What's the most meaningful Christmas present you have ever received?

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   William15posted 10 years ago

   I'm wondering what really sticks out in your mind after all these years.

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      wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      32 years ago I received a son.  Born 4 days before and put into NICU, brought home a week after, he was still our best Christmas present.

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         Ritesh Nisharposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Wow, that's really touchy. Kids are the best gifts by God.

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   2. 79

      Say Yes To Lifeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      When I was 14, my folks gave me a pair of wooden Reiker skis, and my brother gave me John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" album to match.  The following year, I got a pair of San Giorgio boots that were so comfortable, I could slip in and out of them with no problem (this was back in the 1970s, when it was common for ski boots to be uncomfortable).  I was still using this equipment nearly 20 years later, when a worker at a resort gave me severe warnings about getting an upgrade before I broke my leg.

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   3. 60

      Silvlace8posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      The most meaningful and humbling christmas present was a christmas tree put in my front yard, because I couldn't afford a tree or presents.  A company also adopted me and my 5 children and gave us the best christmas ever.  I was a struggling single mom, working 2 jobs, no child support and 1 of the jobs paid for daycare as you can imagine the cost for 5 kids.  Never did find out who snuck the tree in the yard, the kids said Santa brought it

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   4. 87

      tsmogposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      This morning, Christmas Day, I opened a gift and inside was a Swedish blend of tea with strawberry and rhubarb. That awoken the curiosity of my child. Next, was a little toy like object of a moose. Yet, the moose is a symbol between that significant and well, Dearest Best Friend, of more than a simple moose. That awoken the connectedness of a relationship. A book marker was also within and most assuredly it was of message with the words on one side and the other an image of flora offering a sense of intimacy. Too, the hint of a friend of encouragement to once again begin reading, something that has been more hindrance than pleasure this past year. Finally a post card about the 8" x 11." One side very dear and meaningful words. The other a picture of a Tomten or a Swedish Santa Clause.
      
      I do not think I compare to all the gifts received, since I do not think we can measure one gift with another with any extrinsic value. I seek the intrinsic. That said, those many gifts from childhood to adulthood seem to be of an order or maybe of meanings of significance. I ponder if all the gifts I have received over the fifty-nine Christmas morning experiences are really on gift. One may ask with a twist of this and that and a tad of humor "could we apply string theory" to the gifts received? Do they all connect with oddity and without leading to the next while really having no order at all? I dun'no . . . yet I do know I cannot compare the fifty-five year old stuffed animal, of which is a very limp dog now, to what I received today. They were both gifts of "Love" and they each connect to each other in some way, or, of the least I seem to think so . . .

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2. 80

   Marcy Goodfleischposted 10 years ago

   A plastic bread bag full of shelled pecans, given to me at Christmas more than 30 years ago.
   
   It was a gift from an elderly woman, who could barely get around, and from her son, who also had very serious health and mobility issues. They were both patients at a clinic where I worked, and the gift was completely unexpected.
   
   They lived in a rural area, and the son regularly drove his mother to the clinic, but his mobility was too limited for him to get out of the car. So he would sit in the car, patiently waiting for her, no matter how blistering hot or miserably cold it was. For at least a week before Christmas, they had spent many hours every evening, cracking and cleaning the pecans that had fallen from their trees. Then they filled bread bags with them (bags they'd saved for many weeks), and gave them as gifts to various people.
   
   It was one of the dearest and most humbling gifts I've ever been given, and it taught me many lessons. I'm honored to have known these two sweet people.

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      jonnycomelatelyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      It's like this goes to the kernal of what it all means.

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3. 85

   DzyMsLizzyposted 10 years ago

   It's not "meaningful" in the sense of being important, as some of the others have related, but there is one gift that sticks out in my mind after all these years.  In fact, it's rather silly and unimportant.
   
   I was about 7 or 8 years old, and an elderly aunt, who'd been a schoolteacher in her youth, gave me a tablet of carbon paper and pencils.
   
   It was like magic; anything I drew, I drew two at once, both alike.
   
   There have been many other gifts before and since, that I truly loved and appreciated, but that one from so very long ago stays with me as the most magical item.

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4. 81

   snakeslaneposted 10 years ago

   The Beatles Rubber Soul album our mother bought us for Christmas (1965).

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5. 75

   Kathleen Cochranposted 10 years ago

   I went to Kuwait in 2009 to spend Christmas with my husband who was working a military contract in Kuwait City.  He'd taken his leave over Thanksgiving so more of his folks could go home for Christmas.  I've never been more lonely in my life missing all our children, grandchildren and extended family, but I was glad he wasn't going through that holiday alone.  Like many Christmases our family had all by ourselves through all the Army years, it ended up being one of my most cherished memories of Christmas, because we were reminded anew that what made it Christmas for us was being together.

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6. 37

   ChristinSposted 10 years ago

   My mother made a homemade "comic book" with drawings featuring highlights of my kids as super heroes with their special super powers.  It made references to different life events and it was very funny and cute. She worked on it for months

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   1. 87

      tsmogposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      That is awesome!!!

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7. 69

   amiebutchkoposted 10 years ago

   I don't know if it was meaningful, but when I was about 7, I got a brand new tape recorder.  It had that smell of a new electronic item.  I loved it.  I remember it to this day.

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