As I put the finishing touches to our Christmas preparations today and realized just how simple this years Christmas will be I was reminded of one of my favorite Christmases from my childhood.
I was five years old, and only vaguely aware that Christmas was supposed to be something special. It had been a hard year for my parents and money was more than a little tight. Something that we didn't realize until years later.
When Christmas morning arrived we each had an orange in addition to our regular breakfast and then it was time for our gifts.
I got an eraser that was shaped like a shoe, and my brother John got silly putty.
Mom sat down and helped me draw pictures and we erased our mistakes. It was a wonderful day as we drew pictures and played with John's silly putty.
I treasured that eraser, saving it to use only on special occasions.
To me, it's proof that time is often the best gift we can give to others.
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It is so true that time is the best gift, especially so between parents and children.
ReplyDeleteI love this story. When I was a child each of us four children received new pajamas on Christmas...because we REALLY needed them. And the entire family got a board game that we played together. We never felt deprived and didn't realize just how poor monetarily that we were. We knew we were loved.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Betsy
Hello MaryAnn,
ReplyDeleteWe spent many years of our childhood in poverty, thus the number of Christmas gifts and the gifts themselves were always modest. However, we NEVER felt deprived. Although our own children have grown up in a higher socio-economic station than I did, we've never been an extravagant gift givers. I've bee a mom for 31 years and EVERY year our children receive a book, a modest store bought gift and a homemade gift (often jams, jellies or other goodies put by from summer or autumn harvest). Our primary focus during Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year is family time.
Praying you and your lovely family enjoy a most wonderful Christmas season.
Mrs.B
very sweet story i completely agree
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