What Was Your Best Gift Giving Story?

[jali]

My son Jack is a cool little dude and it was tough for me to give him things he really wanted that were a total surprise. I'd get him the games he played and stuff he pointed out to me, but we like surprises in our family.

One Christmas I hit the one-two punch of good gift giving for my Jack.

I found "Stewie" fleece pajama pants and the Grandma's Boy DVD.

He loved both. I mean LOVED and I was a very happy mommy.

[Solfy]

Can't take credit for this one - it was my dad's doing.

Back in the dark ages of film cameras my parents had a tendency to take a roll of film, pop it in a canister, and throw it in the desk and forget to ever get it developed. One year, shortly before the holidays, my dad snuck out 14 rolls of film and had them all developed. What's better is mom cleaned and organized the desk a week later and never noticed all the film missing.

On Christmas morning, Dad brought out photos going back over ten years, complete with loved ones who were no longer with us. We sat and looked over all those rolls of film and laughed and cried together.

Another related Christmas gift:
My paternal grandfather died (my grandmother had been gone for 12 years already), and while going through his attic my dad found a box of keepsakes and mementos. Included was one of those black and white photobooth strips. The pictures were of my grandparents. Near as we can tell they were only dating at the time; they were sooooo young, and sooooo happy! He had the best pic in the strip blown up into 5x7"s, framed them, and gave one to each of his siblings at the family Christmas party. More tears.

[jali]

Originally Posted by Solfy

Can't take credit for this one - it was my dad's doing.

Back in the dark ages of film cameras my parents had a tendency to take a roll of film, pop it in a canister, and throw it in the desk and forget to ever get it developed. One year, shortly before the holidays, my dad snuck out 14 rolls of film and had them all developed. What's better is mom cleaned and organized the desk a week later and never noticed all the film missing.

On Christmas morning, Dad brought out photos going back over ten years, complete with loved ones who were no longer with us. We sat and looked over all those rolls of film and laughed and cried together.

Another related Christmas gift:
My paternal grandfather died (my grandmother had been gone for 12 years already), and while going through his attic my dad found a box of keepsakes and mementos. Included was one of those black and white photobooth strips. The pictures were of my grandparents. Near as we can tell they were only dating at the time; they were sooooo young, and sooooo happy! He had the best pic in the strip blown up into 5x7"s, framed them, and gave one to each of his siblings at the family Christmas party. More tears.

These are sweet and wonderful.

[Solfy]

This one's not a Christmas gift, but the thread title didn't specify. It also proves that I'm a sentimental old fool.

My favorite gift I got at my wedding shower was from a woman who had been a friend of the family long before I was born. She was going through a rough time in life when I was a tiny girl, and sort of adopted me as the granddaughter she never had. She helped my parents make a down payment on a house when I was four so I'd have a yard to play in. She rented the apartment upstairs in that house when I was five. Every evening I'd visit her after dinner and we'd have tea together. We were very close, but she had a bit of the gypsy in her and never stayed in one place very long. We kept in touch as I grew up, though, and of course she was invited to the bridal shower and wedding.

For my shower gift, she had framed an 8x11" picture of a heart drawn in crayon with the words "I Love You" on paper that is yellowed with age. I had drawn it for her sixteen years prior, and she had saved it through all those years and all those moves. This reminds me, I need to dig that out and hang it in my current house somewhere.

[The Superhero]

My personal best is related in this post and this post.

[Euryphaessa]

Your stories are lovely, Solfy.

[Solfy]

Thanks, Eury.

[MissJeanLouise]

These are all lovely stories. I think it's pretty dusty in here b/c my eyes, well...you know.

I love love love to give gifts. I am just like Supes described with the bowl, in that I hate waiting to give gifts. The waiting part sucks. Some of my best:

1. Got my husband the iPod touch when the 2nd generation, 32G came out. That's the first time I ever felt like I really knocked it out of the park with him. We still talk about how much he loves it.

2. Got my sister a bonsai tree when she turned 21. She had really wanted one, and her boyfriend at the time was pretty useless at gift-giving. She was really touched that I had remembered she wanted one.

3. This year, I have gotten gifts for each branch of my in-laws (e.g., BIL and his family, SIL and her family, MIL and FIL) that I think will be a big hit. I got each family (including my husband and kids) a Christmas ornament made from the sand of the beach that we go to on Cape Cod every year. His family has been going there for something like 60 years and it's a big, huge, sentimental deal. (And yes, I know the ornaments could possibly be made of any old sand, but it's the concept that counts...) Hopefully that one will go as well as I anticipate.

[Mako]

Ms. Mako never ceases to amaze me with how thoughtful and lovely she can be. For my birthday this year she bought me both the 1:350 Tamiya New Jersey and the Bismarck. I'm going to have to do some work to equal that.

But I do have a gift that really stood out many years ago. I'll try to keep it non-emotive.

Back in 1999, my wife bought me one of those "experience days". You know, where you can drive Ferraris, do a parachute jump... that sort of thing. Now she knew that I was a major MS FlightSim wonk, so she bought me an hour in a Cessna.

She sadly passed away nine days before my birthday, but on my birthday her mother presented me with the gift pack, saying that I really ought to make use of it. I actually hate small aircraft, but a few months later I decided she was right. So I booked it.

My instructor said to me, "Mako, I'm a very lazy man. As much flying as you want to do, I'm going to let you." So my first ever flight was also my first ever takeoff. I have never been so scared or exhilarated in my entire life. But every time I've been airborne after that, I've silently thanked her.