Dollhouse.

I wanted a dollhouse for Christmas.

Not just any dollhouse, but a big yellow and pink one-- just like Kalie Bryant had. 

Any girl that grew up circa 1996 knows the exact Fisher Price dollhouse I’m talking about, and chances are, coveted it as much as I did.

It was one of those items on your Christmas wish list that you always put at the very top of your list. You denoted it with tiny little stars, and maybe even circled it with purple magic marker just to make it stand out a little more so than the Beauty and the Beast on VHS, or the Pretty Pretty Princess board game

Standing at around 3 feet high, a 4 bedroom-2 bathroom dream home with an immaculate kitchen. This humble abode had a garage, a living room, and even a formal living room! (You know, one of those living rooms that no one would ever use because it doesn’t have a TV… But my Barbie family would be the proud owners of one.) This house even made sounds. You could hit a button on the oven and the sound of a timer went off. The toilet flushed, the TV made sounds, the doorbell even rang! Also, this way cool house was furnished with little doll-sized dishes, precious little lamps, and tiny plush couches of joy! This plastic house was the pinnacle of all plastic houses.

This was what I wanted. It's what I wanted more than anything, ever. I can remember thinking I would trade in all of my Barbies if I could get it—Mind you, those Barbies would’ve been the occupants of my house, so I wouldn’t have had any characters had I traded them in. That’s how bad I wanted it.

Christmas morning came.

I didn’t get the dollhouse.

But what I got was far better...

My sweet parents made me a dollhouse.

My mom had cut cute little rooms out of Better Homes & Gardens Magazines and taped them to an unused bookshelf in my room. This was better than the plastic rooms the plastic house had, because these were ever changing. I could decorate for Christmas simply by cutting a page out of the December issue of Country Living. My Barbies could live beachside on a Tuesday, and by Thursday live in a cozy lodge on the outskirts of Breckinridge, CO.  Barbie could live in a fabulous loft-style apartment one morning, and a Victorian-inspired mansion with a wrap around porch to match that afternoon. (I’m surprised I’m not an Interior Design major after all of the room staging I did when I was little.)

My dad had made the furniture. This furniture wasn’t like the cheap plastic furniture that accompanied the other house. This furniture was cut from wood, and then hand-painted by my wonderful daddy. And the best part? Anytime I was tired of the red checked couch, dad and I would sit down and paint it a nice shade of blue. He also cut out a tiny balance beam and an old school “pommel horse” vault along with a little springboard, so my Barbies could be Olympic Gold gymnastics, just like their owner.

My grandma even helped. She sewed tiny perfect pillows to sit on the formal couch in the formal living room, and wonderful quilts to keep Barbie & Ken warm while they were skiing in Colorado. She had also made a curtain for the front of my bookshelf Barbie house. That allowed me to close off my Barbie world from the rest of my room when their house was messy.

My parents gave me the best Christmas present ever that year.

They let me be creative, instead of just giving me the plastic house with everything already done for me. It was such a personal gift. I knew that my sweet mom and dad had spent time making things for me, and it meant a lot to my little 4-year-old self.

I hope and pray with all of my heart I can one day be as good of a parent to my babies as my parents were to me.

(And, if the Lord would like to bless me with an awesome dream home like my Barbies lived in... I wouldn’t be upset.)

This Christmas, give a personal gift. Something you made, painted, sewed, or crafted. Or, if you insist on purchasing something, still keep them in mind. Don’t settle for a gift card. Your thoughtfulness will mean 100 times more to that person than a gift card ever will.

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As we approach this Christmas Holiday, let us remember the true reason for the gift giving and the “reason for the season.”

On that silent night in Bethlehem, our Savior King was born to a virgin. That tiny baby was Jesus Christ, and He would save each and every one of us from our sins.

Please don’t overlook the reason for Christmas.

To anyone who reads this,

Have a Very Merry Christmas.

I hope you are surrounded by all of the people you love, and you are blessed.

Serve God, Serve Others, Love Everyone.