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Your best Christmas experience.

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  • Your best Christmas experience.

    This can be anything. Something you did, something you got, or any memory of Christmas, Hannukah, Quanzaa, etc.


    For me, my best Christmas memory had nothing to do with getting anything for me. While working the corporate job, ( I used to work as a Technical Recruiter for large high-tech firms), we would have a Christmas Angel Tree in each of the lobbies of all our buildings on the campus. And one year, with less than a week left until Christmas, I came down to find that there were still a bunch of Angels left on the tree. I had already given one Angel their gift, but there were a bunch left. I called the Angel people and asked if these kids were on other trees in town, and they told me no. So, if nobody got them anything, they were going to be out of luck. I asked them how many they had left on other trees in town, and they said there were a few others left around town too.

    So, I went to each building, got all the remaining Angels, called the woman and had her fax me the rest from town, and then asked how many days I had left to get gifts, and she said "one". I took each of the Angel's wish lists, grabbed my mom, and we went shopping.

    For the Angel tree, each Angel completes a list. The list has something they want for Christmas, something they want to give for Christmas, and something their teacher says they need. We spent the entire afternoon, and late into the night, shopping. I bought every gift for roughly 30 kids, and delivered them in the bed of my truck the next day. I also bought cards for every friend and family member I would have gotten a gift for normally, and wrote the name of a kid that had gotten Christmas instead of them. They were the best gifts I ever gave.

    I'll never forget doing it, not because it was some big "look at me doing good stuff" moment, but because there were kids who were so used to having nothing for Christmas, that they asked for underwear and socks. No shit. Underwear and socks. They got more than underwear and socks that year. Or the little girl who wanted a necklace for her mommy that said "I love you Mommy". I can still see the look on the faces of the checkers at ToysRUs and WalMart when I had 10 skateboards, and 10 barbies, etc, etc.

    If those kids felt a tenth as good about getting the stuff as I felt about giving it, they had a great Christmas. I'd give up ever getting another thing for myself to be able to do that again. Unfortunately, I'm poor now.
    "A cross thread is better than a lock washer." Earl Lanning...My Grandpa

  • #2
    Re: Your best Christmas experience.

    What a great story. We all should rise to such a level.
    BS'er formally known as Rebeldryver

    Resident Instigator

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    • #3
      Re: Your best Christmas experience.

      Originally posted by Rebeldryver
      What a great story. We all should rise to such a level.
      Ditto !!!

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      • #4
        Re: Your best Christmas experience.

        That's great stuff Chad.

        I had similar feelings when building houses for folks in Appalachia who didn't have a roof over their head... really makes you reconsider your priorities in life and how lucky the vast majority of us are.

        As a kid I always wanted a dog but was allergic to just about everything so the answer from my folks was a resounding no.. (apparently all those allergy shots really worked or I just grew out of it - since our German Shepherd doesn't bother me a bit now)

        After I'd given up the idea of getting a dog - about 11 or so - my Mom asked me to help her with some boxes a few days before Christmas - one of them had a puppy inside! That allergy approved little schnauzer was a great companion - my folks ended up very attached to him and were deeply saddened when they had to put him down (I was through college by that point). That tops my Christmas story list.
        There's always something new to learn.

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        • #5
          Re: Your best Christmas experience.

          One of the coolest things that is done around here is that the whole community pitches in to host what is called "Project Christmas". What they do is collect donations all year long of mostly new toys, books, household items, foodstuffs, pet food, and clothing. Then needy families can apply to participate in the prgram and they are evaluated based on income and family situation. They then can come and get gifts for their families free of cost. I participate in a very small way, working as a human shopping cart to help people carry things around the "shopping area", which is about four times the size of a basketball court. When you see the faces of someone who is their for their first time, you feel great being even a small part of it. Last year it served 700+ local families.

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          • #6
            Re: Your best Christmas experience.

            I think the coolest part of the season
            is giving.......

            I get a lot of stuff from vendors this time of year
            much of it food items
            I take it all down to the local food pantry where
            I know it's appreciated

            A few years back a vendor got me a pretty expensive
            insulated hunting jacket.
            I dropped it off at the clothing barrel at church
            Thom

            "The object is to keep your balls on the table and knock everybody else's off..."

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            • #7
              Re: Your best Christmas experience.

              I remember that I used to always get something on wheels for Christmas. I remember getting a big wheel when we lived in Alaska. There I was trying to pedal along on the icy sidewalk. I remember getting 3 different bikes on different Christmas'. For a junior gearhead, it doesn't get much better than your own set of shiny wheels.

              Also remember my Dad being gone on Christmas a few times. There was even one Christmas that my sister and I were Angel tree kids. That is where get gifts from a stranger because a parent is in prison. I remember thinking that the gifts should go to someone else because our family had us covered. We were humbled.

              Vividly remember going home for Christmas for the first time after I left home/town. Even more recently, when I took my wife home to meet my parents the first time before we were married.

              Good times.
              Bakersfield, CA.

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              • #8
                Re: Your best Christmas experience.

                The first christmas I really remember was in '69, I was 9 at the time and my brother was 8. We finally got the model train set we wanted. We played with it all day and into the night. That was the last we saw of it. :'( When we had to shut the light out and go to bed, we waited for the parents to go to sleep and started to play with the trains again. Since we couldn't turn on the lights, we snuck some candles. The next morning, when dad came in our room, he found us asleep on the floor with the train still running and the candles burned down into the top of a couple of the cars. Looked good going around the tracks with the candles on top of the train. ;D

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                • #9
                  Re: Your best Christmas experience.

                  One of the best (theres more but this one sticks in my head) is sitting on my parents stoop (front steps) with my grandfather on Christmas eve while he smoked his cigar after dinner (my grandmother didnt want him to smoke in the house) and listening to Christmas music from a neighbors speaker set up.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Your best Christmas experience.

                    This year I am involved with a program here at the base that is shaping up to be one of the best and most rewarding experiences I have had during the Christmas season...Here is what I posted on the volunteer thread TC started.


                    My base has a version of The MarineCorps Toys for Tots program....We call it Santa's in Blue....and we sponsor 2 very poor schools on 2 impoverished reservations...the teachers at those schools are instructed to have to students pick out 3 gifts under 30 bucks each ( primary and 2 back ups) ...Then those classes lists are passed on to the various squadrons on base and we look for donations and sponsors...I took 90 names out of 700 and was able to collect 2 gifts per kid....we also have a TON of little gifts just in case little brother or sister comes out....The coolest thing is....your gonna Bangshift approve this.....We fly Santa in on a HH-60 Helicopter to the school....It is a great program....We are going out to hand the gifts out this week and if all goes well I will post up some pics of the trip....The amazing thing is the things these kids ask fro...some ask for gifts for their mom, or shoes, warm coats, blankets, shoes, clothes...stuff we take for granted....So they get those items...and the sponsor almost always buys a toy as well....


                    I can not wait to go to the school and see these kids, the excitmente of watcching a helo land and Santa coming out, and having gifts...in most cases the only gift these kids will get....



                    If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

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                    • #11
                      Re: Your best Christmas experience.

                      Man, that is awesome stuff.

                      Great work.

                      Brian
                      That which you manifest is before you.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Your best Christmas experience.

                        Vary nice Chad. Remind's me of a news story I saw last year or the year before. A news reporter was at a toy drop off point talking how the donations where down. At that point she goes speechless and the camera pans over to see a flat bed semi- truck pull up loaded with about 150 new bicycles. They where donated by one man.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Your best Christmas experience.

                          Joe, that's a great thing you guys are doing. If you can, the pics would be cool to see.
                          "Somewhere the zebra is dancing". Garth Stein's The art of racing in the rain.

                          Matt

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                          • #14
                            Re: Your best Christmas experience.

                            My best Christmas will be this Christmas, as I'm getting a Daughter. No the wife isn't pregnant, we will be getting custody of our 16 year old niece. Things aren't going well for her right now, just say her mom's a piece of work, she got into some trouble with some friends, they were drinking and the person driving was driving at 100mph when the cops pulled them over. Ya not good. And people think living in a small town prevents this stuff, she lives in South Dakota. Anyway we talked with the DA up there told them we would get her back in school and pay for a plane ticket for her to come stay with us. And they said, send the proof of the enrollment in the school and plane ticket and they will drop all charges. So this year my biggest present is going to be giving a little girl a second chance at life.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Your best Christmas experience.

                              My parents had 5 kid who now range from 49-60.Its difficult to get us all together especially the holidays.Mom always wants all her kids home for Christmas and a little bit of the snow on the ground to make it complete. A few years back we all told mom and dad none of us would be able to make it to Branson Mo where they lived. We LIED!! ;D They owned a small resort on Lake Taneycomo.We all met up a few blocks away and started singing carols and walking to the resort.My dad came to the door and told my mom to come check out the carolers.(Mom was not in a good mood) ;D Mom came to the door and glanced and said"That nice" WTF! Then it registered who was singing. ;D The look on her face was priceless.Christmas moring there was an inch of snow on the ground(none forecasted)Best Christmas ever.

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