Thank you Maui Jim for sponsoring this post and generous giveaway.
Alright it’s officially December. Merry up. Practice your holiday herkies.
After the kids endured a little 24-hour bug on Friday, we were happy to get out this weekend for some sunshine. And with all these other cyber deals going on right now, the sun delivered as well. Buy one sunny afternoon, get a rainbow FREE!
Our air conditioning has been turned off for several days now, and we’re enjoying open doors and windows and Florida’s best showing off months. As much as I love huddling in for December and comfy nights indoors, you can’t help but want to stretch out and explore this time of year too. The weather promises to make explorations all the more pleasant. So we have a few local adventures on our December list sandwiched in between those movie nights.
My dad and Gary watched the kids for a little bit this weekend while Brett and I snuck out for a walk on the beach and a bite to eat. It’s easy to fall out of the habit of dates with just the two of us, but it was good to be reminded how nice that feels. No crayons at our table or asking the waitress for another pack of oyster crackers. Just us, kicking our feet at the bar, talking about favorite memories and future plans.
We finished our weekend with the first strand of outdoor lights. Brett has yet to go full Clark Griswold on us yet, but there’s a giant stack of light boxes in the garage that says it’s coming.
And some December cheer for you…
Maui Jim is giving one of our readers a free pair of sunnies this holiday. Their #ShareTheWow campaign highlights Maui Jim sunglasses as the perfect “Wow” gift, highlighting their mission not just to create sunglasses but to create the “Wow”–a brighter, beautiful, more vibrant experience. Every detail of their sunglasses is inspired by the desire to see more, and their patented lens technology brings out the world’s true colors (blue skies!) while combating intense glare (great for water sports and skiing) and harmful UV rays.
(my sunglass style: Matte Tortoise Kalohe–love them!)
For more info on the gift of Maui Jim, check out their Share the Wow campaign.
One reader will receive one pair of Maui Jim sunglasses, any style…
Just share one of the best holiday gifts you’ve ever received (or given) in the comments. Comment section will be closed at 9 p.m. EST, Tuesday December 3, and winner will be announced in Wednesday’s post.
Thank you to Maui Jim for offering this giveaway, and thank you readers for supporting the sponsors that support this blog and our family.
My husband gave me my DSLR camera a few years ago for my Birthday. I still love it and thank him for it! It was just what I wanted and through photos, the camera has given our family so many gifts, of lasting memories!
What a cool campaign! The best gifts are always the ones that people have thought out and are unique to me! Last year, my best friend had stalked my Pinterest board and sent a box of some of my favorite things! She rocks!
Canon 7D! Best Christmas gift I ever got because it’s captured all my kids memories! <3
I’ll never forget the year my grandpa bou!ght us grandchildren a pony. Best grandpa ever
The best gift I have ever been given was tickets to a soccer game!
The best gift I have ever been given was tickets to a soccer game!
A dollhouse made by my grandfather, who has since passed away. It came complete with tiny furniture and took many hours to complete! What a gift of love and time!
Best gift ever – was when I was nine and got a Cabbage Patch doll-it was like a Christmas Miracle!
The greatest gift I have ever received for Christmas is my son! He was due on Christmas Day 2009 but I ended up having him a week early on the 18th.
My daughter.. She was born 2 days before Christmas, being in the hospital on Christmas with our first born healthy baby girl was one of the most magical days of my life. “room service”aka Nurses, Christmas cookies, The Christmas store movie and a healthy baby. Best gift ever!!
We didn’t have much when I was growing up. One year we helped a friend campaign for some state office position with the promise of each being paid $50. We decided we all wanted to buy new bikes with the money. Turns out, he paid us $50 TOTAL for like 20 of us that went out and did it! So, that Christmas, we were surprised with a treasure hunt to find bikes at a neighbor’s house from “Santa!” I don’t have TOO many happy childhood memories, but that was one of them! I had that bike through my second year of college when it was so rusty it ended in the dumpster before I returned home for the summer.
Best gift was last year from my husband…a spa day at the Red Door Salon. Can’t remember the last time I had a message. It was amazing!
My favorite Christmas gift last year was the shirt that said “I like doing hoodrat stuff with my friends”
My husband found westie bookends that I wanted so badly and were sold out by the time I went to buy them. He found them on ebay and hid them from me for six months.
My Christmas baby was actually the best present I ever got on Christmas. Definitely doesn’t get better than that
Best gift ever – Christmas engagement ring!
My favorite gift I have ever received on Christmas was a Barbie Dream House. It was 1987 and life was simple. 🙂
My mom gave me a crazy quilt one year for Christmas and I still love wrapping up in it on these cold winter days
Best gift ever was my Easy Bake oven when I was 9! Loved it!
My favorite childhood Christmas gift was a pogo stick! I loved it!
Best gift received? my son. Best gift given? my son to my husband. We are both so grateful!
This year my parents gave me airline tickets to Denver to visit friends! I will also get the opportunity to ski Vail 🙂 The gift of travel comes with the MANY gifts of the memories that I will surely make along the way!
Roller skates, 1993!
How cute cute cute- from one SWFL gal to another, Kelle!
A teddy bear I gave my sister 35 yrs ago and she still has it in her bedroom
Hmmm…as a kid the best gift I received was my own phone line. (no cells back then. :D).
As an adult, the best gift I have ever gotten was my camera bag which doubles as a purse and my iPad. i use that EVERYDAY.
A special necklace from my hubby!
The best gift I ever received was at Christmas 2005. My boyfriend (now husband of 7+ years) was in the Peace Corps for the 14 months preceding it. He had been talking about terminating his service early for a few months, but was unsure. The 2 weeks before Christmas, I was on a training trip in Australia and we weren’t able to connect at all. When the team arrived back at Newark airport, I looked up the baggage carousel to see a hand drawn sign that said “Merry Christmas, Kim” and his smiling face under a homemade cotton ball beard and straggly Santa hat. Unbeknownst to me, he arranged his departure from the Central Pacific and worked with my parents to get to the airport to greet me. He still jokes that he’ll never be able to top that one!
Last year, we gave photo mugs to everyone in our family, with a picture of the recipient holding our son. To this day, we still get compliments on it!
My sister game me a calendar made up of pictures of my dog that I had text her throughout the year! I was so surprised and obviously loved it!
One year I got a car for Christmas! Not a BMW with a big ribbon on it, but a nice Saturn.
My digital camera and my silver Mom necklace.
I will never forget in third grade my grandmother gave me a shower caddy for Christmas. I was more thrilled then all of my friends who were getting electronic toys like game boys and see through phones for their rooms! I had so much fun organizing the shower that afternoon. And while I have gotten many other nicer and more expensive gifts, that one stands out as the most fun and memorable.
Best gift ever was a cookbook my of family recipes my mom put together. My grandma did a watercolor painting for the cover, my brothers each sketched a picture, mom collected recipes and my dad put them on the computer. My sister and I each got one and I plan on making one for my kids and niece and nephews!
We got our son a bunny last year even though we knew we would end up taking care of it 😉 but the excitement he experienced when he saw that bunny was worth it!
Best gift I’ve ever recieved… a donation gifted to ASPCA in my name. Animals are my passion and it really meant so much to me because it showed how well this person knew me and it helped animals in need as well!
My sister gave me a king-sized afghan that she made. It meant so much because I knew how much work went into it. She is not good at finishing things so it must have been so hard to work on it for weeks.
A few years ago, my husband and I volunteered to cook meals for the residents of safe house for homeless youth in my neighbourhood a few times a month. One memorable meal we made was during the time period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We made burritos, tostadas, and brought them along with chips and salsa, salad and all of the fixings, cupcakes, milk and juice. The staff and kids who were there when we dropped the meal off cheered because the kids were so tired of eating Thanksgiving dinner (and leftovers) over and over again every single day. When I reheat Thanksgiving leftovers 5 days after this year’s holiday, and I’m starting to get tired of them, I remember how the meal made those kids happy. It helps me remember that when you are giving a gift, thinking of what a kid would really want (even if it is just a meal) can really make them feel cared about.
The best gift that I ever got was a pink beach cruiser from my parents when I was about 15. I thought I was so cool.
Last year we gave our girls camera’s for christmas. I love to see them grab the camera’s and give their spin on life.
There have been so many over the years I don’t even know where to start, but probably this awesome bike when I was about 7 or the year my brother and I first got a nintendo. It’s what inspired my competitiveness!!
When I was little, my parents divorced. My mom struggled to provide because my dad was not a very good co-parent. Christmas was big for her, the time she wanted to give us what she couldn’t throughout the year I know how much it must have hurt her that that year was going to be hard for her to make magical. Then, a knock on the door proved otherwise; someone had been looking out for her (and my sister and I). An abundance of gifts labeled, “girl, 6” and “girl, 9” and a box of food with a turkey came from generous helping hands within our community. I will never forget it. So for me, the best gift is a gift from a generous stranger and so I make sure to ALWAYS give the same way every year that I am able. 🙂
Each Christmas, my mom would buy my brothers and I each a special ornament. Mom passed away in May, and decorating the tree this year was extra meaningful as I hung each of the ornaments she picked out for me, and remembered her as I did so.
I remember getting a red Jeep power wheel, when I was 5. Best Christmas ever! lol
I love trying to find unexpected gifts… like the year I got my mom a license plate from the state and year she was born. She had been looking for one for years and I was able to find it online.
Best gift received was a co pilot course that taught me all the basics so that when I fly with my hunny I can help out. So awesome! Funny thing is we are going to Maui in February (first time!) and I need a new pair of sunnies so bad! I am holding out for Christmas but this giveaway would be so awesome. Wish me luck!
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Best gift I’ve ever been given. My first (and only) positive pregnancy test and the most precious child ever. I’m pretty blessed!
To celebrate our last Christmas as a family of three (and while my son gets in for free…) my husband and I are treating our son to Disney World this upcoming weekend. It will be our last hoo-rah for a while. Plus it will be the perfect Florida weather!
I gave my boyfriend tickets to a Zelda Symphony concert. We were able to get out of Naples and enjoy a quiet weekend in West Palm Beach. His face was priceless when he found out!
Best gift was a photo collage to my dad of pictures of our family. He’s not overly sentimental, but was blown away by it (of course, this was back in the stone ages before digital pictures, etc…). I remember feeling so happy when he hung it on the wall!
My best Christmas gift was the Christmas I gave birth to my daughter. She was and will always be my favorite gift.
So, maybe not my favorite but def the most memorable. It was a Houston Oiler outfit! White skirt and jacket with their logo on both!!!
The best Holiday gift I have ever given was a few days ago. I found out I was expecting so I gave my husband the soccer video game he wanted for Christmas with a card that said, “Sorry in advance for the hormonal mood swings and late night ice cream runs you are going to deal with these next nine month. I appreciate everything you have done and will do. Love, your wife. PS If you didn’t get that…I’M PREGNANT!” I video taped the gift opening and card reading and we hugged and cried happy happy tears. He was happy to get an early Christmas gift!
best gift i received: barbie dream house, as a child. i could not believe i actually got it!! best i am giving: not the priciest, but my 5 year old is dying for roller skates. she is getting some, as is her 2.5 year old brother, and mommy – for some instant family fun! 🙂
Best gifts came early this year! Both our daughters. One we brought home from Ukraine and the other born just 3 weeks ago. Both miracles and the gifts I’m super thankful for this year!
The best Christmas gift I ever received was from my husband. He gave me a locket that had a picture of my sweet father inside. At the time my dad was dying of brain cancer. He passed about a month after.
The best Christmas gift I got l was a little after Christmas on December27, 2006…. My first born was born after a very difficult pregnancy and labor that ended up with an emergency c-section cause he surprised the doctors by being breach. He’s my best friend to this day
a large flat screen tv that i gave my grandma, who has trouble seeing small screens.
Such lovely photographs and moments captured, which reminds me of my best Christmas gift received. The first was a camera at age 11 and the next was my first DSLR seven years ago. Nothing like the gifts that keep giving!
I lived in Uganda for several years and had spent every Christmas there. The best gift I got one Christmas was being able to come home and spend Christmas with my family. We all spent a week at the beach together just as a family and I have such wonderful memories!!!
One of my best friends is battling leukemia for the second time, and she needs to get a home marrow transplant which requires being in or near the hospital for 100 days post transplant. To help keep her motivation and spirits up, I helped make a countdown chain that has inspirational messages or jokes or stories about her on each chain. We got over 140 messages to put in the chain! Lots from people she knew but also lots from some she didn’t. It shows how much support she has behind her and how much love. Definitely one of the best gifts I’ve ever given.
When I was about 8, my aunt gave me a Christmas book that was customized with my name an those of my friends and family! So cool at that age to read a ‘traditional’ Christmas story with your name inserted!
When I was about 8, my aunt gave me a Christmas book that was customized with my name an those of my friends and family! So cool at that age to read a ‘traditional’ Christmas story with your name inserted!
My best gift was the one I got when I was 15 (47 years ago!). My parents told me that we were going to have a baby in May. I still have a special place in my heart for my 47 year old baby brother. Best gift ever!
Since our first year as a married couple, my grandmother gave us a Hummel light-up Christmas house. They’re beautiful but we moved a lot into small spaces and then small kids were thrown into the mix so the littles house never made it out for the last 10 years…until now! She passed away a few years ago but I know she’s smiling. I think of her every time I look at our little village 🙂
I know it sounds cheesy, but my best Christmas present was simply spending it with my (then) brand new husband. Our courtship was long and difficult, and often I couldn’t imagine we’d ever work things out. We finally got married and it’s all been better than I dreamed. Our first Christmas as newlyweds was so sweet and magical, knowing we were finally family.
My husband home from deployment just in time for the holiday!
Our first Christmas together my husband and I got really excited to buy for each other… Until we realized we didn’t have the money to pay for it all. We wrapped it all up anyway and opened our presents on Christmas morning before taking it all back! It’s one of my favorite Christmas memories- It’s really is the thought that counts 🙂
My favorite gift was cooking lessons. A great excuse for my husband and I to have a date night (sans toddler).
My Grandpa made me a doll house modeled after our home. It was such a magical Christmas morning!
The best Christmas gift I’ve ever received was an engagement ring – two years ago!! 🙂
A trip away with my husband. Best present ever. Love those glasses!
^^^That comment about being newlyweds at Christmas didn’t post my name for some reason, although I’m signed in to Google. Please don’t think I’m spam! My name is Jen. =)
I have a bunch of favorite Christmas gifts, and they all came from my Dad. He was not a shopper, but for this he thought and bought what I would like just from him. I have those memories now, which are more special since he is gone. Gifts include a denim jacket and a Swatch, white!
My favorite gift was a cabbage patch doll when I was in the first grade! I knew how hard my mom worked to get one of the elusive dolls!
I loved Christmas morning age 10. My younger sister (8) and I woke up to the most gorgeous dollhouse. A really big one from Santa, painted to look exactly like our real home. My parents still have it for when we have kids and I hope someday for someone to enjoy it as much as we did!
This is some serious WOW! I would have to say the best gift I have ever given was the short book/poem ‘B’ by Sarah Kay. it is amazing, beautiful, and brought my Mom (my ‘B’) to tears. As it says in the description: “B is a thank you note, a love letter, a wish, a promise, a confession, and a secret.” As a mama, you must read it!!!
Best gift I’ve ever given: last summer, my siblings (and all of our families) got together and had pictures taken to give to my parents for Christmas. We are all either grown and on our own with our own familes, etc. or in college, so it was one of the few times we had everyone together and everything. It was the best thing ever. We could hardly keep our lips sealed for the few months waiting to give it to them! They couldn’t believe it. I still get choked up thinking about it! Love.
Concert tickets to my favorite artist!
My parents surprised me with a puppy, Jesse {to go along with my other dog Sally} when I was thirteen years old. Santa Claus gave me dog food which was quite perplexing, and then my Daddy went full-on Lady & the Tramp and dropped a fluffy ball of fur in my lap. Best. Christmas. Ever.
I never got my Raphael though…
In October 2008, my brother got married and gave me a sister, my best friend. One month and a few days later, only one day after Thanksgiving, her only brother died in a car accident. It was a hard year. The years are still hard, but I decided that the best gift I could give her were memories of him, so before digital scrapbooking became the it thing, I made her a book of her brother and many of her favorite memories and lyrics of songs he loved. I love keepsakes like this. They are my favorite.
My Nana gave me the first diamond my Papa gave to her. I’m a sap for family history!
A glitzy gaudy three sizes too big “wedding” ring from my 3 year old that he picked out himself at Kohl’s.
My favorite gift I’ve ever gotten was probably my Kindle because I love to read. Now when I go on vacation I don’t need to carry a bunch of books along!
one of the best gifts ive been given was when i was a little girl… my grandfather, who has since passed, hand made me a cedar chest. as a kid i thought it was a cool toy box, but now i treasure it and the amazing scent it still has almost 20 years later. now it is full of life’s treasures. i can’t wait to one day pass it on to my children. what a great post and giveaway! new shades would be fabulous!
The best gift I’ve ever received was a trip to Disney when I was seven! It was magical! I cannot wait to do the same for my boys!
The best gift I ever received- I never ACTUALLY received. When I was little we didn’t have much money but I really wanted a silver bracelet with my name on it. Well, my mom was able to buy it for me but we were robbed the week before Christmas. I never got to wear it, but just knowing she had bought it for me was good enough for me.
Best gift Ive received is linen from my dad- we like nice linen 🙂
Like many others on here… I would have to say my Canon T3i! I use it EVERY SINGLE DAY. I am so thankful to my mother-in-law for putting down the big bucks to surprise me with it for Christmas a few years ago!
My son was my best Christmas gift, ever! He was then, and always will be everything a mother could ask for in her child. Thanks for asking!
the year of the cabbage patch doll craze i knew there was no way my mom would get us one…but instead my dear sweet grandma made my cousins and I all a doll of or very own…cabbage patch style. I wouldn’t trade that doll for the world.
Every year that I put the tree up I am amazed at all the ornaments I’ve received as gifts over the years. It’s quite a collection and it always reminds me of good memories with good people in my life. Something I will be passing on to my kids : )
Best presents:
1. Given – map-themed presents for my MIL and SIL showing places they lived, have traveled, etc.
2. Given – giving this year, really – a kit to make purses from recycled magazine pages for my niece. eeek!
3. Received – charm bracelet from my husband.
when I was 12 by baby sister arrived 4 days before christmas. it was the best christmas ever.
Best gift I’ve given was a photo book to my dad, filled with long forgotten memories from his childhood. He was so happy!
I got engaged on our Anniversary, so, I was gifted a second family. Doesn’t get any better than that!
My favorite gift was my kindle. I love to read and find it hard to keep a page in a book with the kiddos.
My best holiday gift ever was when my husband proposed and gave me the gift of our future together.
For my 10th Christmas, although we didn’t have much at all, my mom knew a family with two older girls who wouldn’t get anything. My sister & I packed two caboodles full of nail polish, makeup, & more. Even at that age, I knew my mom loved people & it made my Christmas to help her do that.
My favorite gift was my kindle. I love to read and find it hard to keep a page in a book with the kiddos.
Love date-nights! We need one soon. These shades are Wow as well!
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The best present I’ve ever given is one I’m actually giving this Christmas to one of my best friends. It’s a canvas that I’m decorating to say “You’ve Got to Love…” and then all around that, things she loves! I’ve been compiling a list since earlier this year and have over 100 things to put on the canvas. I know she’ll love it!
Hmm…best gift would have to be a family vacation to NYC on Christmas Day. Lots of great memories from that Christmas!
The best gift I have ever recieved was a blue sapphire necklace from my husband. It is our daughter’s birthstone. I wear it everyday.
Best gift I was ever given, though didn’t appreciate it when I was a child, was the donation my parents made to the Starving Children of Biafra Foundation in lieu of buying us gifts. My sister, brother and I were 6, 10 and 14 at the time and felt we were cheated out of our Christmas gifts as all their Christmas money went to the donation to teach us that the spirit of Christmas was to give rather than receive. It was only many years later that we understood the valuable lesson our parents were teaching us.
Best gift would have to be the American girl dolls my parents bought for me and my sisters. Endless laughs and memories with those. Or maybe it would be a card that one of my kids at work (daycare) made for me a few years back. She printed out a picture of the two of us, glued it on, and had written (with help): you are my favorite and I’ll love you always. This has been my best christmas because I get to be in your class. Melted me. Have a Merry Christmas, Kelle, and those glasses totally rock. I dig ’em.
Best gift: funny family traditions that have just popped up over time. My dad always grows parsnips for Christmas dinner and half the time they’re frozen into the ground. The latest “thing” is the Scott family pick-axe parsnip harvest!
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This year my husband will be arriving home from his year long deployment just in time for Christmas–I already know having him home will be the best gift yet, and I can’t wait to give him his gift either. 😉
An Amazon Kindle!!
“Our air conditioning has been turned off for several days now” – WOW. I am really jealous, considering I’m stuck in Jersey with 40 degrees or below nights as of late (and daytime isn’t so great either)! It’s really why I hate winter; I wish I could afford to live someplace else. But I am happy that you and yours can enjoy such things. I love your photos, they make me so happy! Thank you for sharing with us! <3 <3
Coupons from my kids for an hour of peace and quiet, “go to bed without a fight” and a week of making their own school lunches!Best present ever!
The best Christmas gift I have ever received was from my husband. For years I had been talking about wanting something to honor our marriage and our four beautiful children. He surprised me three years ago with a beautiful ring that featured all of our kids birthstones and diamonds to symbolize our marriage. It fits perfectly against my wedding ring and the best part about it is that he listened and came up with it on his own. LOVE!
Last year, we sent my mother-in-law to visit her sister in Ecuador. It was special since her sister has lived there over 30 years, and she had never visited!
My best gift was a little handmade nightie and matching robe trimmed with lace and ribbons that Mama sewed for me the Christmas I turned ten.
Best Christmas present ever was my red ten speed bike when I was 10. It had the curved handle bars and I thought it was the coolest bike ever.
Def my little puppy!!! She was only 7 weeks old and she was the cutest little golden you’ve ever seen!!
Jealous that you are all in short sleeves still! Freezing cold up north!
…a few years ago I took photos I had taken and put them inside a special Starbucks mug….everyone in the family had different photos and everyone loved them so much!
….I think the most surprised I’ve been was the year my mum surprised me and bought all the girls digital cameras and my brothers video cameras! It was fabulous…and so exciting to be able to get a digital camera! That was 9 years ago….just around the craze of getting digital cameras started!
Love Maui Jims! Best sunglass lenses ever. Favorite present? My engagement ring 4 years ago this Christmastime.
The best gift I received was a sweet, wet nosed little puppy in a box and tied with a red bow! I was probably 8 and I just melted. 🙂
The best gifts I’ve given I think have always been the hand-made and include sentimental family photos.
I met the man that would become my husband in December of 2004. We have been married almost 6 years and have 2 beautiful boys. In retrospect the Christmas of 2004 was pretty life changing.
I was 14 and got the huge Barbie Dream house. Yes, at age 14. Kids today are dating at 14. I passed it on to a friend’s daughter but darned, I wish I’d saved it for my own girls.
The gift I was most excited to receive was my American Girl doll, Samantha. She had the best outfits!
One of the best gifts I’m about to give is a pair of Baby Beach sunglasses to my daughter for Chrristmas !!! I just got them in the mail last week and I am so jealous that I don’t have some too !!!!
The most beautiful pair of candlesticks that I had wanted for a couple of years but were very expensive. I finally bought them for myself and signed a card To Me From Me.. and I enjoy them each week when I light the candles.
The best gift I ever received was a gift certificate for a dozen canvases so I could print out the gorgeous pictures my photographer sister takes of my kids. I redeemed them all in a week!
We moved to Florida last week and sunglasses would be the perfect accessory for me in my new minivan, living the Florida life…
A gift certificate to the spa!
The best gift I have ever received thus far has been the gift of being able to have my very own baby to rock to sleep on Christmas. This year I’ll have a toddler running around to make christmas even more fun!
The best holiday gift I’ve ever received was when I was six years old. My dad shut me out of the backyard for a month and said there was some kind of “wild animal” back there. On Christmas morning, I went to the backyard to find a playhouse that my dad built by hand to look like our house. It was so beautiful, and he worked so hard on it.
Our son, a gift through the wonder of adoption!
My most memorable gift was when my parents took my brother and I to Florida instead of gifts under the tree. We live in Canada so this was a dream come true to spend Christmas in the sun and on the beach. I’ll never forget that Christmas, I plan to do the same thing next year with my children 🙂
When I was a little girl, my sister and I wanted the Precious Place doll house that you used magnetic keys to move under the floor to move things around and there were even lights that worked in the house. It was so fun and my parents still have it for our kids to play with now 🙂
The best gift I have ever given was when I gave my husband a “date” book last year. It was a scrapbook, with a page for each month of the year. Each month, he got to open the envelope on the day of our date and off we went to my pre-planned destination. Some were simple, some more elaborate. We missed a couple (maybe more than a couple?!?) but we tried! I’m looking forward to this months date…grab a cup of coffee and drive around to look at Christmas lights for awhile! I plan to do it again this year, in hopes of not missing quite as many!
I was sick the past 2 years. If I am well this year, it will be great!
Best gift I was ever given was back in 2008, just past Christmas as a late gift…..a little healthy baby girl.
The one that sticks out the most is the year I got a kitten. I had been begging for one for months, and I was so happy!
Well, this year my husband purchased a print I found at an antique store. He does so well with gifts when I point at them and say, “Perhaps THAT would be a good gift for me.” 🙂
My best gift every was my great aunt’s antique china. She passed it on to me before she died and I have loved using it for special events or just because.
Last year, my mom found some additional serving pieces at my great aunt’s house and wrapped them up for me for a Christmas surprise!
The beautiful duponi silk ring sling my husband loving picked out for me and our first baby! He figured out how to use Etsy even. 🙂 It was so thoughtful!
My best Christmas gift was an early gift of my first born son in 2010. Although he was born 9 weeks too soon, he has brought much joy to our lives.
A few Christmases ago my mom requested that each of her daughters write what we mean to her as her Christmas present. She said there was nothing she needed that year and we all had new babies of our own and should be spending our money on our children, but she would love for us to write what she, our mom, meant to each of us. There are three of us, and individually, we are quite different, but yet when we are together, we are so the same. I wrote my letter to my mom and spent most of the time weeping as I wrote. I had never expressed everything I admired about her. This was the vehicle I needed to understand all that my mom had given me: her patience, her warmth, and even her looks. She said she reads these often and laughs and cries, but most of all is proud of the daughters she raised. Hands down, the best present I have given, or perhaps received??
Best gift I’ve received is celebrating the holiday season with my family, including my Dad who was diagnosed with cancer.
My husband bought me a MOM open heart necklace last year for Christmas and I wear it almost every day. It is my most prized possession.
My husband bought me a MOM open heart necklace last year for Christmas and I wear it almost every day. It is my most prized possession.
The best gift that I can think of was a mug I had painted by a local Colorado artist. She painted what looked like my mother and I and wrote “through thick & through thin.” I was in high school so it was a big moment for me to buy something so fancy and meaningful.
I would love those glasses! I am one of those people who can’t step outside without sunnies. 🙂
My mother in law is gifting all if us (15 people) the gift of a vacation this year. I am so excited. Our last vacation was 7 years ago. We now have 3 littles (4, 2 and 5 months) so we are looking forward to time away with family.
Last Christmas I received the absolute best gift- my daughter! She was born on December 11th and her sweet snuggles on Christmas morning were the best gift I’ve ever received!
Last year my husband and I gave a picture of our first ultrasound to family members as a gift and to announce our first pregnancy!
Probably my baby doll triplets when I was about 8! Loved them!!!
I can’t choose a gift I’ve received (or it would take too much thought) but the best gift I’ve ever given was surprising my parents with a trip to Walt Disney World after a horrible year. I stupidly didn’t film their reaction and a couple of years later was when Disney started highlighting all the home movies of parents surprising their kids, ha. I wish I had video footage of the reverse, but I didn’t think at the time. Oh well.
I also was going to comment anyway just to mention that these pictures stood out to me in a way that (while all of them are lovely) they don’t always. I can practically FEEL your weather here (and I’m freezing in Ohio, so I am drinking these in). They are beautiful.
My husband surprised me with a DSLR camera a few years ago… he had saved up his gas reimbursement money from the research he does at school and did a few other odd jobs so that he could afford it without breaking the bank or letting me know! 🙂
the best gift i received was a bag full of chocolates! My mom knows I love chocolate so she went out and bought a ton of different types and I was all smiles.
This year we had our first baby, best gift ever!
My most favorite Christmas gift is a pair of way too big mittens my boyfriend (now husband of 8.5 years!) gave me 🙂 It was the first gift he had ever given me and it was super sweet.
When I was young I was constantly campaigning for a dog, almost every other Sunday I’d do a ‘presentation’ to my parents about it, every year, without fail, dog was on my Christmas list.
Got up Christmas morning aged 10, and there it was, siting in the back yard, a dog! That….. Didn’t move. My mother got me a life sized dog TOY. Didn’t feel like the best gift at the time, but now I just die laughing thinking of it, they got me good!
http://Www.mindfulgrateful.blogspot.com
My best Christmas present was from my parents (who were notorious for saying no to pets)… a pair of real live bunnies for my brother and me: Argyle and Stormy.
My in-laws got me my first big girl camera a couple years back and I cried like a baby.. I was SO excited to start capturing beautiful shots of our kids…!
I’ve never been more excited to give a gift than when I created a photo book for my parents and sister shortly after my parents sold my childhood home. I took photos of every detail, every mark we’d made, and I interspersed old photos of us in those sacred spaces. Now we each have a copy and we can “visit” those rooms whenever we want.
The best gift I ever received was a necklace with a tiny diamond. My husband gave it to me while I was pregnant with our son. I always wear it and think of how much I loved him even before he was born.
As I was going through college to be a teacher, each year for Christmas my mom would fill a box full of children’s books. Those books now fill my classroom shelves and both my boys’ shelves in their bedrooms.
My best gift was a handwritten letter from my mother a couple of years ago where she actually told me she loved me. That is something I’m not sure I ever heard from her.
A set of the sweetest, teeny-tiniest clothes from my husband to me for our first baby girl 🙂
My engagement ring…still the best after 30 years!
My favorite gift is the lovely wool sweater my mom knitted for me a couple years ago that somehow fit just perfectly without her even measuring me. She is so talented and I think of her each time I wear it.
I think the best gift given at Christmas time is any gift to our children. The way they light up….the love of Christmas!
My sewing machine!
The best gift I’ve received is an iPad. How did we function without those babies??
When my mom was a little girl, she had a Chester Chimp stuffed animal. When she and her family moved from NY to FL, Chester was packed in the wrong box and was given away (much to my mom’s heartbreak). For Christmas a couple of years ago, I tracked down a woman that restores vintage dolls/animals (Chester had a music/voice box) and bought my mom a vintage Chester Chimp. She was so excited to see such an old memory!
-Elayne
The best gift I’ve ever given was a family photography session to my mother in law. She hadn’t had pictures of her entire family in the last 10 years!
The best gift I’ve ever given was a family photography session to my mother in law. She hadn’t had pictures of her entire family in the last 10 years!
my sweet sweet puppy, adopted two Christmases ago 🙂
I LOVE to find THE perfect gift. My favorite gift to give has been my husband’s chainsaw. Still, several years later, he tells me how much of a surprise it was and how much he liked it.
My soon-to-be HUSBAND is the best gift I’ve ever received. We are getting married in two short weeks (Dec. 16th) and I have been blessed enough to have my parents help us with the wedding in Cabo San Lucas! Christmas is coming early for us 🙂
PS love love love the pictures with your red hat! looks fabulous on you!
My 9 children!
I know it sounds silly, but the best present I ever got with my husband gave me a beautiful cast iron skillet our first Christmas. It wasn’t much, but we were so poor and he was in school, and I use it almost every night of the week now 10 years later. It has a seasoning of our lives and I love it every day!
Best present was the year the tiny diamond fell out of my engagement ring and my husband replaced it with a new ring. Totally out of character for him and very unexpected. Not sure how he got the surprise over me but we have been married 30 years and the “new” ring is perfect.
One of the best gifts received – a rocking bed received last year for as yet unborn baby #3 from my parents. I loved that they thought of baby #3 (lol, even though he was a boy).
My favorite gifts to give or receive are photo gifts. Every year I give my parents and my huaband’s parents a calendar with pictures of my boys. I love reminiscing while I make it, and they love the photos. Win-win!
My Aunt one year gave us a trip Hawaii which was awesome!
When I was six, I wanted nothing more than a Beach Barbie Hot Dog Stand play set. There’s a picture of me opening it on Christmas morning (thanks to Santa, of course!) and the look of shock and delight on my face is absolutely priceless. I think I played with it until I went to college! 😉
10 speed bike, age 9
I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but my dad made me a jewelry box when I was about 5 or 6. My mom cut up one of her velvet dresses to line the inside.
The best gift I received was a tablet — it’s perfect for school and work!
A Christmas BFP, of course! Well, that and a NKOTB puzzle that I turned into a wall hanging when I was probably 8.
Our friends bought a new air mattress so we wouldn’t be sleeping on the ground in the middle of the night when we were visiting this Hanukkah. Best gift of the season!
it was our first Christmas. we didn’t have two nickles to rub together, but my honey opened a charge account at Zales and bought me a diamond and gold XoXo tennis bracelet. i immediately made him return it…trust me it was the thought that counted! but it’s the one gift i’ll never forget. he wanted it to be sooo special;)
I attended Texas A&M University and the Christmas of my senior year, my husband got his mom and sister to go in on buying my class “aggie” ring. It is a huge tradition at our school, but the rings are expensive and I didn’t think I was going to get one, because I couldn’t afford it. Needless to say, I was very surprised and brought to tears by their gift.
I love giving my children gifts. Love to see their excitement and the joy on their faces.
One of my favorite gifts as a child was the “Kid Sister” doll. I’m 35 and the doll is still at my parents’ home.
My favorite present was a hello kitty Pez dispenser. I loved it because my then 3-year-old daughter picked it out when her daddy took her Christmas shopping. The look on her face when I opened it, like “amazing, right?!” was my favorite part. I would still have it, except she promptly took over ownership of it and eventually lost it. :-/
My Maui Jims were a great birthday present a few years ago. They are worth the money, people!
The best Christmas gift each year is watching my kids open their presents and enjoy giving them to each other. Corny? Yes, but True.
I got a ukulele last year – so fun and so easy to learn!
My dad built me a barbie house when I was 8. He made all the furniture too. Amazing!
The best gift I’ve ever received was the gift of time. With two young ones and a third on the way time for my husband and I to connect comes far and few between. Last year my sister gave us one date night a month and a couple of those were over-nights. What a gift – to connect with my husband, and for her to have the time to connect with my children.
I gave a penny keychain– one with the year of the wedding anniversary and the birthday of each child to the mama I babysit for. I had the penny stamped with the lyrics to Crazy Love, their wedding song!
My kids put together a book of their favorite photos of me being their mom. I look at it all the time!
My best gift was a rope ring my then fiancé gave me. We’ve been married for 20 years and I’ve never taken it off.
Last year for Christmas my husband and I decided to give each other memories instead of tangible gifts. We picked three places/things that we had never done before, but always wanted to. We have now made it a tradition and it is my very favorite present of all time.
The first Christmas my husband and I were dating, while we were window shopping at the mall, I showed him the fabulous Pottery Barn reindeer plates I had wanted for years.
On Christmas Eve, he let me open one present early and it was placecard holders, not the plates. He said they’d run out of the plates. I tried to be happy with his thoughtfulness, but I was bummed.
The next morning, I opened two heavy square boxes … the plates! He was finally able to tell the story … He’d gotten pulled over by two cops on the highway trying to get to Pottery Barn in time to buy me the plates.
He got the placecard holders to throw me off.
It still makes me crazy happy to use those plates every Christmas.
When I was a “tween”, and too old for toys for Christmas, I began collecting Christmas ornaments. My dad had a heart attack one year, and ended up spending most of the holiday season in the hospital. Many of my gifts from my Mom that year were ornaments that we had looked at in the hospital gift shop. I am 50, so this was before cyber shopping. I treasured them, because I wasn’t sure if get anything that year. To this day, my ornament collection is my most treasured material possession. It is like a time capsule of our lives. My parents died when I was 22, but a piece of them both is with me at Christmas with those ornaments on our family tree.
My husband made this incredible 4 piece collage for my birthday the first year we dated. He used magazine scraps and pictures of us to write me a poem. If I hadn’t already been in love with him, that would have sealed it : )
The Christmas after I moved away from home into my own apartment, my parents gave me an Oster Kitchen Center. It mixed, diced, sliced, blended, and anything else I could think of. That ‘small’ appliance was a workhorse in my kitchen for the next 20 years until it finally blew the motor while blending margaritas (just to add insult to injury!). I sure wish Oster still made it because it was the best!
My boyfriend made me one of those melted crayon art things for Christmas 2012. Considering he’s not crafty at all, and came up with the idea completely on his own (after seeing it on Reddit), I was blown away. It is by far the most meaningful gift i’ve ever been given.
I made a custom cutting board for my uncle a few years ago to replace the “vintage” built-in one in his 100 year old home. He still raves about it. It was so fun to see his face when he opened it.
Two years ago my husband lost his dad in a terrible accident. Our son was just 7 months old and my husband was heartbroken that they wouldn’t get to know each other. That year I gave my husband a picture with three map coordinates and only the two of us know what they are: the birth places of his dad (Santiago City, Philippines), my husband (Baltimore, MD) and our son (Cumberland, MD). We believe in roots.
My favorite Christmas gift was a bracelet with all kinds of soccer charms on it. It was a gift from my 3 year old, purchased at a PTO fundraiser. I am a soccer Mom and love it!
I have the biggest longest thickest curly hair on the planet. I go through a bottle of product in a few days to try and control it. IN highschool My dad got me a years supply of hair mousse! It was the biggest box. So thoughtful. Just imagining him buying that many bottles of mousse at walmart makes me laugh so much.
I made a photo book of my sisters childhood since she’s in Chicago and gets homesick. I can’t wait until she opens it.
I found out I was expecting Christmas morning 2006. Best gift ever!
the best gifts (given or received) to me have always been experiences. coupons for dinner together make my heart skip a beat. =)
The first gift that came to mind was when my parents gave me a bunny when I was 7 years old. I was so excited!
My favorite gift received was the pair of old school Adidas sandals my husband bought and gave me to early when I was 9 months pregnant and feeling the pain! Those sandals were so cheesy yet so thoughtful.
My favorite Christmas gift was when I was teetering on the edge of not believing in Santa. To my amazement, the twin dolls I’d whispered to Santa about showed up on the doorstep the night of my Dad’s family’s Christmas gathering. I heard the doorbell, opened the door, saw the box and quickly looked around to see who was missing… But everyone was there and I was astounded. I hope my Dad’s friend (who even thought to include SNOW on the box in South Texas!) knows just how special that surprise was. I still believe in the magic of Santa and love watching my kids believe in that magic 🌲
My best gift was a professional video of my daughter’s first year of life given to me by my mother-in-law! Invaluable!
The best gift for me is definitely that when my Grandma was still alive instead of buying something for each other we would pick something fun to go do together for the holidays. Time is the best gift, especially now that she’s gone.
The best gift I have ever received was my engagement ring!! I was totally not expecting it, we had only dated for 8 months, and now 13 1/2 years later here we are!!! I wouldn’t trade it for anything, because at the time he wasn’t making very much money and I know he worked very hard to pay for my ring! My favorite piece of jewelery and favorite gift!
That would definitely have to be my sweet little wiener dog, Zoe! We got her as a Christmas surprise when I was in high school, and she’s been my faithful little buddy for the past 13 years.
Last Christmas we bought our 2 year old, 2 my little pony train sets and put them together to make one huge one… She was so excited coming down and seeing it that she wasn’t sure if she should play with it or not! Two of her favorite things ponies and trains! All my favorite gifts have paled in comparison of seeing her so happy!
Last Christmas we bought our 2 year old, 2 my little pony train sets and put them together to make one huge one… She was so excited coming down and seeing it that she wasn’t sure if she should play with it or not! Two of her favorite things ponies and trains! All my favorite gifts have paled in comparison of seeing her so happy!
I was given a due date of 12/24/92 for a long awaited baby. That was the best gift…he came on New Year’s Day, but I hand the 1992 baby’s first Christmas ornament on the tree every year…along with his three brothers’ ornaments.
My mother made me a scrapbook of our wedding one Christmas. She took so much time to include all the details, making it so unique and beautiful. It’s even more fun to look through than our professional photos.
I’ve received some nice gifts over the years, but nothing compares to watching my kids open presents now. The innocence of childhood is never more apparent to me than on Christmas morning, and it fills my heart with joy and love, two of the best gifts a mama could ask for.
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When u was about 8 it was the year of the Cabbage Patch dolls. I wanted one so badly but knew my parents couldn’t afford one. So on Christmas morning I was crying tears of joy and such surprise when I opened my very own Cabbage Patch doll. I named her Kimberly, after my best friend at the time, and still have her. My girls now enjoy playing with her and every time I see her I can’t help but smile.
My family always exchanges homemade gifts at Christmas, and they are by far the most fun to make and receive!
My parents surprised us with a trampoline one year… I still haven’t figured out how we NEVER noticed it in the back yard all day! So much fun and we jumped in the snow all winter!
Gorgeous glasses, I would love these for our winter trip to Hawaii this year.
Best gift ever? I think it would be our upcoming Hawaii trip. We live in the ver far North (right next to Alaska) where it is very dark and cold all winter. A Hawaii trip is kind of like a dream come true for us, we are still in disbelief that we are going. I can’t wait to see our little ones run on the beach!
Best gift ever… last Christmas my parents gave me a CanonT3. Best gift ever! I love it!
When I was in 2nd grade I wanted to learn to play the violin so badly… that year for christmas I got a violin and was told that I was enrolled for lessons! I was SO EXCITED. (Too bad that excitement only lasted about a month into lessons…)
My dad gave me a gigantic Pink Panther soft toy for my 5th Christmas… I still have him 30 years later and whilst he’s huge and scares the **** out of my daughter I can’t bare to part with him. I have hopes that one day she will love him just as much as I do! 🙂
Last Christmas my husband collected and framed ALL of our Christmas card pictures from the last 19 years. THE BEST GIFT EVER!
I’ve started giving my mom a calendar every year…filled with photos from the previous year. It’s fun going through all of the pictures together.
The best Christmas gift I ever gave was a cardboard fireplace to my sister and her family. Her husband was in the army at the time and they were living in El Paso, TX. When we visited them for Thanksgiving my brother in law was lamenting over not being able to have a cozy Christmas like they were all used to in Pennsylvania – snow, fires, etc. My husband and I found a cardboard fireplace (with cardboard flames) online and shipped it to them for Christmas. It was a hit! My nieces hung their stockings, pretended to roast marshmallows and even made everyone lay down for naps by it. Gift-giving success!
Best gift ever? My husband (though then just a boyfriend of 3 months) ordered my favorite soda from AFRICA so that I could relive my favorite vice from living in Zanzibar. That guy was a keeper! (and I am still working on savoring that 6 pack of soda!)
The best Christmas present I ever got was my son who was born on Christmas Eve! He was ten days early and came exactly thirty minutes before Christmas Day. So not only do I get to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus on Christmas, I get to celebrate the birth of my child who brings me the ultimate joy every day. 🙂
Love Maui Jim!!
Best gift – A KitchenAid stand mixer. That baby does everything from mixing dough to shredding chicken. I love it!
Last year just before Christmas, my boyfriend got me a rescue dog. We picked him out together, and then I took him home to my family for the holidays. Our family dog had just passed away, so everyone was a little weepy. Having my new puppy join the family made last Christmas the happiest, most family-centered holiday I’ve ever had. We have everything to be grateful for <3
When I was 8, my sister and I both got wooden vanities. Complete with a rounded mirror and padded bench seat. We felt like ladies, and inside my vanity`s drawer was my first pair of dangly earrings. Gold Winnie the Pooh bears dangled from my ears for months, and I have them carefully packed away, saved for when my little girl is old enough. The vanity ultimately didn’t survive the test of an adolescent girl, but I cherished those earrings!
Best gifts I’ve ever given were the homemade mason jar snow globes I gave each member of my family last year. Best gift I’ve ever received, or most memorable anyway, was the replacement American Girl doll I got one year after the one I had got eaten by a dog! I wasn’t expecting it at all so it totally felt like Christmas magic.
I’d have to say the best gift was a full spa package at “tall grass resort” amidst the rocky mountain Colorado.
I think this year the best gift I will be thankful for is healthy children. A six year old recently lost his life to leukemia in my town and it fills me with sorrow for the family, but thankfulness for the gift of health that my children have.
I’d have to say the best gift was a full spa package at “tall grass resort” amidst the rocky mountain Colorado.
There have been so many gifts for which I am thankful for, but the best gift that I remember years later and still have to this day is a collection of rings my grandmother (who is no longer here) gave me for Christmas. They were my first real rings, and she gave them to me becuase she felt I was old enough to have them. Every now and again, I reach into my jewelry drawers and pull one of them out and put it on. It was more than the rings its what they stood for.
One of my favorite gifts that I was able to give, was last year when I had learned to crochet…I made my grandma (who taught me) a crocheted scarf that I worked on for months 🙂 The look in her eyes…I’ll never forget it!
The best gift I’ve ever received was a giant, hand-knitted blanket from my mom. Thanks for the giveaway, Maui Jim & ETST!
Every year, my mother buys me a new whimsical, beautiful Mackenzie-Child’s ornament – my tree rocks as a result, and I look forward to adding to my collection every year…
Last year was extremely difficult for my husband and I due to multiple factors, mainly health and finances. By December we didn’t have money for gifts, much less a tree. My three sisters not only got us a tree, they decorated our house, showered our sons with gifts galore and gave us a grocery store gift card which fed us for a month. What I had expected to be the worst Christmas ever turned out to be one of the very best! It wasn’t about the money they spent, it was the loving way it was given.
The best gift I ever gave was the news to my family that I was expecting my son. We were all beyond thrilled.
One of my favorite gifts last year was an ice cream maker. Talk about a gift that keeps on giving!
The best gift I have ever received was a scrapbook my oldest daughter made for me while I was in the hospital giving birth to my youngest daughter. She took photos of many memories her and I shared alone, along with memories we had made during my pregnancy, and incorporated some of the baby shower that was thrown for the new baby. The love and thought that went into that little scrapbook still makes my heart smile when I look at it. I feel beyond blessed and grateful for such a loving and thoughtful little girl.
My husband knew how much I missed my family that had moved to Phoenix. I hadn’t seen two of them since 2003 and had missed them so much, but I never realized how much I did until he bought me a plane ticket to go see them last Christmas. It was the best present I have ever gotten…getting to stay up late and reminisce about the crazy things we did as kids, my aunt putting up with our stunts, impromptu dance-offs, and fashion shows. No gift could top the memory he gave me:)
In my early teens I received a pingpong table…it was in the garage and I discovered it on my way to take the trash out. In my excitement over seeing it, I ran up the stairs and faceplanted into the wall, leaving an imprint! Many happy memories were made around that pingpong table in the coming years.
i remember getting a curling iron way back when and it really sticks out to me because it made me feel so “grown up” at the time 🙂
You can never go wrong with handmade gifts. I had an internship at my local special needs school and for Christmas, my classroom gave me cards and little gifts showered in glitter! Even after 3 years, I look those gifts and it always makes my heart warm!
I remember how I felt when I got my first car at age 17 for Christmas! I was so incredibly grateful, relieved, and excited. 🙂
I think it would have to be my family ring after having my triplets 🙂
I had the most fun of giving something last year, I have an older lady that works at our local Meijer, I will run in really late sometimes like 10 pm and there she is standing there to greet people. I feel guilty as I am an able bodied 30 something and this beautiful lady is well into her 70’s so I had a day for her last year! I posted on facebook for all my friends in the area to bombard her on one particular day at work with anything a hug, a card,a small gift, anything the giver wanted and it was awesome!! She had a cart full of stuff from perfect strangers to take home with her that day! I can’t wait to do something similar this year!
There are 4 of us kids that are spread all over the country. Unfortunately Christmas is the only time we can all drop what we are doing and get together. A few years ago as the present unwrapping was all done and we are all sitting around looking at our pile of presents my mother told us that we each had one more. She gets up and hands us each a card with instructions to open them at the same time. I opened the card and the front said Bon Voyage with a big boat on it. The inside was a note that read I have booked all of you kids on a cruise together in February. Don’t worry about requesting the time off I already talked with your bosses.
I have never in my life cried over a gift…in front of my whole family I just burst into tears…like an ugly cry. HA! It was like winning the lottery I was just over took with happiness. My Dad is always trying to get us kids a “wow” gift and this was truly the best gift I have received and probably ever will. Truly amazing!
I gave my parents and family the best Christmas gift ever. I was born on December 23 and was able to come home from the hospital Christmas day wrapped in a stocking. 🙂
The best holiday gift I ever got was last year. My son spent the first month of his life in the hospital and was very touch and go for a few weeks but then we were sent home with an antibiotic line (PICC line) to his heart and had to do infusions every 6 hours while making sure that he wasn’t exposed to anything, and anyone who touched him had to wash their hands as to not send any bacteria into his system that could get to his heart and potentially take his life. After several months of infusions at Christmas last year his labs came back good, they took the PICC line out and we were able to enjoy our perfectly healthy, precious baby boy. Best gift EVER!!!
The best gift I have ever received was 7 days before Christmas in 2007′ when I found out i was pregnant 🙂
The best gift I ever gave: anything we’ve given our kids. The excitement of little boys opening gifts from Santa…something that can’t be topped (bough probably tied with little girls opening Santa gifts)!
My best gift was a piano that my husband secretly restored – I had no idea that was the project inside the “paint booth” in the garage.
I have given two gifts that I am proud of. Both to my grandma.
Almost four years ago I wrote her a special story called Grandma’s Hands. It was about special things she has taught me and special things about her throughout the years. She still treasures it.
The second thing is I usually give her Christmas socks for Christmas however last year she had to start wearing medical socks that weren’t so tight. But they were boring beige and white, so I had my aunt swipe them and me and the grandkids and great grandkids decorated them Christmasy and other art with fabric markers.
I’d do anything to make her smile.
My grandfather gave me my grandmother’s diamond earrings two years ago at Christmas. We both cried and had a good long hug, and I think of them both each time I wear them.
best gift ever is my engagement ring 🙂
A few years ago when my kids were 3,6 and 9 and I diagnosed with a very aggressive form of breast cancer. I finished up a very strong chemo. and 6 months of radiation right before Christmas. Being healthy with my husband and kids is the best gift ever received. I never looked at gifts the same way again. Having cancer changes your perspective on everything.
I loved our family home videos that I received as a gift about two years ago!
My grandma’s silver as a wedding gift. Makes me smile every time we get it out!
Best gift I ever gave…my Father’s necklace to my nephew. The necklace meant a lot to me, and I am hoping that one day my nephew will understand just how important it and he are to me.
The best gift I’ve ever given was a crocheted stroller blanket for my cousin’s new baby! So much time put in, but such a beautiful result!
The best gift I’ve ever given was last year when me and all of my brothers had a professional photograph taken and framed of the four of us for our mom.
My youngest daughter! She was due on Christmas Eve but was a week early. 🙂
Mom charm braclet from my boys.
Honestly, gifts rock, but I most remember giving the gifts than getting them. But my favorite gifts are those I don’t ask for and fill a want/desire I didn’t know I had! Like that silly little towel my husband got me 2 years ago that has a velcro so it stays put, or my favorite watch…things that I had no idea I wanted, but end up loving so much!
My grandmother gave me a necklace that my grandfather gave her while the were courting. I adore it. Best gift ever.
My best gift was the “fancy shmancy camera” my parents got me when I was in high school. My younger cousin coined the term and it has been passed down to every camera I have owned since. Not sure that camera was worthy of the term, but definitely memorable.
After a year of trying, found out we were pregnant with our first child, Aiden, who we later found out he had down syndrome. Best gift ever!
After a year of trying, we found out on Christmas morning we were pregnant with our first child, Aiden, who we found out later he has down syndrome. Best gift ever!
Definitely my mom’s necklace with my son’s name on it! Best gift ever!!
I received a lovely pair of leather UGG boots, last Christmas!
OK, now no laughing. One of the best gifts I received was from an old high school friend last year. (We graduated 50 years ago.) She bought me a bottle of Olive Garden’s salad dressing! I absolutely love that stuff!!
The best gifts, for me, both to give and receive, are purchased small-business local, and bonus points if it’s handmade!
My best gift was both given and received. After years of infertility we welcomed our little miracle just in time for the holidays last year. He is amazing and so much more than I ever dreamed he could be. We are so in love!
My best gift was both given and received. After years of infertility we welcomed our little miracle just in time for the holidays last year. He is amazing and so much more than I ever dreamed he could be. We are so in love!
Our whole family gave each other TOMS shoes a few years ago for Christmas. I loved that while we all got a new pair of kicks, 3 children who had no shoes also got a new pair of kicks!
My best holiday gift was a new wedding band my husband gave me the year after he returned from a deployment to Iraq. It wasn’t the ring itself – he gave it to me the night we put up and lit our first Christmas tree, the night before we flew home to join our families before Christmas. I loved how excited he was to give it and how wonderful it felt to spend Christmas with him after having spent the previous year separated by his deployment…
My papa, who passed away recently went all out and made me a dollhouse when I was 7. It was painted to look like the house we loved and lived in, he made all the furniture and even wallpapered the walls. I am now in my 30s and still consider it my most prize possession. The best gifts come from the heart
My papa, who passed away recently went all out and made me a dollhouse when I was 7. It was painted to look like the house we loved and lived in, he made all the furniture and even wallpapered the walls. I am now in my 30s and still consider it my most prize possession. The best gifts come from the heart
The best present I ever received was a ten speed bike when I was ten. I got so excited I made myself sick.
Best gift ever was my engagement ring from my husband. After 8 years together, knowing it was forever was the best thing I can imagine.
a pair of tiny gold bird earrings my husband gave me christmas morning the first year we were married. we didn’t have a lot of money, but he splurged on these to surprise me. they make me happy every time i wear them.
Many years ago I received a letter in my stocking from my husband pretending to be Santa. He wrote that I had been so good all year and that he thought I was very special and wanted to know if I would like to go out on New Years Eve. My husband is a State Trooper and we had not been able to spend a New Years Eve together in a very long time because he was always on duty. It was usually just me and our four children banging those pots and pans without him. He had gotten the night off and surprised me with a special night and babysitter! I cried when I read that letter and still have it as it is one of my prized possessions!
By far the best gift I have given (will be giving actually) are these stained glass stars from Piggy and Dirt and etsy. They are for my nieces and nephews, as 4 of them are being officially adopted into our family from foster care this December. Each star has their name and birth year engraved in the middle which is really special as their names are changing in the adoption process as well. 4 kids, ages 6, 5, 3, and 2, all siblings, officially ours after 2 years of foster care. I hope these stars will be keepsakes they cherish forever.
My mother in law gave me a gold charm bracelet for our first Christmas 25 years ago. Over the years I have collected tons of wonderful charms celebrating our first home, our childrens’ births, my first Mother’s Day and countless other vacations and memories. My charm bracelet is a true treasure and the best Christmas gift I was ever given.
Love Maui Jim, what a great giveaway. As for favorite gifts, I would say everything my Pops has ever built for me — wooden two-person kayak tops the list! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Each Christmas my godmother gives me a different caroler, each representing a member of my family. My farm table is already set with my mother, father, two brothers, childhood dog, husband, family dog and little girl. It is such a special sight to see and I am starting the same tradition for our godson this year.
I got tickets to Lion King, Billy Elliot, and In the Heights on BROADWAY for my graduation. I cried through the Lion King… started before the show began!
On the first Christmas after their father left, my children, 11 and 14 at the time, gave me a beautiful porcelain heart inscribed “Mother: The Heart of the Family” and the year (1989). I display the ornament year round and it warms my heart every time I see it all these years later.
I adore the bangle bracelet that my mom gave me with each of my babies names dangling from it.
One of my favorite gifts ever given was quite a long time ago.. my boys are only 15 months apart, and when they were five and six we got them both “big boy” bikes for Christmas! That was nearly 30 years ago, but I can still see the great big smiles on their faces when they came downstairs that Christmas morning.
10 years ago I received an engagement ring for Christmas and here we are three kids later!
When my 3 daughters were in college they knew how much i missed them and gave me the most beautiful picture of them to hang over my fireplace Cindi
My favorite gift hands down is when my husband had a vegetable garden built for me. I had been talking about wanting to grow my own vegetables for years, and he made it happen
I love that instead of buying “stuff” for each other, hubby and I write a nice check to the local Salvation Army in our town. They do so much for so many, and it makes our hearts happy to share what we have with those less fortunate. 🙂
The best Holiday gift I’ve received is spending Christmas with my brother for the first time in years. He lives on the opposite coast from me and it’s hard to get together. Last year we did and it was bliss.
My little girl – who is nearly 20! was born on Christmas Day, the best present anyone could ever ask for 🙂
While it wasn’t wrapped, my favorite gift has been my parents giving me the opportunity to study abroad. I lived in Florence, Italy for four months during college with a few great friends. I feel so fortunate for the experience – I learned so much about myself, others, and this big, beautiful world!
The best Holiday gift I’ve received is spending Christmas with my brother for the first time in years. He lives on the opposite coast from me and it’s hard to get together. Last year we did and it was bliss.
2007 – day after Christmas. We found out we were miraculously pregnant with our first son. A week before that we were told the IUI didn’t work and that IVF was our only chance at getting pregnant. And to do IVF we would have to drive two states over and three hours away. Best.Christmas.Present.Ever.
Every year I give my mom a photobook of my nephew, and now a copy goes to other relatives as well. Everyone is so excited to receive it that it’s my favorite gift to give.
My best gift ever was the year my parents gave my sister, brother, and me powerwheels jeeps! They were fantastic and we terrorized our animals for years on those things!
A long ago boyfriend bought me a bottle of Chanel No. 5 for Christmas the year I was 19. It was my first ‘real’ perfume, and to this day, I always stop at the Chanel cosmetics counter just to catch a whiff of No. 5. It still makes me smile all these years later.
a very large, tacky framed picture of my grandpa from his original law office. I wish you could see it. Circa 1979 🙂
It may sound super cliché, but in 2010, on December 15th, my dad was airlifted to a hospital in Nashville and was in heart surgery for 22 hours. I was 16 and told my dad was probably not going to live… A lot of thoughts swirled around in my head. This had come out of no where. What would happen? My parents are divorced…I lived with my dad. He was my best friend…how would I get through this?
But he pulled through the surgery and astounded his doctors by coming home on December 22…when they expected him to be there until February at the earliest. He is nowhere near the health he was before this incident, but I’ve gotten 3 more years with him than I ever thought I would.
Him coming home then, right before Christmas, was and continues to be the best gift I’ve ever received.
I love the gift of travel…..that’s what my dad gives us every year which means lots of family time!
The best gift I ever received was a memory quilt from my mother!
Best was 7 years ago on 12/22 when my first born daughter was born. Has made every Christmas since more exciting and full of love!
Roller blades! My sixth grade self was too excited!
My husband has gotten me all kinds of wonderful gifts over the years but the best is a tie between the Sirius radio (music everywhere, always) and a Kindle ereader. He’s the best, and knows good music and reading help me maintain my sanity! As always, loved your post today.
My engagement ring years ago…
Best gift…i was in high school and my parents gave me a pager (pre cell phones) i thought it was the coolest thing in the world! Probably my moms idea of always being able to find me 🙂
The best gift I ever gave was a felt playhouse that fits over a card table. I stayed up many nights sewing that thing. My back ached for days cause of the hard chair I was sitting on. But it is so cool! Each side has something different…a garden, a dog house, an apple tree, a front door/mailbox. We put it away for months then pull it out and the kids always have so much fun playing in it.
The best Christmas gift I have ever received was from my dad when I was in middle school. We took a family trip to NYC and were told we could buy one souvenir from the weekend. While at Macy’s, I was eyeing their annual snow globe but wasn’t sure so decided to save my choice until later. By the end of the trip, I knew I wanted the globe but when we went back to purchase it, Macy’s was closed for the day. I went home sad and with no souvenir until Christmas morning when I opened the snow globe from my dad! He had called Macy’s (pre-online shopping era) and had them mail us the snow globe. It’s sits on my nightstand today and is extra special with its depiction of the still standing twin towers.
Probably my little diamond earrings that my grandmother gave me. Which my dad threw away with the wrapping paper the same day. 🙁
Best holiday gifts- December 16, 2007- I got engaged! December 15, 2011- I had a baby!! December Festivus!!
I gave my husband a home brewing kit from Northern Brewer… Best gift given and received, because he loves to brew and I love to drink his beers!
Best gift…my firstborn was born on December 15 so those final days leading up to Christmas were magical. I was up often in the middle of the night with him and I will never forget how special it was to rock him in the chair with the Christmas tree lights glowing next to us.
The best gift I received wa the year I aske my daddy to build me a kitchen table…and he did. I never sit down at the table that I don’t think about him and miss him so much.
The best gift I received wa the year I aske my daddy to build me a kitchen table…and he did. I never sit down at the table that I don’t think about him and miss him so much.
Almost forty years ago, I received the best Christmas gift ever – a new baby girl. We brought her home on Christmas Day and though that was probably the worst Christmas of my life, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. After all these years, she still is “mad” at me for not planning her birthday at a better time.
The best gift I ever received is also going to be the best I’ve given. When I was 3, my grandma gave me the wrought-iron doll bed her blacksmith grandfather had made for her when she was a girl. She made bedding for it, and I loved it so much. This year, I’m giving it a fresh coat of paint, making new bedding and giving it to my three-year-old daughter. I can’t wait!
My sweet boy, theo, came on thanksgiving last year. Best gift ever!
I’m getting myself a new Macbook Pro this year!
The week before Christmas 2010 I found out I was pregnant . It was the best gift ever because we had been trying for over two years. I still remember thinking that it was our first Christmas together. All three of us.
One year as a teenager I called my step grandma for pictures of my step-mother as a young girl. Packaged came to a friends house, bought an album an assembled. The album is considered one of her most valuable gifts all these years later.
My Cricket Doll circa 1987. I loved her. She had a tape deck in her back and “talked” and sang. I was 7 years old and it was the greatest Christmas of my life. She was all I asked for and the only toy I played with for almost a year after I got her.
When I was younger my mom would give me a dangle ring(remember those?) from James Avery!
I still remember the first doll carriage I received. It had a big tag with my name on it. So exciting and it was a thing of beauty!
The best gift I’ve ever given was a full-size world atlas to my husband. He receives so much joy from reading that atlas, and it brings a smile to my face every time he loses himself in it.
Best gift, hands down, my pony. I was that girl.
The best gift I have ever received was five years ago, rhis Christmas. My sister was pregnant with her first child and they decided they did not want to find out the sex of the baby so they could be surprised. She knew how much I wanted to know and be a part of her pregnancy. I live so far from home, so, unselfishly, they decided to give me the ultrasound with the gender. His name is Asher:)
Best gift? One year for Christmas my parents took us to Ecuador. That opened the whole world for me.
Best gift I ever gave was an “Auntie’s Book Club” membership that I gave to each of my nieces and nephews. We would each read the book (age appropriate for each child) and then send each other a book report. My oldest nephew is now 21 and he wrote each report old-school with paper/pencil. My youngest niece is now 9 and she emails me her report. It’s so much fun! I’d love to win the shades.
Thanks!
This year, we’re giving our parents framed photos from our wedding. These are the first family photos that people have taken in years, so I know our moms will tear up when they see them!
I was a single mom for many years before I met my best friend and soulmate. Although he had never been married and had no children, he got it right away how stressful it was trying to be a good mom to my three, not-so-easy, school age children, while working full time. There was never enough time to do everything. Never quite enough money. The first Christmas we were dating, he gave me the best, most thoughtful, most appreciated, gift I have ever received. He paid for someone to come weekly to clean my house! I felt like such a burden had been lifted. I had more time to enjoy the kids and not nag them about picking up the house and, I had more free time to spend with him. Talk about a win-win! We’ll be celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary next year!
Best gift I ever received was a vintage turquoise typewriter from my husband. So romantic! 🙂
When I was a little girl, my uncle made me a doll. I didn’t understand the time and effort he put into it and I remember the look on his face when I tossed it aside. Looking back, I wish I had appreciated the sentiment involved in making that gift.
The best give I’ve given was a border collie puppy …who doesn’t love a puppy?
The best gift I ever gave was a bounce house for my twins 3rd Christmas. It wasn’t the gift itself, that made it special. I bought it second hand, and it isn’t something they will have or cherish forever. But it was the first Christmas that they really “got it,” so to see them light up and squeal when they came into the living room on Christmas morning made it SO special for me. Then to see them get just as excited to give presents to their family and each other made it even better. They understood the happiness of receiving and wanted to share it with those they love.
I will always remember that Christmas <3 <3
My DSLR from my husband several years ago for sure!
One of the best gifts I gave was to my daughter. She wanted a barbie dream house. Putting together on Christmas Eve with my father and husband was a memory I will cherish forever. Watching my husband and father put those darn decals in Barbie’s bathroom was priceless! It made me wonder if my parents had as much fun the year I received my own Barbie dream house!
Best gift I gave was a pair of tickets for my dad and I to go see Irish singers in concert that we had previously gone to together when I was younger. Special times of reminiscing the past and making new memories!
My husband proposed a couple weeks before Christmas
It made for a wonderful holiday and it’s still my favorite gift
Best gift: health & happiness 😉
I gave tickets to my husband to see Jerry Seinfeld. I can rarely surprise him, and this was a total surprise. He loved it!
As cheesy as it is, my little brother is my favorite holiday gift 🙂 He was born on Christmas Eve, and I remember thinking it was the coolest thing ever that Santa brought me a little brother.
Molly
mkkalina@outlook.com
Best gift I ever received was a car. I had a 17 year old car as my first car, then an 18 year old car as my second. My dear hubby stepped out and got me a used ford edge that was only 4 years old. I love, love, love it and what he did for me.
puppy!!
The best present that I received was a Christmas card from my mother she had passed away for few weeks early . She was the most organized person and I miss her very much .
Last year my aunt gave me 3 pounds of pecans picked from her tree. They were shelled and in perfect halves and placed in a pretty red container. I love pecans but rarely get them because they are so expensive. Her thoughtfulness meant more to me than she’ll ever know.
My first laptop, my junior year of college. Before then, I’d been rocking a clunky old Dell desktop so the Macbook was a most pleasant surprise from my parents!
My first laptop, my junior year of college. Before then, I’d been rocking a clunky old Dell desktop so the Macbook was a most pleasant surprise from my parents!
My husband and I got married right out of high school. Together we have paved our way through college and growing up, now have three beautiful children, and after years of saving and dreaming big, we just bought our first home. It’s beautiful and spacious and lovely and all things wonderful. I mean, there’s a gazebo with a hot tub. Sold. But signing those papers was truly a day of dreams coming true. And we did it together. Merry Christmas to us.
My Mom loves hot air balloons so last year I bought her a hot air balloon ride! She had never been on one and absolutely loved it! I was so glad to be able to give her something on her bucket list!
This year, I’m thrilled to be celebrating the gift of my first healthy pregnancy.
The best gift I ever received was my sweet mini schnauzer, Sadie, when I was in 3rd grade. She has been gone for almost 10 years now, but the thought of her can still bring tears to my eyes. So many happy memories of her being a member of our family!
My favorite Christmas gift ever given to me was by beloved dog, Robert Arnold Young (aka Bob). When my parents gave him to me, he was a 2 pound fuzzball and the cutest little guy! He fit in the palms of my hands and was so sweet. I was one of those annoying people that always had a purse full of photos in my purse and would pull the out and show them off to everyone I knew. Now Bob is a 14 year old grouchy man, but still gives me tons of kisses and snuggles with his mama at night.
My best gift ever was my Mom’s wedding ring !!
My favorite was a book made with all our wedding pictures!
For my mom’s fiftieth birthday, I made her a DVD with all of our favorite family pictures scanned and put to our favorite songs as a family for a slideshow. After the work put into it, her reaction of happy tears was absolutely priceless. Although it is fun to receive gifts, nothing touches the feeling of giving someone a gift that is truly from the heart. I hope you feel joy through all of your holiday preparations with your beautiful family. There is nothing quite as special as the memories a family makes together!
An awesome red huffy bike for my 6th Christmas!!
One of my fave holiday gifts was a first edition print of catcher in the rye, the first “adult” book I really loved. My mom hunted for weeks for it.
Best gift ever was revealing the name of our son to the grandparents when we swore it was going to be a secret until he was born.
The best gift I gave was one I just gave my husband–he’s a hard one to buy for and it suited him perfectly!
One of my most cherished gifts I have ever received was my Grandmothers personal photo album of all of her photos through her life. It meant so much because she took the time to write descriptions on the back of every photo, she trusts me and knows I will always hold it dear to my heart,and she knows that I will share the photos and stories with my children so her story will always live on. She always says “If you know you want a certain person to have something, you better give it to them yourself, because when you are gone there is no guarantees who will get it” My Grandma isn’t just my “Grandma” she is my best friend. My brother nicknamed her “Girlfriend” 20 years ago, so that is what we call her! <3 I call her everyday on my way to work and on my way home. I can talk to her about anything and most of my morning drives to work include her sharing neat stories of the past. I am always thankful for the moments and time spent with her.
My favorite gift I’ve ever received is probably the Kitchenaid mixer I got last year. It ensures that I bake–often!
The very best gift is definitely the gift of being able to afford to give. This year I was able to help out a struggling online friend by filling her freezer and buying toys for her beautiful little children. The happiness this filled me with was almost equal to the utter delight I felt when Santa left me a Patty Playpal Doll Christmas morning 1960, and that was ONE. BIG. DEAL!
A night away from the kids!
My best gift received was a pencil sketch of my hearing dog and I. He had retired and lived with another family so the drawing will always be precious to me.
A proposal!
The best christmas present I ever received a strawberry shortcake doll as a child. As an adult the best present is waking up to seeing both of my boys so excited santa claus came.
Nicole
Nmills698@gmail.com
Our son was born on the 27th! The most quiet and peaceful Christmas ever. And now that he’ll be 3 this year and is”aware” I am floored by the excitement that I feel for the holidays once again!
My best Christmas gift will
Be coming in less than 21 days…our second daughter will
Be born. We are blessed to have her come into this world to “teach us how to love!” Even though she’s still in the womb, she has inspired so many!
My mom got me a sewing machine so she could teach me to sew! …Something I will be able to do for my kids one day like she has always done for me.
The first Christmas my husband and I spent together (very first – before we were married!) I framed a print for him that I found on Etsy. It says, “I want to have adventures with you.” It was simple, heartfelt and exactly how I felt. It is in the center of our gallery wall in our home and I still love it.
My best Christmas gift ever was bringing my preemie twins home after they spent 47 days in the NICU.
THE best gift (and I’m getting it in March 2014) is the gift of our first grandchild! No kitchen gadgets, electronics, clothes and goodies can compare to the joy we are feeling this holiday season!
When I was 19 I got a little really old car and I LOVED it so much. My parents didn’t have much money so It was this car or none.
It broke down on me after 2 days (we fixed it though).
But nobody had a car like me 🙂
Happy holidays!
Last Christmas I surprised my older son with a Mommy/son trip to Disney World. So. Much. Fun. Daddy and younger son stayed home and I got some seriously fun quality time. Good memories!
When my sister and I were little, her pride and joy was her My Little Pony Nursery, stocked full of baby ponies, a crib, a cradle, tiny little bottles, cloth diapers, toys, everything! A couple years ago I bought one exactly like it on ebay thinking I would give it to my daughter one day, but something always held me back. Now that my sister has a daughter I can’t wait to give it to her this year!
When I was 18 I made a huge decision to switch from my hometown college to their rivals across the state because I like a boy over there. He gave me a window decal for my car that Christmas right before the move. So simple, but meant so much. We’ve been married 5 years now.
The best gift ever was the christmas my siblings and I all got bikes!
When I was three I was hospitalized for a month. Every night my mom had the nurses come in and read my favourite book to me. The book was lost when I returned home from the hospital, but I still remembered it fondly. Thirty years later, on my first Christmas with my husband he managed to find the book in some random bookshop in Australia and had it shipped to me in Canada. He paid $0.99 for the book and $20.00 to ship it to me. It was the most amazing and touching gift I have ever received.
My best gift was the engagement ring my husband gave me 37 years ago on Christmas Day night.
My husband asked me to marry him onChristmas eve 12 years ago. Best gift ever.
The best give my husband and I ever gave was to my now 21 year old son when he was 3. All he asked for was “a plastic Santa and a plastic North Pole”. We were stumped and had no idea where we would find this toy. Imagine our suprise when after wandering all the aisles of toys r us we found a plastic Santa with a North Pole sign in the clearance section. It was the only one there. 🎅
I got my husband a massage chair that was definitely his favorite gift. His boss got me a baby nurse for my newborn twins and that was my favorite gift
One of my most favorite Christmas presents was a giant Casio keyboard that Santa brought when I was about 8 years old. I rocked out on that thing!
My most favorite christmas gift was my sweet baby. She was due January 1st and graced us with her presence a few days early. She didn’t quite make it in time for Christmas but she surely brightened up our holidays.
Such cool glasses! The best holiday gift I’ve received happens every year even still as an adult – new pajamas on Christmas Eve from my mom.
My best gift I ever received was finding out I was going to have a baby 🙂
The best gift I’ve ever given is an old-old – fashioned Whirly Pop popcorn popper. It seems silly, but my best friend adores the thing and it accompanies us on every trip–down the road between our houses, the beach, everywhere! It has been a part of so many special memories that involve my people, my village. That is better than any gift!
A hand – knit afghan from my grandmother was probably the most special gift I have received, but as a child I rememberbeing so excited about Go-Go my walking pup.
Giving: It was the Christmas of my freshman year of college, and I didn’t want to “go in the hole” spending money on holiday gifts so I shopped in my childhood bedroom. I picked out un-used items, items that were long ago destined for an odorous landfill, items with sentiment, and items with little value to any living thing. It was comical and lovely and we will always remember the beautifully wrapped gifts of intrigue–brother #1’s stained and largely uncleanly sweat wrist band, brother #2’s locked Master Lock (with no known combination to open), pictures of a sweet family Mastiff, dust bunnies, elementary jewels, pages of my childhood diary, and other oddities. It was a Christmas to remember, always.
Many moons ago, when I was just a little girl, the best Christmas present I ever got was a reading lamp, that clipped onto my hand me down 4 poster bed. It was a thoughtful present from a cash strapped Santa and I loved it!
When I was 7 and my sister was 9, I vividly remember walking down the red carpeted stairs into our basement on Christmas morning. As we rounded the corner, we saw them. Two used wooden school desks with the desk tops that you could put up (and hold up with a ruler!). The pure joy of that moment will never be forgotten (and I imagined my stay-at-home Mom thanked her lucky stars every day for those desks that provided hours and hours and hours of entertainment!)
The best holiday gift I’ve ever received was my parents flying to Germany to spend Christmas with us (hubby, me and our 2 1/2 year old son) when we were stationed in Frankfurt, Germany and homesick terribly! Best. Christmas. EVER!
Last year my husband got me a necklace with my daughter’s birthstone. I love it!
The best Christmas present I’ve ever been given is my first pair of Hunter boots from my grandmother. I love wearing them: they make me happy:)
I gave my Mother-In-Law photos of all three of our new little Misters last year with a letter of gratitude for raising such an amazing son. And I sent her plenty of, “help me duplicate that” hints so that her good work will seep into my parenting… hopefully! We were both in tears.
The best gift I have given was to my husbands family. It was the first Christmas after his Grandfather passed away. My husbands family is from NY and they have a huge family and they always get together for family Christmas. We couldn’t be there that year so I made a harmonica slathered in glitter and placed a ribbon on it so it would hang from their trees. I also attached a small paper that said your song keeps on playing. Grampa played the harmonica and even though he wasn’t there to celebrate his song still played on.
I can’t wait to see all of your Christmas traditions. My favorite present of all time was my Sony DSLR camera. Before that camera, I just had a point-and-shoot. When I got my Sony from my wonderful husband, I began taking pictures of EVERYTHING. I love being able to capture memories, because when our minds fail us, pictures never do.
Barbie clothes; hand made by my grandmother.
It was the Barbie doll when I was 11. They were brand new that year and the only thing I asked for. I had opened all my presents, none of which were the obvious Barbie box… but in that last box…. The ENTIRE Mix and Match Barbie set… #thrilled11yearold
Planning to volunteer at a soup kitchen this Christmas! Hopefully, it’s the best gift I’ve ever received 🙂
The best Christmas gift I ever received was my daughter. She was our miracle baby. Conceived after 2 losses and fertility treatments, she was born Dec 16th, 2011. 9 days before Christmas. It was a magical year.
The best gift was a stuffed animal Santa brought when I was a kid. After 20 years, I still have “cuddles.”
Is that a snake just below the tortoise?
I gave my mom a Movado watch when I was 16. I saved up for it for 2 years!
The year I was 5 I received the most amazing Christmas gift any 5 year old could ever ask for. A giant Strawberry Shortcake dream house, entirely handmade by my parents. It wouldn’t be until much later that I’d realize how much planning and work went into this dollhouse. The carefully cut and painted wood, all the perfectly themed rooms, with furniture and curtains and carpets and two fantastic doors that shut to contain all the dolls and their shoes. It went on to serve as home base for the barbies, My Little Ponies, and Strawberry Shortcakes alike.
It continues to live in my parents basement and I get a huge thrill watching my now 5 year old daughter play in it. I’m not sure I’ll ever receive or give a gift quite as amazing as that dollhouse.
The best gift I got was from my dad and it was a photo album. Full of pictures from when I was a baby to late teens. Which I will treasure that forever now that my dad is dying.
made a book of pictures from a Christmas we spent at the beach with family…did it ‘Dr. Seuss-ish’…it was fun and made great reading/seeing memories of that special trip (especially since my Mother In Law has now passed).
The best gift ever was a $250 gift cert to amazon
I had the best time shopping and didn’t even have
to leave my house!
My husband is coming back from deployment this week – my kids will be thrilled! Best gift ever!
This is hard to answer because my husband does such a fantastic job every year. But I have to say, no gift has excited me as much as my cabbage patch doll did when I was 6 years old.
This is hard to answer because my husband does such a fantastic job every year. But I have to say, no gift has excited me as much as my cabbage patch doll did when I was 6 years old.
This is hard to answer because my husband does such a fantastic job every year. But I have to say, no gift has excited me as much as my cabbage patch doll did when I was 6 years old.
American girl doll– totally! (Addy– since I’m sure you were dying to know 😉
The year I was eleven, I got my first pair of pointe shoes. That was a very happy Christmas!
How nice… My favorite Christmas gift was the year my husband, {then boy friend… ~12 years ago}, planned a getaway trip to NC to see the Biltmore Estate, along with snow skiing at Sugar Mountain… he planned every detail, and we had so much fun! It was a true surprise, and a long weekend full of happy memories! A nice pair of sunglasses would be great… 🙂 And I enjoyed your post, as always!
Best gift I’ve received? My cute husband surprised me by filling a stocking and sneaking it onto a hook for me to wake up to on Christmas morning last year. Super precious of him.
The best Christmas gift ever had to be the year my sister and I bought the exact same scarf and mittens for each other. We are truly kindred spirits and besties.
one year my husband gave me a bag of those orange peanut candies…he was so proud to remember that, months earlier, I told him they were my favorite candy. In reality, I had told him that they were my “least” favorite candy. I didn’t have the heart to tell him, and as a result, I got a bag of my least favorite candy for many holidays for years…until one day he heard me whispering the story to our oldest daughter! End result…I like the candy now 🙂
One of the best gifts I’ve received is my mom surprised me with an all inclusive vacation to Mexico for the two of us in the month of January! It was nice to escape the cold weather here in Cincinnati! (: Thanks for the giveaway!
I got a video camera about 7 years ago, I still make videos with it!! I love popping the miniture discs in the dvd player and watching old memories!!
My fave and most cherished gift was given to me the year my family moved from S.C. to WI (completely oppisite of your southern journey). My grandma put together a cookbook of family recipes (in a dollar store three ring binder…love it). 20 years later I make my stepkids my Nannie’s sweet tea. They love the eight pounds of sugar it tastes like it has in it. I wouldnt have known my Mom’s favorite Christmas candy if it werent for that book.
I gave my mother a CD of a song that her mother, who had recently passed, played every Christmas. I had the actual CD in the player so as she was opening it, the song played. Great memory.
-Melyssa
Best gift memory….hugging my new Mrs. Beasley on the way home from my grandparents and seeing the shimmery lights and Christmas decor as we came into downtown Rochester {long before the big bright light show}.
A long ago Christmas trip from Alaska to North Carolina to see my mom and dad after dad broke his leg/ankle. We brought our baby girl with us that he hadn’t met yet.
My oh-so-cozy lambie blanket. Love it <3 any gift given with love is the most special of all.
I hope that rainbow means hope for me to win those sunglasses! They’re fantastic!
If birthdays count as holidays (if you don’t just mean December ones) the wooden train set we gave our two-year old for her birthday. Our girl is CRAZY about trains and says “choochoo!” every time she hears one. I think there is nothing quite like gifting your own offspring with something special. That is cool.
Best gift? Seeing my kids excitement on Christmas morning. Christmas wasn’t a big thing in my family when I was growing up. I love making magic happen!
my best gift ever was a photo album my boyfriend made me!
my boyfriend gave me a photoalbum/memory book!
The best present I have given was last Christmas, to my parents and my in laws. We decided we would wait until Christmas Day to find out the gender of our first baby, and so we asked the sonographer to write the gender in a Christmas card, which we opened on Christmas morning… It was magical! To share the news with our families we bought a bunch of baby girl balloons and a bunch of baby boy balloons, and we put the appropriate bunch of balloons in a biggggg box which I had wrapped in Christmas paper. Just before lunch, we gave the box to all four grandparents to open together, they had no idea what was inside, and the squeals of delight as those baby girl balloons floated out and they realised they were having a granddaughter will stay with me forever. It was a simple gift, but it was wonderful, and they so appreciated the imagination and thought that went in to it.
So as not to waste the balloons we popped into the hospital that we due to to give birth in, and left the balloon bunches at the nurses station in the maternity ward for them to share with new mums and dads that day, and as a thank you, the kind nurse introduced us briefly to a new mum and her scrumptious brand new twins, born on Christmas Day… She loved the balloons, and our story.
This Christmas our baby girl is 8 months old, and it’s hard to believe that we ever had time for imaginative gifts, hahaha.
The best gift I’ve ever given was to my mom. She grew up very poor and never had anything to call her own…except a children’s book that some British relatives sent once. She couldn’t recall the title or author, just the name of the characters. I spent YEARS haunting antique book forums to find the name of the book, then finally found a copy for sale in New Zealand. I will NEVER forget when she opened it up. It was one of my proudest moments!
The best gift I gave were the ultrasound pictures of our son. It was so exciting to see the surprise on my husbands face!
A big box of clementines when I was about 9. Yum. Didn’t even have to share! 😉
Tickets to London!!Actually,never made it there cause I found out I was pregnant a few days later…It was the Christmas gift that brought a bigger one!Now we’re ready to plan the trip again,the three of us;-)
In the spirit of enjoying small things, I love the Best of My Day journals Ashley Ann @ under the sycamore creates every year. They are easy to print off and make marvelous gifts. We have kept them and given them the last few years and between recognizing the benefits of constant thanksgiving ourselves and promoting the attitude of gratitude in others, they are lovely
The best holiday gift I ever rec’d was my baby brother 🙂 We brought him home in a holiday stocking, courtesy of the hospital — best stocking stuffer ever!
A karaoke machine when I was 8. Hours of great times.
A karaoke machine when I was 8. I loved that thing.
Best Christmas gift is an old, old one. My grandmother gave me a pair of satin PJs while I was in college that I still have. They are tattered, but the memory is not.
Last year during a “Secret Elf” reveal at work, my Secret Elf had taken the time to check out my Pinterest board, find a craft I really wanted to do, and went to multiple stores to find all of the supplies I needed to make it. It feels good to know someone would take that much time on me, because I enjoy spending that much time on them!
My son, 10 days after Christmas!
When my fiance and I had been dating only a couple years, as an anniversary/Christmas present (our dating anniversary is actually Christmas Eve!) he gave me a little heart shaped necklace with a blue topaz stone in the center. I plan to wear it as my “something blue” for our wedding.
My husband. We got married 22 years ago at Christmas time. Best Christmas ever, and has made everyone since just a little more special. Christmas wedding–perfect for a Christmas nut 🙂
Best gift was my iPad. Have used it to find lots of inspiration, including your blog.
I gave my brother a copy of F. SCOTT Fitzgerald journal that I found at a used book store!
My best gift was both given and received. Last year I donated the money that would have been spent on me to local animal rescues and children’s charities. The charities got my gift and I received the best feeling knowing I helped even a little bit.
The best gift I’ve ever received is my husband coming home from deployment. He was deployed during the first year of our marriage and came home just in time for Christmas. A few weeks later he was redeployed to Haiti to help in relief efforts after the earthquake. We were so happy he could go and serve the people there, and we were also so glad to have those few precious weeks together prior.
The best Christmas gift ever is a tough one. I love Christmas and all of the trimmings and I love a fun present more than anything, but all of those fade in comparison to the greatest gift ever given when God gave His only Son to the whole world that we might have life and live eternally with Him! Now that is the gift of all gifts and He is the greatest gift giver of all!
My first daughter was hospitalized at 4 months old the week before Christmas for an infection. We were able to bring her home just days before Christmas. Being able to celebrate her first Christmas was the best gift ever!
My husband bought me my first short surf board…a 5’10” Von Sol. It is a beautiful board and I used it for 2 years and then handed it down to my nephew to share the stoke!.
All of the gifts I’ve been given the support and encourage my creativity have been my favorite. My grandmother gave me a play pretend set when I was little, my best friend gave me my first oil paints in high school, my dad a camera, my husband a lens, etc. Last year my best friend gave me money to help fix my camera with a card that said how she believes in me. Their love and support through all my artistic endeavors means an amazing amount.
My best Christmas gift is watching my kids every Christmas morning. Seeing Christmas through their eyes is truly a gift.
(those sunglasses are the best.)
Kelle and Brett, your kids have such impish faces and bright eyes – I love to check in and catch a glimpse of them exploring the world. Best gift? Well, my parents were brilliant Santa’s. I remember coming downstairs to a wooden playhouse in the corner of the living room – the wallpaper was still wet and the reindeer’s hooves had left a few paint smudges on the roof.
The best gift ever given was a watercolor painting of my grandparents house to them, shortly after they had to move into a nursing home. It was the only house they lived in together and was where they raised their 11 kids. The look on their face was priceless.
My Dad surprised me a few years ago and bought me my first DSLR camera and accessories. It was the first year he bought gifts alone after my Mom passed away and I was CONVINCED he had bought me new toilets for my house. Imagine my surprise, to open the package and see something I had wanted for so long!
My cabbage patch kid when I was a child. I still remember the pure joy I felt when I received it! 🙂
My favorite gift was a painting my mom had done on an old window of mine. The painting was of our family cottage, my favorite place!
The best Christmas gift I have ever gotten would have to be the massive doll house/mansion that my grandfather made.It must have taken forever for him to make. it was yellow, my favorite color, and had columns and big windows. I played with it way past the socially acceptable age to play with a dollhouse. This year, my daughter gets that same dollhouse for christmas. I hope its her favorite gift ever, too 🙂
Every year my husband makes me a handmade Christmas card, just like my father used to before he died. It’s so special for him to continue the tradition!
A Clark Griswold Christmas….fun stuff! 🙂
I received a leather cuff that made me cry one year from my family.
Thanks for the chance to win.
Hmm, best gift? Well, I still remember this one Christmas as a kid, my mom got my sister and I this package of several super fancy Barbie ball gowns. They were so beautiful with all this detail, and we were so careful with them, because we didn’t want to ruin them. Wish I still had them to pass along to my daughter!
The Christmas after my dad died, I was 11 and my mom was trying her hardest as a single parent but really struggling financially and she kept apologizing to me for not being able to afford a tree or presents. A few days before Christmas, we came home to the most wonderful surprise – our neighbors, who kept a spare key, had snuck in while we were gone and put up a beautifully decorated Christmas tree with a pile of presents under neath it. I don’t remember every single gift that was under there but I will never forget the kind generosity of our neighbors.
My best Christmas gift was my first dslr camera as a total surprise.
The best gift I ever received was a set of electric rollers when I was in fifth grade. I loved those rollers!
One of the best and most memorable gifts I ever got was my hamster, Fluffy, from my older brother– I think I was about 6 or 7 — he made it into a scavenger hunt and I followed clues all around the house that led me back to the tree where Fluffy was waiting 🙂
my sweet husband surprised me with a vitamix. i had been swooning over it for YEARS! smoothies every day in our house now.
A keychain from my son where he wrote his first word. Mom.
The best gift I receieved was a picture book that my daughter put together of our family. I love it!
A dollhouse my granddaddy made me!
Handmade Christmas stockings made by my 92 year old Grandmother for my fiancé (now husband) and our future children. They were made to match the one she had made for me my first Christmas away at college. She worked all year and they are beautiful.
Every year my husband finds a gorgeous card and writes me a beautiful letter. I get several notes throughout the year, but I treasure my Christmas card.
One of the best gifts I have ever gotten was a sewing machine.
Taking all of my mom’s grandkids to get Christmas pictures taken for her. My baby nephew passed away unexpectedly less than a month later, so the pictures were even more of a gift than I knew at the time.
The best Christmas gift I got was to see my 67 year old father interacting with his 8 month old grandson (my precious nephew) last year. My father was fighting three forms of cancer, and we were concerned he wouldn’t have a good Christmas. He was blessed with energy that day. He passed away in September. And I am so glad he got to have one last good Christmas with his only grandson and us.
My husband gave a KINDLE 2 years ago. He did this so that when I go to work with him I can read while he works…love just being together!!!
Santa brought me roller skates when I was 8 years old. I have a picture of Christmas morning, me in my PJ’s and messy curly hair, a skate on each shoulder and a smile spread clear across my face.
I honestly can’t remember the best gift I ever got, only because I usually do not ask for anything exciting! But, to me, my gifts can be visions of bed headed kids opening up gifts and seeing the surprised looks and smiles! Can’t put a price tag on that!
The best gift I ever received for Christmas was my engagement ring. We had been together 5 years at that point and knew we would eventually marry, but for him to pick out such a specific, beautiful ring that is so me, well, it still makes my heart lurch and I tear up to this day!! (Yes…we did get married!)
Santa brought my family a puppy Christmas of ’99. Mom was certain Santa has brought her to the wrong house, but I quickly quipped that she was already wearing a tag with our phone number and was most definitely at the right house! She was a wonderful blessing that year!
Five years ago my mom gave me a scrapbook full of pictures of us together from the time I was born through then. Each page contained a line from the Poem “To My Daughter With Love, On the Important Things In Life.” It is the one item I have instructed my fiancee to grab in a fire, and truly the greatest gift I have ever receieved.
Best gift ever was a play kitchen i received as a small child (maybe age 3). It was a favorite toy for years and years, and the picture of my face when i first saw it is just precious.
Last year my oldest was in Kindergarten and had her first “Santa’s Workshop” at school where she purchased a special little gift for each family member all by herself. I received the best little glittered dolphin statue that I display with pride!! Love that she picked it out especially for me! She was SO excited to watch me open it! I will always treasure that sweet dolphin. 🙂
The best give I gave was a quilt made from my grandfather’s old shirts. My grandmother didn’t know what to do with all his clothes when he passed, so I picked an assortment of his shirts and sewed a quilt for her. I inherited the quilt back when she died, and now it reminds me of both of them. It gives me such joy to snuggle on the couch with my kids in our Pappaw quilt.
My favorite Christmas Gift would have to be my Kitchen Aid, I use it all the time! I love creating baked creations with my two daughters, plus its hot pink : )
My favorite Christmas Gift would have to be my Kitchen Aid, I use it all the time! I love creating baked creations with my two daughters, plus its hot pink : )
My sisters and I (and our husbands) gave my parents the gift of having ‘dates’ with each daughter/husband. All were unique and a wonderful time to catch up. We are all adults and we rarely see my parents with no interruptions (read: 12 grandchildren between their 4 daughters).
Every year my husband and I go skiing over New Years as our Christmas present. It is amazing fun and family time.
The best holiday gift I’ve received was my little boy! No gift will ever top that for me!
My boyfriend didn’t want to get a real tree – but, to make me happy he went out and bought a small tree (a very expensive small tree) and made me the happiest girl ever for Christmas. This is our first tree together and I will always remember the lengths he will go to make me happy.
a fiance!
A simple silver necklace from my mom when I was 16 years old. Still wear it after all this time.
The best gift I ever received was a camera from my husband before we were married!
Last Christmas, my parents paid the security deposit/first months rent on my new apartment because there was a mix up in the payroll department at work and I hadn’t been paid for my first 5 weeks of work…I had just graduated college and had no money saved. I was commuting 6 hours a day from their house, and it was such a relief to be able to move much closer!
My granddad made me a sassafras boat paddle one year because that’s a lightweight wood for ladies. I’m sure glad I have his handmade things now that he’s gone.
I received my favorite gift last year….a finger painting from my 2 year-old niece. I can’t wait to get another this year.
honestly, more than ten years ago my parents got me Maui Jim sunglasses for christmas and i still have them! they are ancient and every time i go into a sunglass hut, the staff comments on how old they are and that i should get a new pair. but why spend the money when i love the ones i have?
My son George! He was my Christmas present last year and he is a joy 24 hours a day.
My best gift will be this year when I will call up my dad overseas to tell him I have a kickass offer from a kickass firm after six months of job hunting!!! Can’t wait to hear his surprise…
The best gift that I have ever given has to be to my husband. He was very surprised and excited to open tickets to the BCS National Championship game to cheer on our Auburn Tigers. He was completely shocked…I love that!
Last year I received a wonderful gift a few days before Christmas. My son was born on December 12th! His addition has caused my heart to grow and I’ve loved watching my family create their own special bond with him. It’s amazing how someone so tiny can bring so much joy.
One of my favorite gifts was given to me last year. My hubby surprised me with a Garmin Forerunner! I was training for my first half marathon and this was such a special gift from him, not only because it was functional, but it also showed how much he supported me.
The best gift I ever received was a cute cuddly kitten when I was 5- still remember is so well 🙂
I received an amazing gift last year a few days before Christmas. My son was born on December 12. (He has an awesome birthday, 12-12-12!) He has caused my heart to grow and I’ve loved wathcing my family create their own unique and special bonds with him. It’s amazing how someone so tiny can bring such big joy!
I got a ballerina outfit when I was 6 or so. It was the first thing on my list, and Santa hung it on the back of the tree. I was pouting until my dad suggested I look around the tree. Every year since (and I’m 51), I’ve always checked behind the tree for more! xoxo
At 54 years old I recently unearthed the artist in me when I received the best gift ever – some art supplies. Along with the gift came the memory that had laid dormant for so many years; the memory of how as a child all I ever wanted for Christmas was art supplies. Our gifts were hand made items and so I never received them, but oh how I’m having fun now exploring my creative side!
My favorite gift from childhood was an orange Bee Gees radio. Loved it. And from adulthood, my DSLR camera!
My parents gave me a little diamond ring one Christmas. The diamond came from a tie tack my father had.
The best Christmas gift I ever received was my baby son. We waited 9 years after we were married to have a baby. He was born a month before Christmas. At Christmas Eve church service, I held him in my arms listening to his baby breaths and smelling his new baby smell. I felt so blessed.
My mother gave me a Canon 40D camera five years ago. It was an extremely generous gift to say the least. She told me at the time that it was a long term gift, birthdays and Christmases for the forseeable future. She passed away suddenly three months later. Every day my mother keeps giving. She is still giving me the gift of memories, the ones she created with me and the ones I record through the lens she gave me.
Parents help mold the lens through which our children perceive their lives and the world around them. My mother gave me a wonderful lens to use in viewing this life, then – as her final gift- she gave me a camera to capture and savor it.
This year, the gifts I am giving are mostly photo gifts, shot with her final gift to me. My mother’s love will be hanging on canvas in her children’s and grandchildren’s homes all around the country – still giving.
The best gift I ever received was my wedding gift from my husband; he bottled up some sand from the beach I grew up on. So, no matter where we go, a piece of home will always be with me.
A $20 doll that my daughter wanted so badly but it was nearly impossible to find. My friend in Ohio found it for me and shipped it to me. My daughter wasn’t expecting it at all and I’ll always remember the look on her face when she opened it. I fought back tears then and still do when I think about it.
“Smittens”!!! Lovely gift for newlyweds: two red fleecy mittens, plus one matching mitten-for-two for cuddly winter hand holding.
The best Christmas gift I’ve ever received was a blue wool sweater that my honey picked out for me! What makes it so funny is that I asked for a pink cashmere sweater:) But I love the one HE picked out!:)
The best gifts I’ve ever given were “grandma” and “grandpa” ornaments to my husband’s parents—announcing I was pregnant and their new titles.
Last year my mom and dad decided to forgo a gift and instead bought two chickens in my name to support a family in rural Nicaragua – which to me is the greatest gift in the world because I spend my summers as an intern down there and to have them support me and the people down in that way there was incredible.
My favorite Christmas present was always the “real” artist desk I got when I was 6. I painted and drew pictures all day and all night, and it’s still my favorite to this day.
Roller skates. Had so much fun! Love your blog and beautiful pictures.
Roller skates. Had so much fun! Love your blog and beautiful pictures.
When I was pregnant with my first, we had our anatomy scan at the end of September. We had our doctor write the gender in a card and sealed it. That card sat on our mantle until Christmas morning when we opened it to find out we were having a little girl! Best Christmas gift ever!
The year I turned 20, my dad gave me a string of pearls. It was so special to me (maybe because of my strong love for Anne of Green Gables) and I soaked up every moment of that morning. I still even remember what the wrapping on the box looked like!
Best gift is to give….today on giving Tuesday, I gave to Angie’s Spa dot org, which provides free massages to cancer survivors who are undergoing chemotherapy and their caregivers
The year I turned 20, my dad gave me a string of pearls. It was so special to me (maybe because of my strong love for Anne of Green Gables) and I soaked up every moment of that morning. I still even remember what the wrapping on the box looked like!
The best gift that I got was a “gold” ring from my son purchased out of a vending machine. He was very excited to give it to me and was convinced it was real gold.
The best holiday gift I ever received was a framed portrait of Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face my favorite movie. It was a surprise blessing I received late one Christmas night from a secret admirer who only 2 years later became my husband! It was the most thoughtful gifts that marked the first of many movies we would watch together since we are both movie loving freaks!
I love reading through these!
When my husband finished chemo and heard that he was cancer free, we celebrated with a big “thank you” party for our friends and family who got us through it. They surprised us with a trip to Jamaica! My two best friends had been conspiring with everyone to chip in. The trip was the most giving “gift” I’ve ever received – we were supposed to be thanking them!
The best gift I have ever received was a laptop for university. I use it everyday!
The BEST gift I ever received was a positive pregnancy test. We found 12/21/2001 that we were expecting our first baby! That was by far the best gift yet!
The best gift I’ve ever gotten was for sure my VW bug. I was only 15 when I got it for Christmas so it took my by complete surprise. My parents had it in the garage with a big red bow on it and said they wanted me to get used to driving it (with my learner’s permit) before I was off on my own with my license…I always thought that was pretty smart of them. An awesome surprise and a practical thing for a teenager to have their car in advance to get used to driving it! 🙂 I’ll be doing the same thing with my kids and I can’t wait!
My best gift I ever received for Christmas was my chocolate lab puppy that my husband (but then boyfriend) gave me in 1999. She was a great friend to us both for 13 years- and to our son for the last 2 years of her life!
we were given the gift of HUMILITY……..during a recent stage iv cancer battle we were blessed with an amazing amount of support and love from family and friends! completely humbling and warm brightness from so many people! we were also given a life together CANCER-FREE with our two boys and a future of #trulyblessed!
My daughter’s due date was December 25. She came a week early, healthy and happy on my birthday. Best gift ever.
Last year for Christmas, my husband surprised me with a new SLR Digital Camera. I had been wanting one for years. It invigorated my desire for photography of my two favorite subjects, my boys. Now, I can capture all of our memory making moments just the way I desire to and I can look back and remember like it was yesterday. ~ Carrie
My most precious gift- my daughter was born right before Christmas last year. She was 2 months early – a Christmas blessing. So thankful!
My most precious gift- my daughter was born right before Christmas last year. She was 2 months early – a Christmas blessing. So thankful!
The best holiday gift that I’ve given was to my beloved grandmother. When I was really little she taught me to crochet. I picked up the hobby again after I graduated from college. A couple years ago I made my grandmother a beautiful blanket for Christmas, to show my appreciation for the wonderful memories I have of her teaching me to crochet as a child. She’ll be 97 years old next year and I love her dearly.
The best gift I have received was my engagement ring – almost 6 years ago!
I’ll always remember my first puppy, Bunny.
I’m not sure I could ever pick a favorite! I LOVE to give gifts and try to come up with something unique for each family member 🙂
Last year for Christmas I was given a dog by my parents. I had been wanting one since I was 7, so I had been asking for 11 years. They finally found one that would fit into our family, and she was from the shelter which I love. Now, I couldn’t imagine my life without my sweet girl. It is true that if you hope for something and work towards achieving it long enough, when you finally get it, it provides the ability for you to be happier than you ever imagined. 🙂
One of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten was when my husband planned and surprised me with a spa getaway weekend with my best friend, who lives far away.
when i was 7, i gave my parents a box with a note inside that said, “this is a box of my love. it is very small because i couldn’t find one big enough to hold all of it.” in hindsight, i think that was kinda adorable… maybe i should try it on my husband this year? 😉
a new computer! much needed 🙂
I’m sure I’ve received wonderful gifts, but there’s one gift I’ve given that I will never forget – the creation of said gift, or the recipient’s reaction. When my husband and I were dating, I made stockings for my MIL to hang by her fireplace… one for each of her 8 grandchildren. Each was personalized with a little elf and the child’s name. It’s the one and only time she ever hugged me. I think it’s the only time I’ve ever known her to hug any adult. Being the optimistic girlfriend, I bought extra material, and I’ve since made 3 more, for a total of 11 stockings for 11 grandchildren (one is my kid). It warms my heart to see them hanging every year.
One of the best gifts I’ve ever received was given to me last year by my best friend, Renee. She gave me some homemade granola and apple cinnamon Theraflu. It might not seem like much, but the fact that she took the time to make me something, and tracked down my favorite flavor of Theraflu (which was sold out everywhere), meant SO MUCH to me. It just showed me what a great friend and listener she is.
Actually two bests, my marriage on Dec. 16, 1994 and my third child, Jan. 4, 2001~~~
My best Christmas gift was in 1987 when I was 8. My youngest baby brother was born 10 weeks early that May and had a lot of complications that required many surgeries and months of hospital stays. He had come home before but never managed to stay home more than a couple weeks, max. But he was released from the hospital right before Christmas and got to stay home for good. It was the best day. And we had missed my parents so much too while all this was going on. It was the best gift to be a complete family under one roof. Even at age 8, I knew that would trump any gift under the tree that year.
The best gift I ever received was the Christmas that my now husband proposed to me! He was sick with pneumonia but that still didn’t stop him. Married 10 years and going strong!
A few years ago my gift from the kids was a waffle maker. Yes I had technically asked for it, but it isn’t really the kind of gift you melt over. But all these years later, it’s been one of my favorites. It’s become a Saturday tradition. Everyone pitches in. We make waffles, cook cinnamon rolls and even grilled cheeses in that thing. It’s one of those gifts that brings the family together and I couldn’t have asked for anything more than that.
Best Christmas gift I’ve ever given was a Shutterfly book my sister and I made for my mom of our favorite family photos. She cried it made her so happy.
5 Years ago I had the priveledge of living in Mexico for 6 months, and for Christmas, my roommate and I stayed down south instead of coming home. She asked me if I would help her take a full dinner, (roast chicken, potatoes and veggies, homemade apple pie) and some toys to a few families who she knew wouldn’t have anything.
We ended up only being able to make it to 1 of the families because a recent rainstorm had washed out a bunch of the roads, but the one family we did get to, got a huge meal and a bunch of toys. I’ve never seen kids happier with a few toys.
It was honestly one of my favourite Christmases to date.
My favorite Christmas gift…an antique trunk which was restored by hand by my stepdad’s father, who lived in Canada, and given to me in 1996. This trunk has followed me from my parents house, to my first apartment, etc and now has a prominent place in my living room. We had my daughter’s newborn photos taken using the lid of the trunk as the backdrop! Thank you for this opportunity!
My most favorite gift I received was a sewing machine. I discovered my love for sewing after that!
The first Christmas gift I ever received from my husband (then boyfriend of 3 months) was a gift certificate for ballroom dancing lessons. The best part? It was inside a pinata, and I had to break it open.
To this day I still remembered a Christmas gift I received from family friends when I was just a little kid. At the time I was obsessed with Orca’s and swore that one day I would grow up to be a Marine Biologist. Our family friends adopted a whale for me as my gift, I received a certificate and a monthly newsletter for a year, perfect gift for a whale loving kid.
My favorite Christmas gift ever was my Huffy 10-speed turquiose bike that I got when I was 10 years old, in 1984!!! I will never forget that Christmas!!
The best gift I received was my iPad shortly after having my son. He was very colicky and my husband travels nonstop. It allowed me a little escape in the middle of the night. My son is now two and still does not sleep well. I could use the sunglasses to hide the bag under my eyes!
A gift my sons worked hard to create!
My best gift was one of my sisters giving me a day to go do whatever I wanted to do, sans kids, sans husband, sans noise! It was perfectly lovely. We all need that from time to time, and now I just need to pass it on!
I’m so excited to give my husband fly fishing gear this year! He’s going to be so surprised.
The best gift I gave/was given was a trip for me and my husband, a gift to each other. We spent last Christmas in Munich – followed by a few days in Salzburg and Vienna – and walking through Christmas markets all bundled up while touring each city was amazing. I’m happy to be spending Christmas with family this year but aching to be back in Europe as well – maybe next year!
My favorite Christmas memory was watching “The Night They Saved Christmas”. My sister and I looked forward to it every year!
Best gift I ever got was my engagement ring – was the most exciting Christmas ever. 🙂
My favorite gift is an antique trunk, hand restored for me, by the father of a man who has treated me like a daughter from the day he met me. His father found the trunk in Canada, where he lived, restored it, and drove it to IL so my very dear friends could give it to me for Christmas 1996. His father has sinced passed though every day that I walk by that trunk I think of how blessed I am. When my only child was born we used the trunk as a backdrop to infant photos! Thank you for the opportunity to bring out the worlds true colors!
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Expecting our “surprise” baby through the holiday season…he was due Dec 22 & came Dec 29. I left our Christmas tree up extra long that year. 🙂
Happy -late- Thanksgiving, very thankful to you and your blog.
Holiday cheer from Tejas,
Melissa
An engagement ring, was my Christmas gift almost a decade ago. It was such a symbol of our love that has continued to give each and every day since.
It will be this year when my brother and his wife welcome their first child (and my first niece or nephew) on Christmas Day!
Dbyrne1[at]gmail[dot]com
When a gave my boyfriend a pair of lederhosen which he had wanted for years. The look on his face was priceless.
dslr camera. It has captured so many great memories over the past 6 years.
Last year I got engaged for Christmas, with a ring that my grandpa made for me:)
my laptop was my favourite one of my gifts.
the best christmas gift i ever received was a proposal from my love. didn’t hurt that it was accompanied by something pretty sparkly… 🙂
My mother surprised me one Christmas when I was about 9 with a handmade dark green wool and velvet cape. I felt so fancy wearing it all winter long.
I have been lucky to receive many great gifts throughout the years but my absolute favorite gifts are (1) the little books my mom buys me, and always writes a note in the cover to me and (2) the letters from my dad telling me how proud he is of me. I count these among my most valuable belongings – I actually keep them in a fire proof safe, just in case!
The best gift I have been given for Christmas would have to be my boxer. She has brought more joy to my family than I could have ever imagined!
Maui Jim makes wonderful glasses. I am planning on a pair for my hubby this year!
The best Christmas gift I have ever received came from my husband and daughters. We enjoy travelling together and turtles have been a favorite item for me to spot on our trips. Receiving a necklace with a sparkling turtle on it brought back some happy family memories and I smile every time I reach in to my jewelry box to put it on.
my bab girl 🙂
We welcomed our long wanted and hard fought for 2nd child on 12/26/12 and it was, by great measure, THE best Christmas gift EVER.
I scrolled down the comments section and realized that almost every single person decided indirectly that love was their favorite gift. It wasn’t the Locket necklace, it was the tiny picture that sat inside of a wrinkled old man. It was the love for that man that made that necklace special. It was the unexpected things that people did to show family and complete strangers that they are loved. Like “HEY! Somebody is thinking about you!”. Its not the materialistic part of it that makes it so great… its the good memories that float to the surface; its who you think of.
Love is and always will be the greatest gift.
When I was 15 my parents gave me a horse for Christmas. It was one of the most thrilling moments of my life! I loved and cherished that horse for years. 🙂
best gift was last when my husband got me some shoes that i had my eye for quite sometime..i didnt think he would buy them but he surprised me!
My DSLR camera from my parents last year. I had been wanting one for so long and now I have so much fun taking pictures. And with baby #2 on the way, it’s perfect timing. 🙂
Best Christmas present received would be my lil brother… he was born on Christmas Eve!
I can’t possibly think of one favorite at the moment, just being together makes me happy…. hopefully my post will suffice.
last year my hubby special ordered a mama necklace for me with the birthstone of our new baby on it. I don’t really wear jewelry much- but i loved that he came up with something so thoughtful. I wear it to work all of the time now and love it! 🙂
The best gift I ever gave was scheduling the gender ultrasound of our son on my husband’s birthday. He go to see his son for the first time on his birthday. I will never forget his expression.
last year my hubby special ordered a mama necklace for me with the birthstone of our new baby on it. I don’t really wear jewelry much- but i loved that he came up with something so thoughtful. I wear it to work all of the time now and love it! 🙂
I have my husband a portrait of our daughter, handpainted. It meant so much to him!
The best gift I ever received I thought of immediately when I read this. When I was six years old my parents made me a doll house. It was a pink Victorian, that they even hand glued each shingle too! 20 years later, it’s still in my parents attic and I plan on hopefully re-gifting it to my future child!
My husband doesn’t really ‘plan’ presents, he just buys. with that being said, he works in college football so December is always hectic with not knowing where we will be for Christmas. A hotel for a bowl game, or home. Last year was our first year as a family at a bowl game- he surprised me and bought me a DSLR camera and a very nice, out of budget for my husband, purse. He responded with ‘you deserved something for having to spend Christmas in a hotel, b/c of me’. Although I didn’t mind our circumstances too much, it was the sweetest thing he had done for me in a real long time.
I will never forget the first sewing machine I got. I was in 7th grade and it was under the tree just for me. My love for sewing has never faded.
Thanks for the great giveaway.
Lisa
My favorite holiday gift was given to my (now) husband. He presented me with a Willowtree figurine of two people embracing. There was a string hanging between them and when I pulled it – it broke. Wedged down in there was an engagement ring! We had a heck of a time using a butter knife and carefully easing it out without breaking the figurine. We still laugh about it today – 7 yrs later!! – Karen
We lost our first baby to miscarriage January 2006, and were completely devastated. Just a couple months later we were expecting again! This time with twins! We were SO excited and their due date of December 25th made it even more special. They were born a couple weeks early and were by far the best Christmas gift we have ever received. We didn’t get each other a thing that year. Just snuggled in with our sweet babes. They will be 7 years old in a few days and are the best big brother and sister to their 3 little siblings. I can’t imagine our lives without them. <3
When I was 8 all I wanted for Christmas was an enchanted egg (weird I know)…my mom painstakingly made me one out of pink sugar with a scene of a mama bear holding her baby inside…I still have it.
My favorite gift was from my fiance (now husband) two years ago. We had just finished opening all of our presents on Christmas Eve (that’s tradition in our house, until we have littles), when he looked at me and said “There’s one more.” He lifted up the tree skirt and handed me one last wrapped present. It was a book full of photos and short poems that he had written to tell the story of our relationship. It’s a keepsake that I will always treasure.
My best gift received, by far, is my camera! It’s used every day and I’m preserving memories. It’s not a fancy dslr but to me it’s priceless. 🙂
I’ve had millions of great presents over the years. My two favorites would be diamond earings from my husband or a My Little Pony stable when I was young. Both stand out in my mind.
The best gift we ever gave was a onsie to my mom and MIL that said “I love grandma” – we announced our pregnancy with our first child at Xmas – it was the first grandchild on either side!
One of the best gifts I have ever received is a bracelet from my parents and grandfather. It was a Pandora charm bracelet that had three charms. One from each of my parents, and a special one from my Grandpa. It is incredibly special to me because my loved ones are continuously adding more meaningful charms to it each Christmas.
The best gift I ever got was my grandmothers original wedding band. She passed away in November and I got that gift as an early christmas present from my parents. She left it just for me.
The best gift I ever gave was a beaded photo of my other grandmother for my mom for christmas. It is my mom’s favourite pic of my grandmother and we both cried christmas morning when she opened it.
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The first Christmas I was married I got all the ornaments my parents had bought for me for the past 25 years all wrapped up with a sweet note from them. Loved it! 🙂
A jeans skirt from my dad when I was 9. Exactly what I wanted.
I got my first handheld mixer several years back, and it has faithfully been by my side through batches and batches of cupcakes and cookies!
My husband gave me a charm bracelet 3 years ago after we had our first child. It had 1 charm – a blue shoe for my new baby boy. Since then, we’ve enjoyed adding charms to the bracelet as we’ve added new memories. I had a baby girl in June, so I’m hoping for “her” charm this Christmas!
My husband gave me a charm bracelet 3 years ago after we had our first child. It had 1 charm – a blue shoe for my new baby boy. Since then, we’ve enjoyed adding charms to the bracelet as we’ve added new memories. I had a baby girl in June, so I’m hoping for “her” charm this Christmas!
My best gift every year is just the presence of my family.
A signed copy of To Kill a Mockingbird
The best gift(s) I have ever received come every year. Each year my mama needlepoints ornaments for my older brother and I that reflect something from the past year of our life. 28 years later, I have a tree that reminds me of how much I am loved.
Love Maui Jims! I use to be a river rafting guide and these were the best for that line of work!
When I turned 8 I asked Santa for a Barbie. My parents did not let me have them, so I overrode them and went to Santa. She was a beautiful Barbie dressed in peach with a boa complete with shoes, rings and earring. I remember seeing her and the awe and excitement I felt!
One of the best gifts I ever received was my engagement ring and the way it was presented. My favorite gift that I gave was a journal chronicling my best friend’s journey out of depression.
The best gift I ever gave was tickets for my parents and I to see Engelbert Humperdinck! It made me feel so good to see them so excited 🙂
Best Christmas present. The year my mom bought black-market cabbage patch dolls for me and my little brother. It’s all we wanted and she found them.
The best gift I ever received was a beautiful set of teach cups from my daughter.
Hands Down – a family vacation…the whole family, one whole week, love, drama, siblings secrets, beach, all of it!
Hands Down – a family vacation…the whole family, one whole week, love, drama, siblings secrets, beach, all of it!
My best holiday gift…all I can think of is my fiance and me, buying our yearly ornaments, stringing up the tree and turning the couch around to watch it rather than the TV.
One of the best gifts I’ve been given is being able to spend Christmas with my family 🙂 It’s special and fun …and never stressful, which is a huge blessing! Oh, and cute clothes from Anthropologie of course!
I’m sitting here snuggling my perfect newborn son, who arrived just 6 days ago, the day before Thanksgiving. My cup runneth over with gratitude.
I’m sitting here snuggling my perfect newborn son, who arrived just 6 days ago, the day before Thanksgiving. My cup runneth over with gratitude.
Every year I receive a subscription to the magazine ‘The Week’ which keeps me up-to-date on so many different things going on in the world. I love it!
The best gift that I ever gave was one I gave myself. Actually my husband and I gave ourselves. We decided to adopt a baby girl from China. That Christmas “waiting for Anna” was almost ten years ago but will always hold such a special place in my heart.
The best Christmas gift I’ve received was a special bracelet my husband gifted me. It’s not an expensive one, but it’s perfectly me and demonstrates his thoughtfulness.
The best gift I ever got was a homemade rag doll my mom made for me when I was about 4. I still have it, and I’ll NEVER get rid of it. 🙂
Best gift was a bike I got that I was NOT expecting. Worst was the beginning of 7+ nights of labor with my daughter!
I love love love my kid made ornaments from school. They are my favorite ornaments on the tree!
I always love to give gifts. i have a hard time keeping a secret until then. I think the top 3 were:
1. My trip to Maui my grandparent gave to us (my sisters and cousins).
2. My jewelry box my grandfather gave me one.
3. All my kitchen gadgets my hubby got me last year.
The best gift I have received for Christmas was airline tickets to go see my sister who was living near Seattle Washington(I’m from Wisconsin) at the time with her soldier husband. She had just had a new baby and needed help caring for her older daughter. I was the first in the family to meet my nephew and it had been a couple months since I had seen them.
Oh boy, there’s been so many great gifts given to me over the years, but one that sticks out the most is a Tiffany pearl bracelet me husband gave me.
It wasn’t the gift I received, but the gift I gave. My husband and I spent hours making a scrapbook for his parents filled with their memories of 50 years together.
Pop had started his Alzheimer journey, but as we sat together going through the book you could tell his memory would be triggered.
Thank you
The best Christmas gift was my engagement ring! My boyfriend (now husband for almost 12 years!) proposed to me in front of my whole family on Christmas Day! I’ll never forget christmas of 2001:)