The Gift of the Magi
The last paragraph of O. Henry's classic Christmas tale says it all. Hopefully, you realize the author's irony. O. Henry's story is NOT uneventful, and certainly not LAMELY related. Most importantly, Jim and Della were NOT two foolish children. Here's the ending for you to read again.:"The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi. "
How about if you take some time to lamely relate the greatest gift that you ever gave, or the most special one that you ever received? If you do, you'll be spreading the Gift of the Magi, and one of the true joys of the Christmas season?
posted by JTF @ 3:07 PM
52 comments
52 Comments:
Giving and receiving gifts are always a major joy in little kids' lives. Christmas is usually their favorite time of the year. The best gift I ever gave, I would have to say was given this Christmas. There were two gifts that I would say were the best gifts that I ever gave. The first gift was for my brothers. I always have a hard time finding a gift, that isnt too expensive, for my brothers. Just like myself, my brothers love sports, especially basketball. So this year, I bought them tickets to a University of Delaware men's basketball game. I was hesitant about buying the tickets because, at the time, the men's basketball team was 0-7, which is really bad. I didnt want to get my brothers the tickets, the UD was going to lose. But the ironic thing about buying the tickets was that most of the games were sold out even though the team had a major losing streak. I bought the tickets anyway because I knew my brothers would have a good time even if the UD lost. The good thing is that now the team is 2-10 so they at least won two games! My brothers gave me a huge hug when they opened the tickets. They were so surprised. The second best gift I ever gave would be a CD of recordings from my grandfather. My grandfather passed away about four years ago. He had friends all over the world. Back then, instead of sending letters, people would make tapes of them talking and would send them to their dearest friends. My grandfather sent tapes everyweek to his friends, the Johnstons, who lived in Saudi Arabia. Well two years a ago, my mom got a package in the mail from the Johnstons. The package included candy, books, and a few of the tapes that my grandfather had sent to them. My mom didnt want to ruin the tapes by listening to them so she went to a CD store and had them put onto a CD so she could listen to them. In the tapes, my mom was about 15. All of my aunts and uncles talked on the tape. So for this Christmas, I decided to make copies of the CD for all my aunts and uncles on my mom's side. This would allow them to remember all the good times with my grandfather. I gave it to them on Christmas eve. My grandmother decided to play it as background music during the party so that it seemed like he was still here with us. This Christmas was the greatest Christmas ever!
jablue,
Great gift, those tickets. Go Blue Hens!
Christmas by far I would have to say is my favorite holiday. The presents are nice but what I love is seeing the look on my parent's, sister's and my grandfather's faces when they open their gifts from me. This year was very special to me. My sisters and I were watching my parents open their gifts from us. I bought my parents separate gifts this year but I wrote something for the bothh of them and stuck it into my Mom's present. When she opened her present she opened the gifts and saw the paper. The top read Mommy & Daddy, and underneath I wrote a poem about them and how much they meant 2 me. My Dad started reading it aloud but couldn't finish because he was crying. Then I looked over to my Mom and her eyes were red and tears were threatening to spill. My youngest sister, Taylor, had to finish reading for them becuase they were speechless. The look they had after they read the poem gave me such joy to know that my simple present meant the world to them. The poem was the best present I ever gave and I am so happy i gave it.
Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. When i was a kid I could almost never wait for it, I loved getting my presents and triyng to guess what they where first. I think every year I had one big present, that I would ask for durring the whole year, and when i finally got it I would be so happy. I can't really remember one present that I couldn't live wthi out or anything, but i thing what ever I got each year I always liked a lot, and the next year I would like some thing else. Though, now that I am older, I don't really ask for a lot of suff but i like a good present now and again. I really think it is funny though when I see my young cousins opening up presents and being so happy, like the "N64 Kids" and feel realy good about getting them a good present. Also when my parents and my sister see what I got them is fun. I think Christmas is just as much about guvung as reciving because both of them can be really nice, and I like both of them any way.
Well, when i was younger, I knew Christmas wasn't all about the presents, but come Christmas day that was all i cared about. Over the past two years, I've started maturing. Presents no longer mean much to me, or maybe everything to me (not on Christmas anyway). However, the one year(this year) that i really didn't care about what i received, i received the best present ever. I finally received a diamond cross necklace. While I'm excited it's diamond, that's not the main reason I'm happy I got it. I've been asking for a cross since I was probably in 5th grade. Problem always was, I have expensive taste. Whenever I'd find one I really liked it was pretty close to a $1,000 or at least around $800. So it was always a choice of no cross or the only present I got. Seeing as how I'm just getting it, I'm sure you know what I've always chosen. Now, I have matured past the materialism sometimes associated with Christmas, and received a gift that allows me to share my faith with anyone who looks at me. It is now impossible for my to hide my light under a bushel. This cross is truely the best gift I have ever gotten.
Christmas has always been a fun time of year for me because my birthday is 5 days before it. It also was fun because I always had my family to spend it with. When we moved here last year, one of the worst things was having to spend Christmas alone. The best gift I got was during this year. It partly material and part spending time with people. During this year I went into New York City. Going into NYC is not unusual for me but this time was very special. My mom had bought tickets to see Phantom of the Opera. She had gotten very good seat which gave us incredible views of the stage and make the experience even more brilliant. We ate at one of our favorite restaurants afterwards and stayed in a hotel. The next day was a fun because I got to spend time with friends and family. Both of the sisters live in NY. One lives in Manhattan and the other lives in Brooklyn. We met both of the at a good friends house for dinner. The night was great because we got to spend time talking, remember old times, playing with her grandsons and just enjoying ourselves. The gift was great because my mother put a lot of thought and time into planning this great trip for me. I loved getting to see friends because you should spend time with them because they won't be around forever. The trip was one of my best gifts that I have received.
Christmas is my favorite holiday by far. It was much more exciting when I was younger and still believed in Santa though. I loved getting presents, but when it came time to buy my family presents, I always got so excited. I always knew the perfect gifts to but my mom, dad, brother and sister. Even if they were the littliest things, that didn't make much sense, they still loved the presents I got them. One time in I think first grade, I made this piece of clay. There was no shape to it, nothing, just a flat piece of clay that I colored green and red. I carved "i love you" in it and made it as an ornament for my dad. He thought it was the best gift he had ever gotten. We still hang it on the tree til this day, and I don't know what I was thinking when I made that present. But the best gift i have ever recieved would have to be my puppy I got this year. A little black lab. Best gift EVER !
Over the years I have always received great Christmas gifts from friends and family but this year I received one gift that was the very best of all. I’ve always been a big fan of the Philadelphia Flyers but I have never had the opportunity to attend a game. I have only seen them play on T.V. For the past few months I have been asking and asking my parents to order me tickets and take me to a game. There was one game in particular that I really wanted to go to. I wanted to see the Flyers play the Toronto Maple Leafs because the Maple Leafs happen to be another team that I like. But because they play in Toronto I wasn’t able to fly to Canada anytime soon. So I decided that it would be fun to watch the Flyers play against the Maple Leafs, giving me the opportunity to watch both teams play. So one day I sat down and did all the research in order to find a day when the two teams were playing each other in Philadelphia. As I was looking up the tickets online, I happen to be on the phone with my boyfriend and I was discussing plans with him about going to the game. I asked if he would like to go with me since he liked the Flyers as well. Of course he agreed and we thought it would be a good idea to go in February. So I told him that I would talk to my parents and have it arranged. Little did I know, he was already planning the trip on his own. Because he knew the particular game that I wanted to go to he started ticket searching. Of course I never thought anything of it and I never mentioned the game in our conversations again. Meanwhile I kept asking my mom to purchase the tickets online but she just kept putting it off. She just seemed like she didn’t want to talk about it. I just thought my mom and dad would eventually get around to it. So when Christmas day arrived and it was time to exchange gifts with my boyfriend, I was excited to see what I got. Little did I know it was more than I expected. My mom of course was excited to see my reaction because she knew I would like my gift. When I opened my gifts and found the tickets I was so excited and surprised. It was so happy and I can’t wait to go to the game in February. It was definitely the best gift I have ever received. Not
I would have to say the best gift I ever gave was not even necessarily a gift. It wasn't even Christmas! It was a card for my dad for Father's Day. It was about 4 years ago when we made these cards in grade school for Father's Day. My teacher thought it would be something nice for our dad's if each of us made a card. So one day, we our teacher had sheets of construction paper spread out across some desks in all sorts of colors. We all went up and got the colors we wanted and then we were to cut each of them out in the shape of a tie (which she had a template for). Then we could decorate it however we wanted and we could write whatever message we felt like and when we were done we were to staple the two sheets of paper together. Mine was a red and blue tie with the words "Happy Father's Day" on the front of it, accompanied by some crazy design. Inside I wrote a short paragraph about how much my dad meant to me, how much he has influenced me and how much I love him. I took it home that day and I hid it in a drawer in my dresser so that my dad wouldn't find it. That weekend was Father's Day and my mom and I went out and bought him a card. I had completely forgotten about the one I had hidden from him. Father's day came and went and he never got that card. I honestly think it was two Father's Days later when I finally remembered that I still had that card hidden in my drawer. I went to bed before him that night and I set it on his pillow before I fell asleep so he would find it when he went to bed. I'm pretty sure that card made him cry or if not he was probably pretty close to it (and my dad doesn't cry). I can't tell you exactly what I said in that card, but I can tell you that I meant every word of it.
Christmas is definitely my favorite holiday. In my eyes no other holiday can even compete. When I was little I used to love getting up Christmas morning and opening my gifts. I would get so excited when Santa came. Now that I’m older I have matured and not only do I like receiving gifts, I enjoy giving them too. I love going Christmas shopping with my parents and picking out the perfect gifts for my little cousins. Seeing their happy faces when they open your gift is sometimes better than receiving a gift yourself. The best gift I have ever received would definitely have to be when I was in 3rd grade and I got a dog. That year our old dog had to be put to sleep because it was so old and sick. I’m a big animal person. I especially love dogs. I had been asking my parents for months for new pet. I even put it as number one on my Christmas list. So when I woke up Christmas morning and found a Chihuahua puppy under the tree it was a dream come true. I was so excited that I didn’t even care much about my other presents. I remember that I played with the puppy the entire morning. I named the dog Lucky. I loved that dog. That had to be the ultimate gift I have ever received.
Every year when christmas comes around i always enjoy the thought of it all at first. its exciting to try to think of a list of presents and things that you would like to have and so is the thought your theres a good chance of you getting them. sometimes the best gifts though, are the ones that are least expected. the best present that i have ever gotten to date, and most likely the best i ever got was my dog. After my siblings and i finished opening everything up, my parents surprised us with one last little package for all of us. inside was a poem that my parents composed. about halfway through the poem my mind was racing trying to figure out what this was. so many crazy things came to my mind, i remember the craziest was i thought we going to adopt someone. but it turned out that the poem basically spelled out a new puppy. after we had figured out the riddle my mom handed us a paper of pictures of six newborn pugs. my sisters and i were literally flipping out because we were told we were never going to get a dog until we were out of the house. so over the next six weeks we had to wait until it was ok to bring the puppy home, and my mom went down and picked out the best one. i could not have asked for a better present.
Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I love the whole spirit of the holiday. There is always Christmas music playing and tons of cookies to be eaten. Usually (but not this year) there is snow around Christmas. This year for Christmas I gave my favorite present that I have ever given. It was for a boy named Marco who has muscular dystrophy and his family does not have much money. My mom works with him since she is a physical therapist. She thought that it would be a nice idea if my family bought him Christmas presents this year. So we went and got Marco a huge stocking that was four feet tall. We bought different snacks, candies, toys to fill it up. Then we went to but him his toys. When we got home we piled them all up in my dining room. A few days later my mom brought them to work with her and gave the presents to the school nurse. When Marco’s mom came to pick him up from school she went to the nurse to receive the presents. We even packed wrapping paper, gift tags, and ribbons so his mom could wrap his presents herself. When I woke up on Christmas morning I thought of Marco and how excited he would be to see that he got presents for Christmas. When my mom went back to work she asked him what his favorite present that he got. He said that he loved his new remote control yellow hummer. This is my favorite present that I gave because it helped someone who isn’t as fortunate as I am.
I just read over some of these other journal entries regarding my fellow students' favorite gifts. Gosh dang, what they all had to say is very touching. If I hadn't been used as a lab rat for Botox Cosmetic in a past life and still had the ability to cry, I think I'd probably do so. Shucks. Anyway, compared to these stories, I think mine really will be lame. So here it is; the greatest gift I ever received ("for it is greater to receive than to give"...or something like that).
The year was 1932. I had just returned from my daily ten-mile trek through ten feet of snow from school, as was the norm back in those days. I greeted the milkman and walked inside. Upon opening the door, however, I tripped and fell into Grandma Bolshevik's time machine. After several minutes of falling through a wormhole (complete with floating clocks and music from the Twilight Zone) I was propelled into the twenty-first century.
Here's where the scientific inaccuracies end.
It was Chritmas morning, and I was opening a gift. Judging by its size and shape, I had a pretty good idea of what it was. I had asked for it earlier that month, or in November perhaps. I slowly peeled open the wrapping paper, similar to how that Charlie fellow would open his candy bars in that movie...what was it called? "Willy Wonka and the Acid Trip"? Well, no matter. When I had completed tearing it apart, I sat there, gazing. It was a guitar. An acoustic, in fact. I knew it! "I'm a guitarist," I thought to myself. "Now all I have to do is overdose or die in a plane crash or something, and I'll be just like my role models!"
So why was this gift my favorite ever, you ask? Because now I really like playing guitar. It took me a while to get used to everything, but now, looking back, I don't know what I did without it. If I ever lost an arm or a hand, I'd be pretty upset. Not just because I would have to shake hands with my elbow, but because I'd no longer be able to play my precious guitars. That would really be a bummer.
The above article, and this comment as well, should be by "b m blue", not "b m mckee".
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Obviously I love Christmas. I mean you should have seen me this year. I was going insane the week before. Not only do I like the presents and stuff, but I like how happy everyone is and how families come together. I think my favorite part is when you come down on Christmas morning and all the presents are waiting for you. I love just looking at them. I enjoy this even more than opening the presents.
ok so anyway, I love so many of the presents that I have received and it is so hard for me to pick, but I think my favorite was when I was about 8 and I got a pony from Santa. It wasn't just my present, it was given to my whole family. That might be why I liked it so much, because I got to share it with my brothers and sisters. It was such a big surprise. We went over to our friends house for dinner. They live on a farm, and we went on a scavenger hunt for a present. We met up face to face with a black pony. We were in such shock. It's all blak so we thought Midnight was a good name for it. I mean how cool is Santa when he brings you a humongous present. It extended Christmas presents to that night, which once again is awesome! I guess it doesn't seem that exciting, but if you were there, you would understand. I mean a pony! That's every little girl's dream, and I had gotten it. We rode that pony everyday for like a month. Then my mom wouldn't take us over as often, but we still rode it quite often. I still get around to riding it sometimes, and my brother rides it a lot. When I don't have time to ride I still can pet him or watch him, which is also fun. It was one of the BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENTS EVER!
I love Christmas. The season just makes me so happy. I start listening to Christmas music the day after Halloween. From then on, it's the most joyful time of the year for me. Giving gifts is fun and all. But I'm not gonna lie. Recieving gifts is what I look forward to the most.
However, last Christmas was not a very joyful holiday for me. My grandmother passed away five days before Christmas. It just didn't feel the same without her. I wasn't even in the mood for giving because something big in my life had just been taken away from me. I was pretty much the Grinch. Christmas morning I didn't even care what i recieved. That was until I opened a tiny box. Inside was my grandmother's gold locket. I was speechless. It was so beautiful. Her initials were engraved onto the front and inside were pictures of her and my Pop on their wedding day. This gift was so special to me. I finally had something of my grandmother's that I could remember her by forever. It also reminded me that even if she isn't there to share this special time with us, she is always watching over us. I've only wore the locket once. That was Christmas day. I'm too scared that it might break or I would lose it. Still, it hangs proudly on my necklace hooks, reminding me of my grandmother every day.
I think it is a requirement to love Christmas. It's such a special time of year full of giving and recieving. I think the greatest gift I ever recieved was my first guitar back in the 6th grade. I remember that I kept bugging my old man about getting a guitar. It was something I wanted more than anything. Christmas time was coming and I was no fool, I knew where he hid the Christmas presents and whenever I went over to my Dad's house I'd look and look. I never found it, just some crumby band t-shirts and a pair of gloves. I tried not to be dissapointed because I knew my dad didn't have alot of money. Christmas Eve I tried not to act dissapointed and just watched Christmas movies until i fell asleep. Christmas morning was like magic when I woke up and saw a guitar case and an amplifier. It was a crappy cheap Squier Stratocaster(which is the cheaper Fender ripoffs) with a tiny 15 watt amplifier, but i didn't care! I didn't know at the time what was good and what was bad, for all I knew it was a cream colored instrument of majestic beauty with an amplifier that could make your head spin. I knew my dad gave all he could that Christmas to give me what I wanted and thats what makes it special. Without that guitar I wouldn't have started playing and getting into music more and not having one of my passions that I have today. Even today now that I have better guitars still appreciate "the cream dream" as i have called it since I got it.
Ever since I was a little kid I always was very excited about Christmas. Most year I got one big gift and many others. In recent years I have not been asking for much because there hasn't been much that I wanted. So this year is the year that I recieved my favorite gift. My favorite gift is the Fender acoustic/electric guitar that I got this year. There are many reasons why this is my favorite gift. First of all I was able to go to the store and pick out which guitar I wanted. We actually went back to the store a couple times until I found the guitar I wanted. I actually picked it out back in September, but I still had to wait until December 25th. Another reason this is my favorite gift is because the only other guitar that I have is a begginer electric guitar that I have had since I started playing guitar almost five years ago. Acoustic guitars also have a very different sound compared to that of an electric guitar. Another reason it is my favorite is because it is an acoustic/electric which means that I can plug it into an amp and it also has a built in tuner that makes tuning the guitar a lot easier. When I woke up on Christmas morning I went down stairs and immediately started playing my new guitar for a while. I do remember many other Christmas and other gifts that I have recieved and I defineatly my favorite. Some othe gifts that I have recieved over the years include a play station, many different video games, music, and a snow board. I think that over the many years that I have maturd about what I want and I also feel that this guitar is one of the most mature gifts that I have recieved over the years.
I think that giving gifts is one of the hardest things I ever have to do. I am always worrying about how much money to spend, what to spend it on, what the cool stores are, or if the person will even like it. I never want to get something stupid, or something so nice that the person I am getting it for won’t even use it. It just has been so frustrating for me, up until this past Christmas. I have a boyfriend now, going on for four months. I could not find one thing I didn’t like about him, except that dreaded sweatshirt he ALWAYS wore. I’m not kidding, every time he came over, he would wear his raggy, gray sweatshirt from Footlocker. It had two pockets in the front, a hood in the back, and a zipper to zip it up the front. That thing was so OLD. Don’t worry, I reminded him every time I saw him wear it, too. I always told him to take it off, or to wash it, and that it was bad hygiene to wear it all the time. After a while, he finally admitted to me that his dad had given him that sweatshirt before he moved away, and he would always wear it in a constant reminder of him. I understood after that. About a month or so later, my boyfriend was still wearing that same old sweatshirt. I did find out, however, that his dad had moved back in the neighborhood NEXT to him. I figured I could start bugging him about it since he seemed to see his dad almost every day during the week. He still wouldn’t take it off. So, for Christmas, I bought him a 60$ gray sweatshirt, with thermal lining, two pockets in the front, a hood in the back, and a zipper to zip it up in the front. After that, he would always wear THAT sweatshirt. I know that it is silly to think that a lame old sweatshirt is the best gift that I have ever given, but my boyfriend seems to never take it off. I guess that it is a constant reminder to him, of me, that he will have a piece of me everywhere he goes. I must mean a WHOLE lot to my boyfriend.
When I first read this assignment, I had to think about it for a LONG time. Best gift I’ve ever given or received? Sounds like an impossible question. I think I’ve come up with something half decent.
Ever since I’d say 7th grade I’ve been obsessed with the Dave Matthews Band. Like, I seriously worship them. Last December, as an early Christmas present, my dad bought me tickets to see them in Philadelphia. I remember the day perfectly. School went by extremely slow. Probably the slowest ever. I was going with my sister, and my friends Pat and Steve. Everyone came home with us after school. Pat and Steve went and got ready at Pat’s house, and I got ready here. I remember I was so excided, I didn’t walk anywhere in my house, I did a run-skip combination. I remember blasting “Grey Street” and “Satellite” all the way to the concert. It was December 13 at the Wachovia Center. When we got there I could barely breathe. The opening acts went by as slow as possible, as always. Dave came on and everyone went insane. It was the truly best experience of my life. I swear, as soon as I get my license and they go on tour, I’m going to follow them up the east coast. Honestly, if I could pick a day in my life to ever live over, this would without a doubt be the day. I remember everything in my life was going perfect, and it was right in the middle of the best time of the year. So certainly, best gift ever. My dad gave me the gift of the best day of my life.
It was Christmas 2005 and I didn't have anything to give one of my best friends. She's always beeen out of the loop. She was the last to get a CD player and the last to watch PG-13 material. She never listens to pop music and has never owned a video game system. Until 2005, of course.
I couldn't find her a gift and Christmas was closing fast. She already had everything I could give her and I couldn't find anything I though she would want. Then, one day when I was sitting in my room, I happened to glance at an open drawer in my closet. Sitting on top of the pile inside was my old Gameboy Advance which hadn't been touched since the January before. I knew that she would want it, but her mom didn't want her to have video games. But I wasn't using it anymore and it was only going to collect dust until I threw it out, so why not give it to someone who wanted it?
After church that Saturday, while my friend was talking to my brother, I asked her mom if I could give her the Gameboy. After a second or two of thought, she said yes. I left church with a grin on my face, eager to wrap the present.
When Christmas finally came around and she opened the present, she was estatic. I was glad to see that she enjoyed the present so much that it is the best present that I have ever given someone.
The Christmas season is the greatest of all. It enlightens kids young and old, from 1 to 92. Everyone is in the spirit, but i think of it as the spirit of giving. As much as I love recieving gifts, Ipod, pool table, etc.,I absoluteley adore the oppurtunity to bring a wide grin to someone's face. In this case that smile would be brought to my mother's face. Although she gets more gifts every year, she always only asks for one thing. Every year she picks a relativiely fancy restaurant in Philly, and all she wants is for my brothers, my dad, and any girlfriends or friends who wish to come up to accompany her at a special Christmas dinner. The special feeling I get comes from the smile on her face. It's not about the food, or the annoying guy behind you or anything like that. No, the Christmas season is about family friends and the love that is felt all through out this special time. When this journal was introduced, I had no doubts in my mind that this would be the gift to pick. Just the two or three hours spent joking around with those you love, can make all the difference in a special person's Christmas season. I think of myself and my brothers as the three gifts of the Magi in this case. We each bring a special feeling to the reciever of the gift. I'm glad that every single year that there is a clear way to show my mother the pride and love that I have in her.
Merry Christmas
MCD GREEn
The best gift I have ever gotten was not on Christmas, nor Chanukkah, nor on any holiday, but in January of 2006. A gift in the making I would have to say. Yet, it still continues.
The gift I am reffering to, is the gift of friendship.
As most know, I had transferred to St. Marks in the middle of the year, freshman year. As usual, I had not been at any of my schools for very long, but still missed my friends from my many schools before. As soon as i walked into this school i was welcomed by Mr. Lemon and the rest of the staff. I sat in the main office nervous with three other girls, all tranfers at the same time as me. (It made me feel a little better to know that I was not alone.)
The first day I was here, I met so so so so so many people. They all seemed to greet me as one of them to. Not as a lonely old public school girl or an outcast like every other school had. Here, it was different. I could tell from the minute I walked into my first period class, biology. Since i was a transfer, I had very little freshman classes, but many classes with sophomores where I was the only freshman. It was a little difficult to make new friends that way, but at the same time, they all welcomed me the same too.
When they realized I was a freshman, some were not as thrilled as to see me anymore, but some stuck with me. By the end of freshman year, I had become friends with so many people around the school. People from different cliques, different grades, everywhere. It was amazing, and so different than any other place I had ever been.
This year every friendship I have had from last year, has only grown stronger. Most of my friends are juniors now too. I would have to say, that everyone at St Marks who has become a "TRUE" friend to me, not just an acquantience, but a true close friend, has given me about the best gift I could have ever asked for in the world. I would most likely give up everything I own or even my life for a true and loyal friend. Most people only get one or 2 real close, best friends in their life time, but I have 6.
I find myself one of the lucky ones out on top now. Things change, and one nice gift can make a difference.
I have received and given a lot of great gifts over the years so it is very hard to pinpoint my favorite one. It is going to take a lot of thought and reflection to remember my favorite and best gift; I will do so in the rest of the essay. Out of all the holidays I would say Christmas is my favorite, although who doesn’t love Christmas. Christmas is not only my favorite because of all the gifts you receive Christmas morning, but it is also my favorite because of all the joy and happiness you bring to someone when you buy them a great gift. My idea of a great gift doesn’t always have to be expensive or glamorous but a priceless gift is one from the heart, it is a gift that has been well thought out and planned. The highlight of my Christmas holiday every year are the same consistent things, which include spending quality time with family and relatives, seeing all the gifts in front of the tree Christmas morning, opening gifts, and finally the thrill of seeing the shock and delightful look in the eyes of someone close to you opening the gift you give them. When I shop for gifts I make sure no matter how much effort or time it takes that I find the perfect gift for each one of my family members. I do this because when my family is unwrapping my gift with no idea in the world what it is I just patiently wait for their reaction. I love the feeling of knowing what you have bought for someone, but they have no idea. The look of surprise on there face is priceless. On many occasions I have brought family members to complete awe and shock after opening the gift I have bought them. The Christmas is the season for giving. Of all the great presents I have given I think the best one was a couple years ago when we gave my Dad a brand new set of golf clubs. When he saw the big package he began guessing what was inside but little did he know that underneath the wrapping paper were brand new golf clubs inside a new bag. He was speechless and loved the gift. He still talks about his clubs whenever we go golfing. I chose this gift because I think the best part is when we go golfing he always says, “Remember when you gave me these for Christmas?,” so I know he will always think about that Christmas whenever he is out on the course. The best gift I think I have received was from good old St. Nick this year. When I entered my family room sitting next to my tree was a BRAND NEW FERRARI with a red bow on the window. Yeah, I wish, but back to my favorite gift, which I did get this year. The gift was a weight system so I can lift. It was very big with a squat rack and bench area and many other lifting things. The weights were next to the tree and when I went into my basement there was the system I was so pumped. I have been lifting and using my gift ever since Christmas. If you happen to notice my muscles getting bigger, you can thank Santa for this wonderful gift.
-- Ryan McCallin (I used my sister's account..since it won't allow to post without a google account tonight)
I believe that Christmas is a time for giving, recieving, sharing ,and celebrating the birth of Jesus. But more importantly, it is a time where kids of all ages can stay up way past their bed time and anxiously await the coming of Santa. A long time ago I was one of those kids who couldn't wait to unwrap my gifts and goodies on Christmas morning. But suprisingly enough the best gift that I recieved wasn't something that could be bought at a store.
One Christmas morning, I arose from my bed bright and early ready to unwrap all of my gifts. I went to the living room and was in awe of all the brightly colored, neatly wraped presents under the tree. I didn't want to disturb the others that were sleeping so I just grabbed my stocking and sat on the couch, waiting.
Before I knew it, everyone was up and I began to pass out the gifts to everyone. When it came time for me to open mine, I had found out that I didn't get the doll that I had wanted. Instead, it was a big purple karyoke machine that I had seen in the toy store, when my mom asked me what I wanted the previous week. I thought it was nice, but I was a tad bit upset that it wasn't a Cabbage Patch Kids doll.
After I unwrapped the rest of my gifts, I decided to play around with the karyoke machine. Once I started the music tape, I realized that it was pretty cool! I started sing at the top of my lungs to "Stronger" by Britney Spears. My mom told me to hush but at that moment I didn't care. I fell in love with that karyoke machine and on it everyday during that holiday break.
That year turned out to be my best christmas ever. Not because of the karyoke machine itself, but do to the fact that I found out that I loved to sing. And without knowing it my mom bought that for me instead of the doll on purpose, because she knew that deep down, I really wanted it.
Christmas shouldn't always be about the gifts but looking back, everyone can think back to a time in their lives when they recieved something special. And that machine was very special to me.
The Best Gift I Have Ever Given
The Christmas season came so quickly this year. It definitely crept up on me. I got all my shopping done just a few days before Christmas. Christmas time is one of my favorites. Usually people’s spirits are lifted and joy-filled.
As a tradition my best friend, Steph, and her family have a Christmas Eve party. We get there after church and enjoy a lovely dinner. They invite some other neighbors and their family. It is a good group of people. We take pictures because its only about three times a year where everyone is around and dressed up! I still enjoy dinner at the kids’ table. Their house is a normal size, but with two big tables and about twenty-five to thirty people to fit, they need more room. So the “kids” eat at a small four person table in the room adjoined to that. But it is always a grand time to see them. We laugh until we can hardly eat anymore. Also, dinner is always homemade, so its only the best!
My favorite part of the night besides seeing everyone is exchanging gifts with Steph. I wanted to be creative and not spend too much money because I was on a tight budget this year. So I thought.. Hmmmm she likes candy and enjoys eating every day of the year. Then I tried to think of where I would put the candy. Finally the idea came to me. A piñata! What a grand idea! So I went to K-MART and stocked up on candy. Most importantly I picked out a Dora the Explorer piñata! It was the best thing they had!
So it was Christmas Eve and everyone was in the house still. I led Steph outside. I told her to close her eyes as I was tying the piñata to the dog’s leash that was suspended in the air between two trees. Then I spun her around and put a handkerchief around her eyes. I gave her a plastic bat and told her to hit it. She was laughing and I was rolling on the ground! It was a great time! Her dad came out to take pictures. It was definitely the best gift I have ever given. It excited me that I thought of it all on my own.
My best Christmas gift ever was a trip to Disney when I was six years old. We aren’t poor, but we don’t have enough money to go on a vacation every year, so this was special. My mom, who used to work in the Delaware Air National Guard, saved up her money for about a year. We went over Easter break. Sadly, I don’t remember much. I do remember my parents and me watching the fireworks. I also remember the pouring rain and my parents and I were standing on a boat. It was also my first plane ride. I remember thinking that the houses looked like ants. I also saw a red river. I remember being in awe about how the whole river was red; when in reality, it was just really muddy. It probably wasn’t even red. Then I remember that everything was so big. We also went to eat breakfast with the Disney characters. We ate waffles shaped like Mickey Mouse. That was fun. My parents and I had a lot of fun talking about the trip. I also got Mickey’s autograph along with others, which is meaningless now but I remember being so happy about it. My memory of Disney reminds me of New York two summers ago. But most of all, I remember how happy I was, with just me and my mom and dad.
I think the greatest gift I've evcer given was the one I gave to my mom this year. It was July, and I was looking in a catologue at my grandma's house. That's when I saw it, a record player with AM/FM radio, caset player, and three CD changer. I knew my mom had tons of records in the closet, and thought it would be perfect for her. When I showed it to my grandma, she took one look at it and said I could get it for half the price at the QVC store. The next day, we headed over to the QVC store, and I saw the record player. We talked to one of the ladies at the store and she told us that the next week they would be having a sale on them and to come back then. The next week, we went back to the store, and got the record player and it's display table. When we got to the register, we were told it was also senior day. Because my granma is legally a senior, we got even more of a discount. The player ended up costing little over $70.00, as opposed to the $255.00 it was beng sold for in the catologue. We kept the plater in the guest room at my grandma's house for half a year and we were all able to keep it a secret untill Christmas day. As soon as my mom opened it she was so happy she actually started crying. We spent the whole morning listening to herrecords and she was so happy that she could listen to them again. I think it was the best Christmas she'd ever had.
Carol
Christmas for me, is a wonderful season of Jesus’ birth and giving presents. During Christmas vacation, my family and I usually spend a lot of time together. We usually go into Philadelphia and see the Wanamaker’s Light Show (now Macy’s) and the Christmas Carol Village at Macy’s the day after Christmas. During the week after Christmas we go shopping and play weird long board games. These are all wonderful gifts that I am given every year by my family. However, if I had to write of one particular Christmas present that I have been given that holds some significant thought it would have to be the ring my Nanny gave me when I was about ten years old.
It is a tradition that every year when a child in my family turns ten, that my Nanny gives her/him something of great significance. This tradition is like a milestone in my family, a right of passage. During the Christmas of 2001 (when I was ten) I received a beautiful ring from my Nanny. It is white gold with about six diamonds on the band near the top of the ring and one sapphire stone in the center to connect one end of the band to the other end. It is really delicate and beautiful. The reason for why this ring is so important is due to the fact that this ring was my Nanny’s mother’s ring (or my great-grandmother). My Nanny’s mother died while my Nanny was quite young, about seventeen. My Nanny talks about her mother often and cherishes her things. The ring makes me feel like I’m part of my Nanny’s side of the family, and that I really met her mother when she was dead many years before my mother was even alive.
This ring is very special to me. I don’t wear it too often because I do not want to loose it. I usually only wear for special occasions and I wear it on every Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I hope that one day I will also have a similar tradition with maybe my own children.
Christmas for me, is a wonderful season of Jesus’ birth and giving presents. During Christmas vacation, my family and I usually spend a lot of time together. We usually go into Philadelphia and see the Wanamaker’s Light Show (now Macy’s) and the Christmas Carol Village at Macy’s the day after Christmas. During the week after Christmas we go shopping and play weird long board games. These are all wonderful gifts that I am given every year by my family. However, if I had to write of one particular Christmas present that I have been given that holds some significant thought it would have to be the ring my Nanny gave me when I was about ten years old.
It is a tradition that every year when a child in my family turns ten, that my Nanny gives her/him something of great significance. This tradition is like a milestone in my family, a right of passage. During the Christmas of 2001 (when I was ten) I received a beautiful ring from my Nanny. It is white gold with about six diamonds on the band near the top of the ring and one sapphire stone in the center to connect one end of the band to the other end. It is really delicate and beautiful. The reason for why this ring is so important is due to the fact that this ring was my Nanny’s mother’s ring (or my great-grandmother). My Nanny’s mother died while my Nanny was quite young, about seventeen. My Nanny talks about her mother often and cherishes her things. The ring makes me feel like I’m part of my Nanny’s side of the family, and that I really met her mother when she was dead many years before my mother was even alive.
This ring is very special to me. I don’t wear it too often because I do not want to loose it. I usually only wear for special occasions and I wear it on every Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I hope that one day I will also have a similar tradition with maybe my own children.
I absoulte love Christmas! Spending time with all your family that you usually don't get to see during the resst of the year is so much fun. My favorite gift that I ever have recieved was this Tiffany's key ring. I loved it so much because it was from my uncles that live down in St. Thomas. They bought it for me because they thought it would be the perfect thing for me since I am driving now. It was sterling sliver and had a heart hanging from it and had my name engraved on it. It was the most thoughtful gift that I have ever recieved. My uncle really spent a lot of time picking it out and really thinking about something that I would like and use. That was really special and I will cherish it forever.
I really liked “The Gift of the Magi” that we read; it really exhibited what Christmas is all about. I like getting gifts from my parents and relatives but it’s more fun when you shop for someone and when you find that one gift that you know is perfect. I think the gifts I gave this year would have to be my favorite. Sort of because this is the first year I really had money to buy my own presents for my parents. My sister and I usually get my parents gifts together as we did this year. We can never really plan what it is we want to get them before hand, so we just head up to the mall and window shop. It usually takes us a while but we usually know when we find exactly what we want. This year we were up at King of Prussia Mall and wondered into Kitchen Kapers. It’s pretty random but when we saw the coffee grinders we knew our dad would love one. My dad is a huge fan of coffee and has a few cups a day so it was perfect. Then we got the idea to do a basket with other coffee, chocolate, and ice cream stuff; his three favorite things. We put in a pound of Brew HaHa! un-ground coffee beans, the grinder, three bars of his favorite dark chocolate, two new ice cream scoops(he always complained ours didn’t work), and a new bowl for ice cream. After we decided that it needed a more personal touch so we decided to make home-made waffle bowls. After many, many unsuccessful tries and before burning the house down, we managed to make about six waffle bowls to add to his basket( I have to say they were really good!). We were more excited then anyone for Christmas to come because we wanted him to see his basket; we made my parents open their presents first!
For my mom, we decided to do another basket. We stopped by the Clinique booth in Macy’s and picked up all of their best skin care line including some new make up to go with it. Though a little expensive, we decided to do it because it’s a luxury that she wouldn’t spend money for herself on, but she really deserves it. Then we bought a relaxing candle and a picture frame. The picture gave it a really good personal look. We chose our favorite picture of my sister, myself, and my mom. It was on my mom’s birthday and we’re all laughing hysterically. Now I can’t even remember at what we were laughing at but we were having such a good time. The basket turned out looking amazing and my mom was amazed when she opened it and so grateful. I think we did a great job on giving this year and hopefully we can outdo ourselves next year!
This one definently took a lot of thought, but after careful consideration, I would have to say the best gift I ever received was when I got to come home for Christmas. I was living in California at the time, and I think that all of us were really homesick. So that Christmas, my dad flew our family back home for the holidays. It was awesome, I got to see old family members and friends, and it was just nice to spend the holidays with them. We landed in Philadelphia at about 5:30 in the morning. We were all tired, so when we got to my grandfather's house, we all went to sleep. We were in town for when Delaware won the football championship. That was just dessert for my awesome trip. On Christmas, we opened our gift, but the best gift that day was going to my grandmother's where my whole family was waiting for us. We had an awesome time, joking and catching up on things. But then we had to leave to go to my dad's side for dinner. That was cool too, seeing my aunt and uncle and cousins. But then we had to go back to Cali. I won't ever forget my trip home to see my family
Christmas is no doubt the most recognized holiday in our culture. Whether you celebrate it because it is the birth of Jesus or just as a purely industrial holiday, you know when it's comming. Although it has been commercialized, Christmas still has that nostalgic and cheery feel. As a kid, Christmas ment to me, as I'm sure it did to others, presents and toys. Today, however, it means much more than just getting the new LEGO set. Christmas is a time when words are not needed to describe how you feel, a gift of a special item is a symbol of love. It's hard to say what my favorite gift I've ever recieved, but if forced I would have to say anything my friends or family gave me that they really spent time thinking about. To me it doesn't matter how much the gift cost or what it even is, I only care about who gave it to me. If I get a gift from someone and they've spent weeks thinking about it, I know they care and that's the real gift. One of the best gifts I've ever recieved, though, was that of a plane ticket to see my cousin in Colorado who really enjoy seeing. Family is really the gift that keeps on giving. Although, being a little materialistic for a second, the autographed Fred Taylor football I recieved this year definately ranks high on my list. Even though I centainly don't mind getting gifts, I think the best part of Christmas is giving. There is no feeling like going to the mall, searching for the perfect gift and spending hours upon hours thinking about it, and giving it to someone special. I think the best gift someone close to me could give would be to show how much they like the gift that I got them. Finding the perfect gift can be hard, though, especially when you really want someone to love it. But, the "perfect gift" doesn't necessarily have to be somthing tangible, it can be a gesture or just letting someone know that you care about them. So no matter what age you are or whether you enjoy the gift giving or the gift recieving, Christmas is a time of universal happiness and joy.
I would say that in today’s society most people find that the best gift is something you can buy. This however isn’t always the case. One of the best gifts I ever received was an old raggedy mitt.
I was around 6 or 7 years old and it was my birthday. See, my grandfather and I always have had a really close relationship; he was a catcher for the Tiger’s and now I’m attempting to do something with my catching career as well. On my birthday my grandfather always came over to give me my present personally. I always get so excited about his trip over because it always has to do with baseball. This particular year, I was so excited, more than ever because he told me that I was going to love it. When he got to my house, he didn’t have anything in his hand, although I wasn’t very discouraged. He said that it was in the car and that I should run and get it but be very careful with it. I went into the back of the car and there it was- the oldest glove I have ever seen. It was his catcher’s mitt when he was my age. He had used it until it was literally rags. I mean I knew I wouldn’t be able to use the glove, but I will cherish the mitt forever. Hopefully it can be a good luck charm considering he went to play for the Tiger’s, maybe someday I can play major league ball. It’s amazing to think about how you could hold onto something for that long. This was probably the most sentimental gift I have ever received. It is now in my room on a shelf with all my prized possessions, hoping someday I can get it in a case. To some people a tattered old piece of leather is nothing but garbage, but to me this will be a keepsake to cherish for the rest of my life.
I cannot really think of any memorable Christmas gifts I ever got, but
There are some things of Christmas that I do remember, such as making gifts, caroling, and snow.
I do remember making gifts for my parents when I was younger. At school ach year, our class would make Christmas ornaments. When I was four, our class made this kind of banner with a Christmas tree made out of our hand prints in green paint. At Christmas time, my mom still puts it up. She also places the ornaments I made every other year. There are little candy canes, snowflakes, and snowmen. I think it is rather adorable how my mother still puts them up each year. It makes me think that I really did make something memorable and I am glad she will display it at Christmas time. I even remember making some of the ornaments in class. I especially remember playing with all of the glitter and making a mess.
When I was younger I used to go Christmas caroling with my neighbors. My mom would take me. I used to get so excited to go outside and sing to people. I was so much fun. Everyone was so happy and full of joy. I miss going caroling. It was so much fun. When were finished, one person would invite all of us in for hot chocolate and cookies.
The best part of Christmas is when it snows. There is nothing like a white Christmas, and that is very memorable. I even remember one Christmas, there was just a little bit of snow left on the ground, and it was melting. I went outside on my deck and collected it. I was little incase I forgot to say that. So I put the snow into little cups. I went into the house and put it in the freezer. I went back to look at it later and the whole thing was a block of ice. I was so upset, because all of the snow outside had finally melted away. I thought that my snow in the freezer would still be there, but me not knowing any better, did not know it would be a huge block of ice. As we get older we learn more so things like trying to save snow just are not fun.
As a kid I was always told that giving was better than receiving during this Christmas hoilday. Well during this past Christmas I finally relized those words.
My mother had alwasys hinted to my brother and I that she had wanted charms foe her bracelet, but we had never gotten them for her. So this year with out her telling us my brother and I went out and brought a "J" for Julian and a an "O" for Oscar ( My brother's name) I knew my mom would love and i could not wait until Christmas when my mom's face would light up with joy. When the day had come for my mom to open her presents I rushed down stairs and handed her gift to her. Then when she opened the two small boxes and saw what was inside, she nearly cried and jumped up and gave my brother and I a hugg.
I have received and given many great gifts in my day. The greatest gift I have ever received by far would have to be my first bike without training wheels. This was seriously the best thing ever. I hated having training wheels on my bike, I actually was one of the first kids I knew to not have training wheels which made me feel kinda special. I am so glad I was able to learn to ride that bike. I rode a bike everywhere I went for about 10 years, now I am days away form getting my permit and the biking days are getting old. Even though the biking days are almost gone, I can still imagine the one birthday when I looked in the garage and saw that all chrome silver bike. I felt so cool riding that bike, now i wore those tires straight through but it was worth every second of it.
The greatest gift I have ever given had to be a gift I gave my sister this most recent christmas. (Don’t worry, I’m not gonna say anything corny like the gift of my presence because that annoys me) All i did was give her some special perfume that she had wanted for christmas. This perfume cost me a pretty penny but it was the first real gift I had given her, normally I would give her a CD or something but not this year. This year I went all out.
It is a known fact that Christmas is the most popular and likeable holiday there is. When children are young, they experience all of the giving and receiving that comes with the season, only in a more magical way. I have to admit that Christmas was a lot more fun when Santa existed. Now that I am older, however, I have a new outlook on the Christmas holiday. Not only do I enjoy receiving presents, as does everyone, but I think that I may get more joy out of giving them. Seeing the look on the person’s face as they unwrap your gift gives you the warmest feeling. Knowing that you made someone happy is one of the best feelings in the world. Also now that I am older, one of my favorite things to do is help my mom pick out presents for my two littlest sisters. I love already knowing what they are getting so i can predict their facial expression when they open the gift. It is really hard to choose the best gift that I have ever given because giving each and every one of them gave me the same feeling. The best gift that I have ever recieved, however, would have to be my laptop. I don't really have a meaningful story on why i like this gift so much, I just do. I know that it cost a lot of money, and i am thankful that I have parents who care. Even though Christmas is not my favorite holiday, it's pretty high up there, and I still can't wait for next year.
I love the Christmas time and times of gift receiving and gift giving personally. I think gift giving and receiving is a terrific way to show you care for someone or someone cares for you. I personally like giving gifts more then receiving gifts. I don't know why though. I think I just like the satisfaction gift giving gives you. I love to see someone’s face light up when you give them a gift and they give you a big hug. That's the best I think. The reaction gives me the best feeling. It's truly amazing to me how much giving a gift makes you happy.
I think receiving gifts is tons of fun. This year I received one of my best presents yet. I got this stereo from my parents. It's a gray Philip's stereo and that thing can get loud. It has a five disc changer and is awesome. It also has an MP3 player. I love my stereo. You should've seen the look on my face when I received this thing. I was pumped. But, I bet my parents will regret it soon with all the noise it'll make. It was truly one of the best gifts I've ever received. Also this year I gave a gift that I really loved giving even more then receiving my stereo. I got my girlfriend this necklace with a little heart on. I was pretty impressed with myself because I'm a guy and guys are usually horrible at picking gifts out. But' I loved wrapping that thing and just waiting to see what her facial expression was. When she opened that box and saw what she got you should've seen her face. Her smile grew about a mile wide and she seemed so happy and jumpy. It made me extremely happy also. I love to see that I've made someone that happy. It's truly one of the greatest feelings in the world.
Christmas is always the time of year when little children are on their best behavior because Santa would be coming soon. When I was a little kid I always look forward to the day after Christmas because i would go over my grandmothers for after-Christmas dinner. My grandmother and I shared a strong bond. She always supported me and gave me confidence when i felt like no one would. I loved her so much. The gift I gave her on Christmas of 2004 was the best gift i ever gave. It was a gold pin with a capital "R" and a rose going across. I just remembered seeing the smile on her face and thanking me for the wonderful gift. The reason why this gift was so important to me because the following year in October my grandmother died at the age of 75 from cancer that she didn't know about until 15 years later. It was the last Christmas gift I gave her. These last two Christmas's have been lonely and sad because i know she isn't there to be with us. Even though Christmas is the season of great joy and happiness, my grandmother seemed to add just alittle more.
When I was little, Christmas was the most exciting time of the year. I used to be excited for it as soon as the school year started. I have gotten so many great gifts through out all of the Christmases that i have had. My favorite gift however, was not given for christmas. It was not even an object, it was a vacation. On my twelfth birthday my family and my best friend's family went up to Maine. We did many cool things such as hike mountains and see some interesting land marks. On my actual birthday we went whale watching. It was so much fun and we ended up seeing twelve whales. That is a gift that i will always remember.
Christmas is one of the best holidays of the year. I probably look foward to it the most out of all the holidays. When i was younger i would try to sleep but always wake up early because i was so anxious. From as far back as I can remember I never really believed in santa claus. I dont even have a chimney (haha). Christmas was and still very specail though.
This Christmas one of the most appreciated gifts I recieved was a new cellphone. My old one was ran over by a car, and i had no way of talking to people, or calling my parents if i needed them. I cant really keep anything without it breaking withing the first two months of use. Hopefully i'll be more careful.
Christmas isn't only about recieving though. It's about giving too. This year My dad, sister and I picked out a silver necklace for my mom. I could tell she loved it when she opened the box. My mom wears almost everywhere. It makes me feel good to know that it is very special to her.
Christmas day is always special, and mine have always been so memorable. I've had memorable experiences in both getting and receiving presents, so I'll tell of both.
The best gift I've ever received is probably a gift that my mom and grandmother got me together. I was younger and had just started horseback riding, and my mom knew how much I wanted a pretty helmet to wear in my lessons like the other kids, instead of wearing the gross ones provided by the stables. So, to my surprise on Christmas day, I unwrapped an IRH black velvet helmet, with a pretty yellow and blue jockey-style cover that my mom had bought for it so the black velvet didn't get dirty. I was so happy, but then I realized that there was something else underneath the helmet. It was a box from my grandmother. It contained a beautiful Lenox crystal horse. Because I was so young, it was my prized possession for a while. I still have that horse up on a shelf in my room, and I still wear that helmet every time I go riding.
The best gift I ever gave was to my mom in 2003. It was a four-level gift box. When she opened it on Christmas day, the first box had a tiny piece of paper in it. It said: "How much do I love you?" She opened the next one, which said: "Enough to write this:" She opened the next box and found a poem written by me. The final box contained a figure of a mouse with his arms spread out on a pedestal that said "I Love you This Much." She gave it to me when I was little and I figured it would be a nice touch to complete the gift.
I think that I've been especially lucky when it comes to Christmas because I have such an amazing family to spend it with.
I received the most special gift during Christmas of 2007. The gift was twelve paid voice lessons. My aunt (who is also my Godmother) gave them to me. As far back as I can remember, I have loved to sing. The first group that I loved singing was called Aqua. I'm sure you've heard of it, their hit song was (and still probably is) Barbie Girl. As soon as I could read, I would sing in church along with my mom. That is why I know so many church songs now. I have always been told that I sing well (some even go as far as to say that I should be on American Idol, I feel that that is a stretch), but I have not felt that way about my singing. I have always thought that I sing well, but I could use some improvement. My aunt had promised me some years ago that she would give me voice lessons as a gift. This year, I joined chorus. I joined because I love singing and because I wanted to sing during mass at school. Her gift came at an opportune time because I have just joined chorus, so I will have somewhere to practice what I've learned. Another reason for that is because I want to tryout for concert choir, and my teacher has decided that she will help me with that. I feel that the reason for why the gift was so opportune is because my aunt is so in-tune with my life; and for that I am glad.
The best Christmas present that I ever received was from my sister, Liz. All year I had asked her to bring me skiing and she always responded with “someday” which to me ultimately meant no. One year on Christmas, I was opening the last present under the tree, a small package for me from my sister. Inside was a pair of ski goggles. Knowing her practical jokes, I was mad that she would do this. (Remember it was the last present under the tree, and I was pretty sure she wasn’t going to bring me skiing.) So I took the goggles out of the box, to ask why on earth she gave me goggles if she was never going to bring me skiing. But then I noticed a piece of paper folded neatly under the goggles. I wasn’t 100% sure it was part of the present but I decided to take a look. I read the paper and it said that she was bringing my family up to New Hampshire to go skiing with my cousins. I was so excited!
In the middle of January the five of us jumped in the car and rode ten hours to the Bretten Woods Ski Resort on Mount Washington. At the condo we rented we met up with all of my cousins, aunts and uncles. We had a wonderful time skiing, spending time together, watching the football playoffs and eating a very good meal at a ritzy restaurant at the Mount Washington Hotel.
Overall, it was a wonderful trip, and it was definitely my best present ever!
As a little kid I remember waking up on Christmas morning, running downstairs, and then staring in awe of all the presents from Santa. As I’ve gotten older I learned that it could be just as fun it came be to watch someone else open up a present. The look on their face is really great and is a present in itself. This year my mom asked for the Bon Appetite cookbook so I went to Borders and bought it. It was quite a challenge to wrap because it was really heavy (it weighed a lot), so I ended up putting it in a gift bag. It was the cheaters’ way out, I know, but this book was massive. As soon as I handed the bag to my mom you could see her eyes light up. She knew what it was just from its weight. She looked like a little kid as she started to flip through the pages; she got so excited just by looking at all the recipes. I remember her telling me were going to have to get all our friends and neighbors over so she can start trying these recipes out.
I’m not sure what the best gift I ever received was but I do remember the best reaction I ever had to a Christmas present. It was about four years ago and I had been serious about horseback riding for around three years. I really wanted my own saddle, but I didn’t want to push my parents too hard because they are pretty expensive. So Christmas morning comes and, in tradition of my childhood, my dad is at the bottom of the stairs with the camera. He is all ready to film my reaction to my presents, though it always took him forever to get to this point (I believe the year I’m talking about was the last year he did it, thankfully). So I come down the stairs and turn into our living room and there on a little wooden saddle rack is a beautiful mahogany colored Stubben Roxanne saddle. On the tape you see my eyes getting bigger and bigger; I believe my thoughts were: “ Whose amazing saddle is this and why is it in my house on Christmas!!” Then I start screaming and jumping up and down as I finally realized this is my very own saddle. My parents are cracking up at my attics but I really don’t notice because I’m to busy looking at my new saddle. Its one of our funniest home videos we and we always start to laugh when we watch it.
Christmas is such a great holiday of giving and receiving. You get to revel the joy of receiving a wonderful gift from the people who love you. Then you get to give someone else that joy when they open the present you bought them. Its great how we get to experience both at the same time. I think that’s one of the reasons Christmas is such a special holiday.
hi, in my second paragraph i meant to say antics not attics. sorry for the misspelling. thanks
Before I start this I just want to say that my relationship with Christmas is sort of a love/hate relation. In other words, I love Christmas day itself, but I hate the time leading up to it. Everything is hustle and bustle, you can never find anything you want, and after sixteen straight years, Christmas music gets pretty annoying. With that being laid out on the table I'd have to say that the most sincere gift I've ever given anybody was the year I gave my Mom telling her how I felt. No shopping, just a letter telling her how much I love her. I got the idea from my eighth grade history teacher. He told us how he wrote this letter pouring his heart into it telling his mom how much he loved her and how she then supposedly ran away the next day. Even though I think he made that last part up about his mom running away, I still think it was a pretty good idea for a gift. Not only that, but it’s a pretty easy gift to make, too. I mean, after all how hard is it for you to tell your mom that you love her? That is, unless you despise your mom, but that’s hopefully not the case. All I needed to do anyway was just stretch out I love you for a page or so. I mean sure, I could have just written “I Love You” on a piece of paper and be done with it, but I wanted to make this gift more special than that. I had to find new ways to say “I Love You”, fancy ways, the way rich people describe how much they love their money. I’m not even sure how I did it, but somehow I was able to stretch that letter out to over a page and a half. Of course, most of it, if I remember correctly was just a bunch of meaningless fodder, but that’s kind of besides the point. The point is that I wrote it. The point is that I actually took the time (believe me it took a lot of it) and effort to write a giant love letter to someone very special. Besides, it was definitely better than all the other gifts I’d gotten my mom, all dumb candles and ornaments I would usually get her. This one actually meant something to me. This one was actually special.
Well, first off I would like to say that I just loved he irony in the story. Even though you could see it comin' a mile away you still couldn't wait to hear it. But anyway Im gonna talk about the best christma pressent I ever got. Well back in October 2005 my dog ended up dying of cancer. We took her to the vet and had her put down. It really wasn't the same without the dog nipping at my heels or laying on the couch watching TV with me. But on the day before Christmas eve, my dad woke me up and told me and my brother and sister that we were going to get a present early. So we got dressed and got into the car and rode down to the SPCA. We all realized why we were there and were overcome with joy. So we never even did have to spend a christmas without my dog watchin' christmas shows with me. Plus it brought together the true meaning of christmas; family.
christmas, like every other holiday, is awesome, but the special thing about christmas is that during this season you can bring joy to people. i love christmas especially because of the family togetherness. everybody enjoys opening up a present but theres nothing better than getting someone the perfect gift and seeing their face light up on christmas morning morning. i think the best i ever recieved, though there is many to choose from, is my drumset. i was like Ralphie from The Christmas Story when he wanted his red rider bb gun. i wanted it so bad that was the only thing i put on my list. leading up to christmas i was so sure i'd get it, but as it got closer to christmasi needed evidential proof. so, like most other kids, i went snooping around my parents closet hoping to find some kind of proof or something. however, after a failed search, i was distraught. i mean this was all i dreamed about for the last month or two and to not have it just crushed me. so christmas eve came and i layed in my bed trying not to act dissapointed but deep down i was. when i woke the next morning from my slumber i ran downstairs to presents just to confirm i had not gotten a drumset. after i was all done opening y gifts i sat there scanning my area, making sure i didnt overlook anything. just then, my dad tossed me a pair of drumsticks and right away i went estatic. i played on the set hours on end for quite awhile. nowadays i dont play them as much as i used but i still kick out a funky groove every now and then. i will always remember, though, the christmas i got my drumset.
"It is greater to give than to recieve." A quote often turned over in my head when I feel as if I'm giving someone a spectacular gift. I don't know why I always feel so good when I give; I just do. One time especially stands out vividly in my mind.
During the weeks before the Christmas of 2006, I was desperately looking for the perfect present for my mom. I just couldn't seem to think of what to get her. It appeared that I got her the same kind of stuff every year so I had to make this one different. A few ideas crossed my mind until I remembered how much she had wanted an iPod the previous year, but I didn't have enough money to get it for her.
I looked through my lock-box and discovered that after a few weeks of work, I finally had enough to get my mom the one she wanted. I made arrangements for my brother to take me to Best Buy to get her the present the following day. I still remember how cloudy it was that day and how many people were in the store. This was most likely due to the fact that it was only 2 weeks before Christmas.
I walked in and immediately found what I was looking for. A pink iPod nano that appeared to be just the thing for her. I'm happy to say that I paid for that thing without hesitation and rushed home to wrap it for her.
I looked around the house for the most expensive looking wrapping paper we had and got to work. I did a pretty good job with the paper and went to find a matching bow to give it some extra beauty. When all was done, I laid it carefully on my bookshelf and waited eagerly for Christmas day. I just couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she unwrapped it.
Finally, Christmas came. Along with my other presents, I recieved the greatest gift of all that day. When my mother got home from work she opened my gift. The look on her face almost made me want to cry because I was so happy. She looked at that iPod as if it were a lump of gold and tears started to come down her cheek. She gave me a hug and said it was the best gift she had ever gotten. That Christmas was one I'll never forget.
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