I remember one particular Christmas when I was a kid. I was probably about eleven, and I was obsessed with a book called My Side of the Mountain. It was about a city kid who got disillusioned by the crowds and noise and he ran away to the wilderness. And he survived by learning how to hunt for food, build shelter with branches and leaves, pick berries, etc. But the most intriguing thing to me at the time was that he caught a wild falcon and befriended it, teaching it how to hunt on command! The bird would capture a small animal and return to the boy, landing gracefully on his arm. The boy would cook the prey over an open fire and feast.
As Christmas rolled around that year, and the television commercials were filled with hundreds of toys that kids could implore their parents for, there was only one gift I was interested in. Behold, some toy company had created a flying falcon toy just like the one in the book. In the commercial, the great bird of prey would perch on the lucky kid’s arm, take off on command, fly majestically through the sky and return, landing precisely. Every time I saw the commercial, my heart raced with excitement. I begged my parents for it. I told the mall Santa that I wanted it. Oh, I’d forego my entire Christmas morning cache as long as I got this one magnificent present!
To my utter joy, I ripped open a big box on Christmas morning, and there it was: my falcon! But inevitably my imagination (and the magic of television) had built up a much higher expectation for this toy than the reality. It was basically a big, heavy plastic bird. It didn’t flap its wings. It didn’t fly. It didn’t soar off into the sky and it certainly didn’t land gracefully on my arm. The most I could do was anchor it on my arm with my hand and run around the yard, but heck, how fun was that?
I was so disappointed.
Gifts and Christmas go hand in hand. When you’re a kid and you think about Christmas, the first thing that comes to mind are gifts. The same can be said when you’re the parent of young kids. When my two boys were little, I found myself in charge of their gift selection, shopping and wrapping. I came up with a dollar amount and spent the same amount on each kid to keep it “even.” But the year the boys were eight and five, it became very clear that this approach was a big mistake.
The toys on my younger son’s list were much less expensive than the more electronic toys on my older son’s list. Although I spent the same amount of money on each one, the resulting number of gifts were disparate between the two. Son #1 actually was disappointed when he finished opening, even though he’d gotten pretty much everything he’d asked for! And after all the effort I’d put into the whole process, I was crushed at his reaction.
Naughty or Nice? Have you ever found the lyrics to a particular song about Santa Claus kind of … creepy?
He sees you when you’re sleeping.
He knows when you’re awake.
He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness’ sake!
In the Santa tradition, kids have to be good in order to receive gifts. If you’re bad, you’re not getting anything that year. Or what about the newish tradition Elf on the Shelf, based on a 2005 book? The story introduces toy elves that work as Santa’s helpers (I suppose the job got too big for him to do himself!). Disguised as toys, they visit children’s homes the month before Christmas to observe and report back to Santa whether the children are being naughty or nice. The elves appear as toys and by magic, they come to life when the children aren’t watching them.
Boy, it’s a tough job being a kid at Christmas!
The Real Christmas Gift: Of course, as Christians we know that there is only one true Christmas gift, and that is God’s gift of his beloved son to all of us. There’s no disappointment in the receipt of this gift, and there’s no way to earn it. There is no giant checklist of who gets the gift and who doesn’t. The birth of Jesus is God’s gift to all his people, naughty and nice alike, because he loves us that much. Jesus came to earth to forgive us all our sins and to pave the way for all God’s people to live the lives that God intends for us to live, in the fullness of his grace. We can do absolutely nothing to earn this amazing gift. He doesn’t expect us to deserve his generosity. All we can do is accept it with an open and grateful heart. Now that’s a gift that is vital to us every day of the year.
A few gifts for you … In closing, I have a couple gifts to share to those of you who love to read and love to cook! Two free downloads to your ereader to help with your Christmas cheer!
My novella One Big Apple Christmas: Heartbreak turns to hope in this festive Christmas story set in magical New York City. Just in time for the holidays, a heartwarming story about love in the Big Apple.
And from last year, my Matchmaking Moms Cookbook: The Matchmaking Moms of Oceanview Church love to cook, and so do their kids. It’s my pleasure to present their recipes to you in case any of them tickle your appetite! Bon Appetit!
Comment and let me know: what was your favorite Christmas gift you received as a child? Did it live up to your expectations? What was your favorite Christmas gift that you gave to someone else? What made it special and was it well received?
Merry Christmas everyone!
**Heartwarming, life-changing Christian fiction.** An award-winning author, Laurie is living her dream life at the beach, writing novels. Laurie writes beachy inspirational romance that takes place in the South Carolina Low Country. She retired from the big day job and now focuses on writing full time. Strolls on the sand, soaking up the sun and riding the waves can be considered the best kind of research.
Mine was a Poliroid camera. Yes & lasted till around 2006. Everything for my hubby & daughter & just seeing the smiles on there faces.
when I was about 6 almost 7 I got a doll it was a big doll named Karen and while she didn’t do much but close her eyes and have limbs that could move. Dad had also made a dolls bed for her and mum had put something for the mattress. (I still have the dolls bed). I took her to church on Christmas day and a lady at church made her a nightie and a dolls blanket. (it was probably a babies blanket she had already crocheted) and brought it out Christmas night so she had a nightie to sleep in. I took her on holiday and my auntie made some clothes and sent them after I had come home. She was wonderful. Besides a bike when I was 11 I don’t remember a lot of other gifts as a child.
I think one of my favourite gifts to give was an autograph book that I got cricketers to sign for a friends son. Shannon was mad on cricket but hadn’t been able to get to a game. I got some of the state players and a few even wrote to Shannon and one wrote a message when I explained who it was for. I got some of the Australian players and the international team we played (I forget who it was). I do remember getting an autograph for him I needed myself but didn’t realise. He loved it. He was so excited and then to see messages to him made his day.
The other gift was one year the year mum had passed away I typed out some of the recipes the family grew up with (and also did one for a friend who got excited when she heard about it) and then compiled it in a bound booklet. I was doing businesses admin and using the tools to bind booklets etc. The family and friend really loved it as they got a hard copy of the recipes.
I was always happy at Christmas as a child, I am asked for a different barbie per year! and I always chose one. I remember one Christmas I asked for a talking white kitten who shook her head and blinked, fortunately the commercial did not lie or magnify what she could do so I was happy!
I suppose that the Christmas gift that I liked the most was when my brother was little, I gave him a squeezable rubber iguana for Christmas, he love it so much that when it spoiled we bought him another one, he had like 6 of those iguanas.
Laura
My favorite Christmas came to me was back in 2019 when I received this tablet I am on this thing forever lol.
Anyway but most importantly God’s son is the most greatest gift of all. We seem to forget that a lot lately. I loved Christmas as a child too. Dolls were my thing when I was a child. I also love the Christmas tree and the Manger scene the most now.
I forgot to put Christmas gift sorry lol.
The only gift I really remember were books and a Spirograph. I don’t remember much else about the Spirograph, but books were always a yay since I grew up far from a bookstore or library. Books were such a treasure. I remember getting Heidi, The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, and The Borrowers and reading them hundreds of times.
Also, both my hubby and I LOVED My Side of the Mountain as kids. We were just talking about it again the other day, how that story enthralled us both! Nice to find another fan of it… but I never knew about the falcon toy. It probably wasn’t available in Canada!
Oh what a fun gift! Hours of entertainment!
What wonderful memories! I can just imagine you as a little girl dragging that doll around everywhere! And the autographs and recipe booklet proves what a truly thoughtful gift giver you are!
I remember that kitten! I think I asked for one myself!
Glad you love your tablet! It’s so fun to explore all the things you can do with it! Absolutely it’s so much better to focus on “the” best Christmas gift!
The Borrowers was a huge favorite of mine too!! And it doesn’t surprise me in the least that such a talented and prolific writer treasured her book gifts the very most!
My favorite present as a child probably an American girl doll and now my younger sisters play with it I don’t rember what year I got it.My favorite gift I gave or it’s actually for this Christmas is an photo book of collage.com of my niece from birth to now she is about 1 1/2 so her parents are probably going to love it cause I know I love looking at photo books.
I got a tetherball set one year and we had so much fun with it, our mom and everyone played tetherball with us. When my mom was very young they weren’t very well off and she never got a doll for Christmas, so when she told me this , as I was much older and with a little family of my own, I got her a doll and from then on , I made sure I would get her a doll for Christmas or her bday, she loved them. My mom passed away 2 and a half years ago and I have one of her dolls a Cabbage Patch doll that I have passed down to our only granddaughter that we have, we have 2 other grandchildren and they are boys. May you have a very Happy and Blessed Christmas.
I’m sure I had a favorite gift every year but the one I remember the most was the year Daddy made both my sister & I a beautiful desk. It’s over 6 foot tall with a couple of big shelves on the bottom, the middle is an enclosed space with a wooden fold up desk piece, and 3 shelves above that. I had my horse figurine collection in the middle so I could see them when I put the hinged piece down to write. Having that part fold up when not in use helped conserve space. Daddy is an electrician so doing those desks had to be a huge challenge yet, as he always has, he worked diligently for his family! I still have that desk today and never forget the awe I felt the fist time I got up and saw them sitting in the living room! I don’t remember but it must have been a challenge getting them each up the stairs to our bedrooms too. Thank you for stirring such a sweet memory!
My favorite present when I was a child was my chatter phone, and then when I was 18 I got my own set of keys to my parents car! I was the only one of the four of us girls that ever had their own set of keys to their car. One of the favorite gifts I’ve ever given was Mom’s medic alert bracelet I had made for her. It was 14k gold, looked more like a regular bracelet so she’d wear it, as she didn’t like the “real” medic alerts ones. She wore it for many years, too.
My niece was an American Doll fanatic! Her mom would take her to the store for birthday parties!
What an awesome idea to design your own collage book for your niece. That will be very meaningful!
Oh what a beautiful story and a perfect legacy for your mom. You’re an awesome daughter.
Wow, that desk sounds magnificent and the fact that it was hand crafted and still in use today makes it even more special. I had a horse collection too, shelf after shelf of them. They were very treasured possessions!
What wonderful memories of your favorite gifts And your gift to your mom was an illustration of your love and care for her.
My favorite gift as a child was a baby doll. She went with me everywhere. I loved her so much that she lost all her hair. My grandmother would crochet hats for her, but I would take them off. When I went to the hospital for my eye surgeries, she would go with me. She even went to the operating room. When I woke up, she would have a patch on her eye, just like me. As an adult, I would have to say that the best gift I gave was saying yes to my husband when he asked me to marry him on December 12. We have been married for 33 years. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you. Merry Christmas.
My Grandpa had a horse collection too. Every year he would give me one of his as a very special gift from his heart to mine. Very treasured possession for sure! My desk from Daddy holding the horses from his Daddy…..special in so many ways! I also have the stand Grandpa kept his collection in. The oldest things in my home are the best for my heart.
I love the story of your precious doll accompanying you on life’s important events! How sweet of the medical staff to put an eyepatch on her!
Happy anniversary!
I think one of my favorite Christmas gifts as a kid was when I was about 12yrs old and all I really wanted was a Mickey Mouse wind-up watch. And that’s exactly what I got! It lived up to my expectations and I had it for years afterwards :-)
One of my favorite gifts I gave to someone else was a pocket watch for my husband one year. His had broken or stopped working…I can’t remember now…but I saw a really nice one at the store so decided to replace it. I also had it engraved on the inside with a special quote that meant something to him. I loved seeing the look on his face when he opened it :-) I knew then that I had made the right decision!
I’m trying to remember…probably a dog :)
Thanks for the novella! My favorite gifts when I was young were always American Girl dolls.