When daddy is away on mission, you can definitely feel that a piece of our family is missing. While nothing could take his place, our “daddy dolls” or “Hugs to Go” soldier dolls allow a version of him to be with us. This dolls is soft enough to snuggle and small enough to take out with us while we are running errands or on our adventures.
The “Hugs to Go” doll comes with a clear plastic slot over the face where a picture of your loved one can be inserted. My own personal note is that with young children, you may not want to force the idea of personalizing the doll with a photo. I thought that it was a perfect way for my toddler to have a miniature version of daddy while he is gone. However, the minute that I placed his photo into the slot she screamed hysterically (and not in a good way)…the idea of a doll looking like daddy freaked her out. With that said, she does love the doll when she can still see the cute sewn on face. She loves that his uniform matches daddy’s uniform and totes him around the house or even tucks him in for naps. (Needless to say- if you don’t have the doll personalized with a photo, make sure there are plenty of pictures of your deployed soldier around the house.)
While many people see these dolls and think of how great they are for the little kids, don’t leave out older children. Even though my preteen wouldn’t want friends knowing that she is toting around a doll, she loves her daddy doll equally or possibly more than my toddler. She sleeps with her doll every night that my husband is away and snuggles it on the couch when she is missing him. Not every child is going to be interested in having a doll, but at least give your older child the option so that he/she does not secretly feel left out.
The version of the doll that we have (shown above) is distributed for free to deployed families through Operation Military Kids. They are available through Family Readiness Groups or Army Community Service. A record-able version of the soldier doll is available for purchase on the “Hugs to Go” website. The website also has many styles of non-military dolls which are great for naps at daycare, when a parent goes on a business trip, or a memento from grandparents.
If you would like to help ensure other deployed children receive soldier dolls to hug when their parent is away, you may donate to Operation Give a Hug.
A note to wives…even the greatest guys can sometimes be clueless as to things that may interest their children–especially when they are in military mode. When my daughters proudly showed their daddy the ”Hugs to Go” dolls that they were given, he mentioned that the dolls were also offered at a deployment briefing several weeks prior. When I asked my husband why he didn’t get some for the girls, he said that he figured that they already had a good number of stuffed animals at home…he didn’t realize that the girls would adore dolls that look like miniature versions of daddy. Oh well, we love him…even when he is in deployment mode.
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