# Best Christmas Gift



## FranShaff (Apr 26, 2011)

What is the best Christmas gift you've ever received or given?

I think I was most thrilled when I got a Scrabble game when I was 12 years old. (Like Ralphie getting his BB Gun)  

Best gift given -- won't say just what it was, but it was something special she really wanted for someone dear to me facing terminal cancer.

Fran


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## Aris Whittier (Sep 21, 2010)

As a kid: My “Foot Loose” cassette tape and the game “Pay Day”…I played those two things nonstop with my family and friends. Good memories…


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## Kristine McKinley (Aug 26, 2012)

When I was 4 or 5 I got a Barbie Corvette, that was pretty awesome. Last year when I got all three of Alton Browns Good Eats cookbooks I was probably my most excited.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

My brother and I, I have to admit, were spoiled.  One year we got a Death Star play set and that was awesome.  When I got a bit older, I actually did get a BB gun one year that was awesome.  

And I know this sounds like a joke given this is a forum about books (mostly) one year I got a bunch of Stephen King books and that was pretty fantastic.


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## kindlequeen (Sep 3, 2010)

Five years ago, I received a card from my husband and in-laws telling me that I was on the waitlist for the first Kindle!  Best gift ever!  Second best (and close tie) was a diamond necklace from mom and dad when I was 21.

As a kid.... it just might be the first holiday barbie which I took out of the box before mom and dad woke up!  They still razz me about opening the barbie that was supposed to be collector-keep-in-box thing.

Given?  My DH was my boyfriend at the time and we'd been dating for a few months, I got him a Perrin power pulley for his Subaru and surprised him.  He was thrilled but then felt really bad because he swapped the shoes I'd picked out for a roll of duct tape and a 9-volt battery for me to open in front of his family.


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## FranShaff (Apr 26, 2011)

Hey, this is so cool seeing the variety of favorite gifts we've received. Wouldn't it be cool to remind those who are still with us how much we appreciated the gifts they gave which meant so much to us? My parents have both passed on, so I'll just have to thank Santa again.  

Fran


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## MsBea (Dec 2, 2008)

My favorite doll had been loved to death - bad hair cuts, multi colored nail polish and permanent marker lipstick. "Santa" brought me a Thumbelina  doll (her head moved around) and my sister got a Chatty Cathy doll ( there was a looped string in the back of her neck that you pulled to make her talk)  .. I'll never forget that Christmas


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

Best I've given.  Very good one.  Gift to an attorney boss Jerry in '91.  Attorney practicing in Chicago was originally from way up north in northern Minnesota.  Big-time Twins fan.  I didn't / don't follow sports much at all.  Jerry had framed Sports Illustrated covers of Twins World Series winning batters from previous years on his wall that his wife had given him.  I wondered if I could get their autographs?  Gave up on the idea.  But then later thought it was worth a try.  'Bout late July / early August I called the Twins.  Got the right PR person.  She said Twins were doing well that year -- she was busy.  I should be patient.  She'd get me something.  I waited.  Called once or twice.  Wrote her once.  She always remembered me.  Well . . . you know what happened that year ('91)?  The Twins won the Series again.  PR person said someone local had asked for a team ball, but never picked it up (ball signed by the whole team).  She said she would send it to me.  She did and included a Homer Hankie and ring binder with baseball cards in the box.  It was delivered to the office on December 23.  I had been telling Jerry all along, "You're gonna die, Jerry."  I gave it to him.  Have you ever heard a speechless attorney?  No, you haven't.  Jerry could not talk.  He was truly speechless.  After he opened the box, I tried to talk to him.  "Not now.  I can't talk."  

That was the best gift I ever gave.  Cost me next to nothing -- few dollars at most for couple phone calls and couple stamps.


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## FranShaff (Apr 26, 2011)

Holy smoke!! What an awesome, and I mean truly awesome gift!! You sure are a thoughtful person.

Fran



Sandpiper said:


> Best I've given. Very good one. Gift to an attorney boss Jerry in '91. Attorney practicing in Chicago was originally from way up north in northern Minnesota. Big-time Twins fan. I didn't / don't follow sports much at all. Jerry had framed Sports Illustrated covers of Twins World Series winning batters from previous years on his wall that his wife had given him. I wondered if I could get their autographs? Gave up on the idea. But then later thought it was worth a try. 'Bout late July / early August I called the Twins. Got the right PR person. She said Twins were doing well that year -- she was busy. I should be patient. She'd get me something. I waited. Called once or twice. Wrote her once. She always remembered me. Well . . . you know what happened that year ('91)? The Twins won the Series again. PR person said someone local had asked for a team ball, but never picked it up (ball signed by the whole team). She said she would send it to me. She did and included a Homer Hankie and ring binder with baseball cards in the box. It was delivered to the office on December 23. I had been telling Jerry all along, "You're gonna die, Jerry." I gave it to him. Have you ever heard a speechless attorney? No, you haven't. Jerry could not talk. He was truly speechless. After he opened the box, I tried to talk to him. "Not now. I can't talk."
> 
> That was the best gift I ever gave. Cost me next to nothing -- few dollars at most for couple phone calls and couple stamps.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

My elderly stepfather thinks Frank Sinatra was the greatest entertainer to ever walk the earth.  I found DVDs of the television specials Sinatra had done in the 60s and 70s, and gave them to him one at a time until they came out with an omnibus collection of them all which I got him.  Inexpensive gift, but he loved them, he thought he'd surely never see those specials again.  Last year I gave him the complete collection of specials, to fill in the ones not otherwise available, so this year I'm giving him a DVD of several of Sinatra's very early movies.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I don't know if it was _the_ best, but the one I seem to have the clearest memory of was a train set I got, probably around age 7-ish? We were at my mother's parents' house that year, and they set up the track around the Christmas tree, then turned it on when I came into the living room Xmas morning -- so it was kind of the combination of a neat gift with excellent presentation that made it stand out for me.


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## Lisa Scott (Apr 4, 2011)

The one I remember best was a stuffed unicorn I picked out of the Sears catalog.  I really wanted it--I was in a unicorn phase for years.  I had opened almost all of my presents and hadn't gotten it.  I was so sad. All that was left was a box, and that didn't look like a stuffed animal.  But it was! My unicorn was inside! I still have it.

Best gift I gave?  Well, it wasn't exactly a gift I gave, but I helped my grandmother compile a book of her family history with pictures etc. This was before sites that now help you easily do that. It was a lot of work, but everyone loved that book.  She was so pleased. Sadly, she died unexpectedly three months later.  What a gift for me, actually, to have been able to spend all those hours with her talking about memories to include in the book.  Everyone in the family was so grateful to have it.  Ack.  I'm all teary now.


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## FranShaff (Apr 26, 2011)

I am loving these personal, special stories of gifts given and received. Thanks for sharing, Everyone!

Fran


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

A dog when I was eight. Nothing has ever quite beat that.


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## Lisa Scott (Apr 4, 2011)

Oh, a dog is a good one.  Was it a surprise?  Did you get it christmas morning?


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

My best and most memorable Christmas gift was received this morning as we had our Christmas today with our 2 kids, their spouses and our almost 3-year-old grandson.

GS had a gift bag from "Santa" that none of us recognized.  He opened it and it was a t-shirt.  His Mom told him to hold it up so everyone could see what was on the front.  It said "Big Brother"!!!!  I will be a G-ma again in July.  Best gift ever!


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## D/W (Dec 29, 2010)

crebel said:


> GS had a gift bag from "Santa" that none of us recognized. He opened it and it was a t-shirt. His Mom told him to hold it up so everyone could see what was on the front. It said "Big Brother"!!!! I will be a G-ma again in July. Best gift ever!


What a delightful way to find out you're going to be grandma to another little one soon!


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

MsBea said:


> My favorite doll had been loved to death - bad hair cuts, multi colored nail polish and permanent marker lipstick. "Santa" brought me a Thumbelina doll (her head moved around) and my sister got a Chatty Cathy doll ( there was a looped string in the back of her neck that you pulled to make her talk) .. I'll never forget that Christmas


When I was 8 or 9 I wanted a Chatty Cathy doll more than anything, especially since my name is Kathy. Santa was good and I got my doll. Pulled the string and got muffled speech. No matter how many times nothing came out right. We took it back and got the 2nd one and the string broke the 2nd day, my little sister got hold of it. I finally gave up and we traded it for Barbie dolls. It still was fun to see my dream doll under the tree.


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## geniebeanie (Apr 23, 2009)

It is a tie between my organ and my easy bake oven at the age of ten.  Last year it had to be my kindle fire and my kindle with specials.


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## Casper Parks (May 1, 2011)

Joy


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## amishromanceauthor (Sep 27, 2012)

Realizing I've been with my hubby now for 8 and a half years.  Oh, and my new Kindle.


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## Dawn McCullough White (Feb 24, 2010)

The one both my younger sister and I remember the best, was receiving a very large box crammed full of those small (1970s) superhero dolls.  It was just amazing how many were in there!!

Dawn


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## Amyshojai (May 3, 2010)

I remember getting "Penny the Pooch" a sort of plastic blue poodle that barked and walked via a remote control leash/collar thingy.

This year the best gift ever was flying home to visit my parents for a long weekend and having both my brothers there (with their families). It was awesome!


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## Lee44 (Sep 9, 2012)

All of these Chatty Cathy recipients reminded me of how thrilled I was to receive my Chatty Cathy, but Chatty did not compare to my PF Flyers (which allowed me to do super human feats that I was not able to do when I was not wearing them) and my Beatles boots!


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

Such good memories! However, my best Christmas gift came 4 years ago. Our son, then in medical school, and his Bride to Be, a medical resident, were in Kenya doing a rotation at a remote mountain hospital. They had a patient that clearly touched their hearts. She was dying, and her family was in a village several miles away. They could not afford to pay her hospital bill, which was required to get released from the hospital. All she wanted was to go home to her family to die. Dustin and Alyson (now our DIL) went to the hospital office and paid off the several hundred dollar hospital bill (with their very limited funds) and the woman got to go home. They wrote all our family members to let us know that the bill was paid in our name. I was so touched by their act.


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## teashopgirl (Dec 8, 2011)

Jane917 said:


> Such good memories! However, my best Christmas gift came 4 years ago. Our son, then in medical school, and his Bride to Be, a medical resident, were in Kenya doing a rotation at a remote mountain hospital. They had a patient that clearly touched their hearts. She was dying, and her family was in a village several miles away. They could not afford to pay her hospital bill, which was required to get released from the hospital. All she wanted was to go home to her family to die. Dustin and Alyson (now our DIL) went to the hospital office and paid off the several hundred dollar hospital bill (with their very limited funds) and the woman got to go home. They wrote all our family members to let us know that the bill was paid in our name. I was so touched by their act.


I just want to say "wow." What a beautiful thing to do.


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