OMG! Paddles is my chapters' thing! Littles give them to bigs after initiation. (chapter tradition)
Some are traditional with a creative flair (ex. a "normal" paddle but the handle is Tinkerbell).
My paddle is a HUGE painted Lightning McQueen from the movie "Cars" because that is my obsession!
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i6.../mypaddle2.jpg
There was a Mickey Mouse with a moving top, a HUGE actual Sleeping Beauty, the witches from the poster of "Wicked" (gorgeous), a HUGE moon/star combo. A neon pink "A" (both big & lil had names that began and ended with "A"). My big was a TKE Sweetheart and I knew and she didn't know, so we got initiated the day of TKE Formal, and I gave her a red heart with a cute slogan having to do with her nickname and her being sweetheart when they announced that she had the position at the formal! All the letters were painted silver.
Another of my pledge sisters went by the nickname "Pimpin'" so she made her big a HUGE pimp cup with bling and everything it was so neon pink it looked orange! We've also had a huge ballerina, toe shoes, and the list goes on.
My chapter is HUGE on paddles, I'll try to post some of the pics so you can see! We usually have big's name, pledge class, and season/year, and little's name, pledge class and season/year on them. Some girls don't ask around to see exactly what should go on a paddle and it can make you feel bad when people bust out with some of the gogeous creations that they do and you put like 5 minutes of effort into it. It gets crazier every year! It helps that one of the girls' father cuts wood and can make any shape. It's not a requirement, but it's a beautiful ceremony and we encourage everyone to participate. And even if they come with just a simple plaque, it's appreciated.