also have nice little copies of:

• A Charlie Brown Christmas
• A Christmas Carol
• Horton Hears a Who
• It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
• Mother Goose in Hieroglyphics
• The Night Before Christmas
• Olivia Saves the Circus
• Peter Parley’s Book of Fables
• The Quest of the Missing Map
• Robin Hood
• The Tales of Peter Rabbit
• The Wizard of Oz
• Woodworth's Cabinet Library

Please let me know if you have any mini suggestions - or donations!

Oops! I did it again

I discovered this morning that I forgot my friend Rebecca Rubin's birthday yesterday.

Oops.

It's a good thing I can time travel. She'll never know I forgot it!

!יום הולדת שמח

Rebecca's family would likely celebrate her birthday with a mixture of Russian, Jewish and American traditions.

In Russia, birthday parties would be celebrated on or after one's birthday, not before. And never give someone birthday wishes before their birthday!

If you're Russian, you may receive a birthday pie with a birthday greeting cut into the crust instead of a cake!

Jewish boys become bar mitzvah on their 13th birthday. Jewish girls become bat mitzvah on their 12th birthday (or sometimes on their 13th birthday in Reform and Conservative Judaism). This marks the transition where they become obligated in commandments of which they were previously exempted and are counted as part of the community.

And finally, a listing of all my friends' birthdays (including mine!) so I don't forget again!

• Kaya ~ Summer, 1755
• Felicity ~ April 21, 1765
• Elizabeth ~ November 5, 1765
• Josefina ~ March 19, 1815
• Marie Grace ~ March 3, 1843
• Cécile ~ May 28, 1843
• Kirsten ~ June 8, 1845
• Addie ~ April 9, 1855
• Addy ~ April 9, 1855
• Samantha ~ May 26, 1895
• Nellie ~ October 15, 1895
• Rebecca ~ April 4, 1905
• Kit ~ May 19, 1923
• Ruthie ~ August 22, 1923
• Molly ~ April 22, 1934
• Emily ~ September 29, 1933
• Julie ~ May 1, 1966
• Ivy ~ February 28, 1966

Merry Christmas!

My little friends and I were having a pleasant chat and it occurred to me to ask them how they would wish you a Merry Christmas in their native languages.

Felicity might say "Happy Christmas!" since that would be proper in England and probably the Colonies. (Molly's friend Emily would, too.)

Josefina would say in Spanish, "¡Feliz Navidad!" 

Kirsten would say in Swedish, "God Jul!" 

Ma chère amie Cécile might say in French, "Joyeux Noël!" 

Rebecca would wish her Christian friends in Russian, "С Рождеством Христовым!"

Kanani says in Hawai'ian, "Mele Kalikimaka!"

And Merry Christmas from all the rest of us! 

How do you say "Merry Christmas!"?

The festival of lights

Tonight I'm off to New York City to learn about Hanukkah, but I'll let my friend Rebecca Rubin tell her story.

Rebecca is a girl growing up in New York City in 1914, who celebrates treasured traditions passed down through her Russian-Jewish family. With a little creativity, Rebecca learns how to stay true to her heart as she follows her dreams in the big city.

Rebecca is troubled when her teacher assigns her class to make Christmas decorations. Rebecca's family is Jewish and doesn't celebrate Christmas, but her teacher says Christmas is a national holiday, for all Americans to celebrate. Yet Rebecca knows she's as American as anyone else, even without celebrating Christmas! She wants to please her teacher, but she's sure her family will be upset. Then, on the first night of Hanukkah, Rebecca finds kindness in an unexpected place, and learns the real meaning of the holiday season. 

Rebecca can't wait to light the menorah and celebrate Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights! This set features:

• A beautiful menorah and nine pretend candles
• A dreidel Rebecca and her cousins spin to play games
• Three shiny coins, called gelt

(Hanukkah begins at sunset on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011, and ends at sunset on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011.)