Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Post Holiday Shopping Success (Plus Some Good Gifts)





We were blessed this Christmas season with a few wonderful finds and gifts featuring children of color. As I've vented in a previous post, the frustration I face as a white women with a black child increases with each shopping trip. Toys, books, and decorations featuring black faces is rare. Most of the time the black kid is in a supporting role, if present at all. It might be ONE wise man in the nativity scene or ONE character in a storyline featuring a white family who happens to have a little black neighbor kid or something.


But---ahhh! Success this Christmas.


First, my daughter got an AA Cabbage Patch with thick, coarse hair, brown eyes, and a deep, brown skin tone. (I had fun purchasing preemie clothing for the newest addition to our family who has yet to be named).


Second, my friend Karen purchased four beautiful ornaments for us----girls in snowsuits doing various activities (snowboarding, for example). Two of the girls are black, one appears to be Hispanic, and one is white. Two points!


Third, I enjoyed spending a day with my mom, sister, cousin, and cousin's mom after Christmas. We had dinner at a local Cracker Barrel, which gets most of its appeal from the Old Country Store. One corner of the store was designated for Christmas clearance---70% off! My mom discovered a beautiful angel statue---a black angel!!! I purchased her for $4.50 and proudly placed her on the counter of my daughter's (slash guest) bathroom. I don't know if I'll be able to put her away with the rest of the Christmas decor.


There's hope. In darker store corners, on clearance tables, or in chance finds, there are representations of my daughter. I want there to be more. I will likely be disappointed time and time again. But for now, I will cherish these precious brown faces and rejoice that some company thought of the girls who look just like my baby---brown and beautiful.

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