Today is December 15th, and 33 years ago someone truly wonderful came into the world. A real gift, so to speak. I know how excited I was.
I was incredibly happy.
To my brother.
So, a nice day to write about special gifts.
He still is to this day.
And he and his wife made me an aunt twice.
A double gift.
This year I want to give something back.
Nothing bought. No frills and not really something for my little big brother. 
My little nieces get a piece of their dad's childhood.
Because I was able to accompany them as the older sister, and between the 'being-annoyed-by-the-little-brother moment' and 'almost dying of delight' there were a thousand facets of our sibling love.
My brother received a really nice cuddly toy when he was a little boy.
Poldi. He was a blue dragon made of balloon silk, with a thick, squishy filling and felt-painted eyes. After a short time, his neck became quite thin, and otherwise, he warped in various directions from the children's loving cuddles.
Many rescues were performed on him, and so the cuddly toy acquired a patina.
It's nice, one might think. Well, where love falls, grass doesn't grow.
This dragon survived my entire childhood and has spent the last few years living in a well-guarded box. With me.
To be honest, I don't remember how long I kept it - but it must have been years.
Because my plan was to eventually repair this dragon and make it presentable again. For my brother's children. Of course. 
This year I started planning my Christmas gifts very early and wanted to give something special. A unique gift, something made with love.
I chose Poldi, and so I tried to save my brother's dragon, but in the process I had to realize that he is simply too old.
Poldi has been lying in an envelope for a few weeks, neatly separated.
And I'm sure that was the right decision.
Two beautiful new ones have been made, which my nieces will receive for Christmas. They are both made from the same fabric, but have different colored button eyes.
Really well done. I mean, for my first cuddly toys.
And they come from a full heart.
❥
What do I hope to achieve with this gift?
Of course, I want my brother to be very, very, very happy and to always have a piece of his childhood with him from now on. A beautiful memory.
But first and foremost, I want to give my nieces a little treat, because they already have their favorite cuddly toys, of course.
No one in the world has a Poldi.
Only the mice.
And when they grow up, they might keep it in this box and tell stories about their dad.
Or sew it up?
Then maybe that was Grandpa's Poldi?
I find that an incredibly beautiful idea.
I'm an old schmaltzy girl.
Regarding the implementation, I should mention that I have never sewn a cuddly toy before and see myself more in the fashion world of the 1950s than in a play paradise.
The biggest part of it all was unraveling it and piecing together the 'instructions' for my mind. It was all incredibly well thought out.
Here a cut, there a gathering to create more space, and some pieces are inserted between other layers. Crazy!!!
After the first one, I knew where the frog's curls were and could sew the second Poldi Junior much faster. PHEW!
Of course, both dragons have fresh new stuffing, but I couldn't bring myself not to use some of the old stuff. So, their arms are made from the old, somewhat ragged inlay material from the original. That's how it has to be! 
I didn't follow the original design for the eyes and bought safety buttons for dolls.
They're incredibly easy to use, and I now have a box with over 500 pieces. That must be a sign.
But first things first, I'm still practicing.
The boxes contain a letter, and I explain to my nieces that they now have to find a great new name for their dragons. I think they'll definitely do a wonderful job.
Why this is so important to me.
Because my brother and his squirmy little dragon Poldi are also a big part of my childhood and I would never want to miss him.
It's like a treasure I'm guarding.
If someone you love also has a favorite cuddly toy and it's looking rather worn, then this idea might be for you.
Grab this cherished memory, steal it from your memory box if necessary, and sew it yourself.
For children of all ages.
For grandchildren, for girlfriends, or like in my case.
For wonderful little people.
My double gift ;)
Wishing you all much joy with your Christmas preparations.
I still have 1-2..3,4.. things to do and then it's into the new year.
With laughter and courage.
<3 
Max, stay the way you are.
I am proud of you and I love you.
❥