Misfit Toys

We're on the Island of Misfit Toys. Here we don't want to stay.
We want to travel with Santa Claus in his magic sleigh.
A pack full of toys means a sack full of joys
For millions of girls and for millions of boys
When Christmas Day is here. The most wonderful day of the year.

When I think of misfit toys, I think of a Charlie-In-The-Box, a polka-dotted elephant, a cowboy who rides an ostrich, a train with square wheels, and a squirt gun that sprays grape jelly.



As King Moonracer says, "A toy is never truly happy until it is loved by a child."

It appears that the Island of Misfit Toys can be expecting 4,000 new unhappy inhabitants.

LOS ANGELES -- A talking Jesus doll has been turned down by the Marine Reserves' Toys for Tots program.

A suburban Los Angeles company offered to donate 4,000 of the foot-tall dolls, which quote Bible verses, for distribution to needy children this holiday season. The battery-powered Jesus is one of several dolls manufactured by one2believe, a division of the Valencia-based Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co., based on Biblical figures.

But the charity balked because of the dolls' religious nature.

Toys are donated to kids based on financial need and "we don't know anything about their background, their religious affiliations," said Bill Grein, vice president of Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, in Quantico, Va.

As a government entity, Marines "don't profess one religion over another," Grein said Tuesday. "We can't take a chance on sending a talking Jesus doll to a Jewish family or a Muslim family."

Michael La Roe, director of business development for both companies, said the charity's decision left him "surprised and disappointed."

"The idea was for them to be three-dimensional teaching tools for kids," La Roe said. "I believe as a churchgoing person, anyone can benefit from hearing the words of the Bible."

According to the company's Web site, the button-activated, bearded Jesus, dressed in hand-sewn cloth outfits and sandals, recites Scripture such as "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." It has a $20 retail value.

My first reaction is that the Toys for Tots program shouldn't be distributing toys with such a strong religious component.

But then I thought of what the program is about.

It's about giving toys to needy kids for CHRISTMAS.

From the Toys for Tots Foundation website:

MISSION: The mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.

GOAL: The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a shiny new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to needy youngsters that will motivate them to grow into responsible, productive, patriotic citizens and community leaders.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of Toys for Tots are to help needy children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our nation's most valuable natural resources - our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; and to contribute to better communities in the future.

Yup, Toys for Tots is definitely about CHRISTMAS.

What is CHRISTMAS?

How can one be offended by a Jesus doll when the holiday being celebrated is based on the BIRTH OF JESUS.

I thought that maybe the program had morphed into a secular thing. I thought the Toys for Tots Foundation had removed CHRISTMAS from its mission. Clearly, it hasn't.

Why be concerned about a non-Christian child receiving the doll?

Read this again:

As a government entity, Marines "don't profess one religion over another," Grein said Tuesday. "We can't take a chance on sending a talking Jesus doll to a Jewish family or a Muslim family."

Why would Muslim or Jewish children be receiving CHRISTMAS gifts?

Of course, the program is to meant to make all needy children happy, whatever their religious beliefs or non-belief.

But the Foundation does not mince words about the toys being for CHRISTMAS.

If Toys for Tots is no longer a CHRISTMAS charity, fine.

Then strip all references to CHRISTMAS from the program. There's nothing wrong with that; but the Toys for Tots Foundation hasn't taken that path.

Because Toys for Tots continues to be about CHRISTMAS giving, according to its own mission, goal, and objectives, I do think there is something wrong with worrying about whether or not someone is offended by a Jesus doll.

(Note: CHRISTMAS is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.)


Get more information on the misfit Jesus doll here.