The "Perfect" Christmas Present
By Brenda Hyde

My favorite gift as a child was a beautiful bride doll. I had seen this jewel of a lady in the store window after church one day.My parents were not rich people.They were the average American hardworking people. And there were five other children besides me. So I did not really think I would ever get that magnificent blonde princess bride doll who wore pearls and was at least 24" tall.The biggest doll I had ever seen that was that beautiful. My parents Bob and Maxine always had made sure Christmas was special but that year the factory was going on strike right before Christmas.Of course we knew because my mom and dad gardened and preserved all the vegetables and fruits that we would be ok on the food.Dad always made sure the freezer was full of meat from hunting and fishing but the house payment and insurance payments remained to be paid..and if the factory went on strike then Christmas was just not going to be very bright..it was ok because we knew they loved us no matter what. Well Christmas morning arrived.The strike had been held off.I was waiting to see what I would get. They gave me clothing as always and the stocking filled with candy and nuts and fruit but there was no doll.Not even one.My heart fell.I tried hard not to show it but I couldn't look at anybody.I knew I would cry because I only 8yrs old and I just didn't think I could live without that doll.

My dad started to clean up the wrapping and my older sisters were busy chatting about their things.My brothers were taking off with their things and I got up to take my things to my room and my dad said "come here..there is one more present laying down here behind the tree.." And there was that beautiful princess doll.Even my older sisters stopped chatting to watch.The miracle moment was mine .I will always remember that one day that I knew my miracle HAD to be there somewhere.~Lynn Moen

One of the best Christmases that I can remember was back in about 1943 or 1944. My maternal Grandmother made my sister and me a rag doll and my Father made us doll beds to go with them. Mine was pink and my sister's was blue. She got the boy doll and I got the girl doll. I still remember those dolls and beds. We had them for years and I wish that they didn't disappear when I was in my teens. They would have been treasured now that both my Grandmother has been gone since the early 60's and my Father has been gone since 71.~Beverly

I have to say that my favorite gift was my first two wheel bike. It was made by Schwinn. Why my favorite? Well, my parents were blue collar and didn't have alot of money as most families back then. I have 2 sisters and we all got bikes that year. I know my parents really outdid themselves by purchasing those bikes for us along with the other gifts we received. I will never forget that Christmas. My dad came into our rooms and woke us up...guess he was pretty excited to be able to do that for us too. ~Dee

when I was about 9 my aunt died in the fall and for Christmas that year I was given her lovely silver hair brush. I still have it today and it holds dear memories for me ~Tony

My favorite gift as a child was a baby Crissy doll-not so much the doll but the box I opened that had clothes made by hand by my grandmother and 2 baby quilts. I always loved looking at her quilts and there was always a story to go with them. I kept those quilts over the years-brought my daughter home in one of them and now she uses them with her dolls and I tell a story with them!! ~Lisa

My most favorite Christmas gift was a stereo complete with an 8-track player. I must have been about 10 years old and was really into music. Well, what made this gift even more wonderful was the fact that I didn't expect it...I did ask for it, but my parents were going through extreme financial problems at that time so I just never expected to get it. Knowing how hard it was for them to buy this made the gift even more special...and I still treasure it to this day. Brandie Valenzuela

When I was 10 I spent weeks going thru all our Sears and Montgomery Ward and Spiegel Christmas catalogs, marking the items (mostly toys) I wanted. Being a typical 10 yr old, oblivious to family financial circumstances, I expected to get at least some of the stuff I wanted. Well, that didn't happen. On Christmas morning I opened one package after another of underwear, nightgowns, socks...I was very disappointed. Then I opened a package and found something totally unexpected (and not on my catalog wishlist)...it was a huge box of colored pencils and dozens of very nice color-by-number prints. I had so much fun with that one gift...it kept me busy for months. And I'm sure I would not, after ALL these years, still remember any of those things I thought I wanted from the Sears catalog.~Jill

Hummel red head. I got my first on when I was 9 I still have it an started collecting more. The figurine was so beautiful that I will always remember opening the box and realizing that my mother thought that I was old enough to have a special collectible like that. I remember feeling really special and respected from my parents. ~Bonnie

When I was 10 my grandmother knitted a blanket for me. It was beautiful blue and white and it was so warm. She said everytime you use this it will remind you of me and pop keeping you safe and warm (and it always did remind me of them). Well believe it or not I had that blanket for 24 years and it kept me warm and safe for all those years. ~Janet Spaziani

When I was small, I contracted pneumonia right before Christmas, or right at Christmas...anyway I was in the hospital and didn't get out til around February, and my family kept the tree up, and all the decorations, and we had Christmas when I got home. That's a memory I'll always treasure. ~Kathleen

When I was in kindergarten, I loved to work at the easel. I loved painting and fingerpaints, and pastel crayons. The teacher had a really hard time pulling me away from there! Well, my teacher must have told my mom how much I loved working at the easel without my knowing it. When I came downstairs on Christmas morning, there was an easel of my own there in the middle of the floor. there were pretty boxes filled with paintbrushes and watercolors, a huge box of crayons, pastel pencils, and fingerpaints. My mom had even sewn me my own painters smock and it was hanging on the easel. All of this had a big red bow on top. It was the best Christmas present I ever got and I spent all day "playing" with it! ~Eileen

my favourite gift was a baby blue poncho that a friend of the family had knitted for my sister and me. I loved that poncho and felt very grown up wearing it (to me a grown up was about 18, I was 8 at the time). my mom said I wore that poncho almost the entire school term. ~Sharon

I received my favourite Christmas gift when I was about 8 years old. As the oldest of 5 children, I was accustomed to sharing everything. The gifts we tended to receive were ones in which the girls all shared equally. This year was the first in which there were packages under the Christmas tree addressed to each of us individually. I could barely contain my excitement as the day approached. That morning, my brothers and sisters and I awoke at the crack of dawn to sort the packages in readiness for our parents and our grandmother to witness. The youngest took their turns first so I was practically bursting with anticipation when the time came for me to see what was left under the tree for me. I gently peeled the tape from the patterned paper to reveal a pad of coloured construction paper and a set of pencil crayons! This was more than what I had hoped for. I knew I would not be able to begrudge my siblings the use of these items but the creative possibilities these items represented overwhelmed my overactive imagination. That particular gift seems like such a trifle compared to what I have received and, indeed, purchased for myself, since, but I don't the hours of joy derived from that present has been surpassed. ~Ginny

My favorite gift was a doll that I received when I was about 7 or 8. Well, it wasn't exactly the doll, though I loved her very much... it was the wardrobe she came with. My mom had sewn matching outfits for my doll - one's that matched mine, even my school uniform!! It was so much fun to have a doll that could "match" me. She also had these little record things that you put into her side to make her talk. I believe she is one of the dolls my mom stole from me and still has put away (though she won't admit it!!) ~Shannon

My parakeet, Happy,was the last present that I got from my dad before he passed away. But, thanks to that little bird, my father lived on for a long time, until I could cope with having lost him. ~Gramma A rocking chair, given to me by my parents the year my brother (age 9) died of an accidental gun shot wound (I was 12). This chair has grown up with me, traveled with me, was the one that I rocked (and still do), my two young children (ages 2 and 4). I hope someday to give it to my daughter for her children and always remember my brother and parents every time I use it. ~Deana

I was given a cloth angel made by my aunt from pieces of a quilt my grandmother had made long ago. I like it because it reminds me of my grandmother who is no longer with us and brings to mind a picture of her making quilts on her treadle sewing machine.~Vicki

My favorite gift is an odd one for a child. My grandmother had six children, and all but one grew up to have 3 or more children. So, we always had large family get-togethers at Christmas. My grandmother was very skilled at knitting and crocheting, and she would make warm woolen slippers for all the adult women and the girls 12 years old or over. Each year I yearned for a pair of the slippers, but always got some dimes taped to a card. Just not the same to me. Finally, the Christmas after I turned 12, I received the long awaited knitted slippers! Oh, how I loved them and wore them everyday. Eventually of course, I wore a hole in the bottom. Sadly, that was the last Christmas to share with my grandmother as she suddenly died the following spring. I will never, ever forget the gift of the homemade slippers from my grandmother. ~Debbie