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Are you ready for Christmas ?

 

"Santa Claus" dotee dolls - Wilma Simmons 

 No, not me! I hope every year that I will be ready by 1 December, with no rushing about during the festive season... it doesn't happen..

 However this year, I am happy to have met some Christmas deadlines... For my doll makers group, Gumnut Dollies, Newcastle I made some dotee dolls for  decorating the  charity Christmas Tree. What is a dotee doll, I hear you ask... here is an explanation from another earlier blog post , Dotee Divertissement. 

Yesterday, I sold some of my  handmade Christmas decorations at the Hunter Art Bazaar - a Christmas market held in a beautiful park, Lambton Park , near my home.  I had been working on these and my crocheted birds while watching TV  during the year - the photo shows a variety of  stitched and beaded decorations.  

I was also touched that I was asked to make some Christmas dolls with a multicultural look... I must admit this made me think about being far more inclusive in my approach to special holidays. The dolls I made are for a little girl from a mixed culture background... I am embarrassed to say that although my background is Chinese, I have not thought about diversity in the kinds of decorations I make for Christmas before. I  think in Australia, perhaps our festive food reflects the various backgrounds we come from, but how do we celebrate Christmas,  respecting and valuing  our many cultural traditions and beliefs ? 

How do you incorporate your background culture into your Christmas celebration? 

Dotee Dolls 2022 - Wilma Simmons 


Hunter Art Bazaar 2022  at Lambton Park 

Sample of Christmas decorations 2022 - Wilma Simmons 

Multicultural Christmas - Wilma Simmons 

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