With the wide selections of dolls out there, it is very easy for someone to just pick up a doll in a store shelf and pay for it. Despite the ease of selection and availability of things such as dolls, it is also very hard which dolls are the right ones to choose, especially if someone's intention is to give a doll as a gift for someone he or she cares for.



Often times, the question we always have whenever when we choose toys for the purpose of giving it to children is will they like it?...And.. Will they play with it? We all know that children will play just about anything they lay their eyes on, on any kind of toys or dolls. But some of us think and would like children to cherish the toys we give to them, especially if those children we give presents to are our own kids or kids that are related to us.

The Precious Moments Dolls line up showcases different themed dolls which are differentiated by how they are made by the type of materials used and the designs and appearance for a doll depending on the category it is showcased.

One line up of Precious Moments Dolls is the Precious Rag Collection. This particular collection shows rag dolls dressed in different, elaborate and colorful costumes with stringy or yarny hairs.

Rag dolls are probably the first dolls ever created and played by children since ancient times. Rag dolls are pretty much made of regular cloth that makes up the rag doll's overall skin and outer body and then stuffed with different scraps of soft materials that can be used as stuffings whether it be cotton, wool, or excess cloth cuttings, as long as it will give the rag doll its thickness and softness for the comfort of the kids. Rag dolls were even found on the graves of children from ancient Rome that dates back all the way from 300 BC.

Perhaps the most famous and popular rag doll of all time has been Raggedy Ann and her rag doll brother Andy. Raggedy Ann first came to life back in 1918 when its writer John Gruelle wrote a book about a rag doll dressed in a blue polka dotted dress, wearing a white duster over it and with red yarn for her hair, comes to life when people are asleep or not around. The inspiration for the creation of Raggedy Ann as a children's character is after when his daughter, Marcella, brought and showed him an old ragdoll and the name Raggedy Ann was from a combination of two different titles from two different poems from James Witcomb Riley which were "The Raggedy Man" and "Little Orphan Annie." Unfortunately, during the debut of Raggedy Ann, John's daughter, Marcella, died when she was only 13 years old due to a vaccination issued by her school without the knowledge and consent of her parents. After this tragedy, John Gruelle protested against irresponsible vaccination through his Raggedy Ann books.

Up to today, Raggedy Ann and Andy have been adapted into animation, musical plays and toys. Precious Moments have kept the tradition of Raggedy Ann and rag dolls in general, with the introduction of the Precious Rag line up. These dolls still have the traditional yarn hairs but are also incorporated with plastic skins instead of cloth. Among these dolls, of course, is none other than the famous Raggedy Ann and Andy.