Wow to both Sheilajoyce and Littlebug! Thank you for sharing your stories. Each made my eyes water.

When things are going along normally ...

... so much of the time we forget to be thankful for our good fortune.

Thanks for helping us remember some of the other times.

ole joyful

Thanks for sharing these stories. I enjoyed both of them very much.

Shirley

I enjoyed them too. Thanks, Sheilajoyce and Littlebug! I'm glad you remembered so much detail.

What sweet memories! Thank you for sharing in such vivid detail.

One year, when I was about 14, on Christmas morning as we five kids (i'm the eldest) gleefully tore into the loot under the tree, I noticed that a particular present for me was not to be found. I had been told my aunt had bought new bathrobes for each of us, but there were none to be seen. I wihispered to my mother about it and she looked thunderstruck -- "go upstairs and look under my bed," she told me. And there I discovered another huge batch of presents that my mother had completely forgotten to bring down. My bathrobe was the prettiest thing, silky, watercolor-floral in deep jewel tones -- I loved it and wore it to shreds. Fortunately by that year I had reached my ultimate adult height -- all of 5' tall, so I was able to fit the robe for many years!

Then there was the Christmas that my younger brother snooped around and found mother's "hidden" stash of Santa presents in a music cabinet. He called the three younger girls (6,4 and 2) and sat them in front of the open cabinet and proceeded to hand out the gifts -- "this one's for you, and this one's for you..." My mother walked in and you may imagine her dismay. Now she had to shop for new and different Santa stuff, not easy in those days, financially-speaking!

I loved all of your stories and memories. Thank you all for sharing.

We draw names for Christmas gifts and have a max price of $25. Many years ago my father in law drew my name and asked me what I would like. I had seen a set of inexpensive Christmas dishes and I asked for those. He wanted to give me the money and I could buy them myself but I wanted him to shop. My DH asked me the same question so I told him I wanted a second set of the same dishes so I could have a sevice for eight. Christmas morning at home I opened my gift of the inexpensive dishes from my kids and was suitably thrilled. Later in the day at my inlaws I opened my gift from FIL and there was a set of beautiful Christmas dishes. He didn't like the cheap ones so he went to a much more expensive store and bought me those lovely dishes. DH had gone to considerable trouble to find the cheapies and had to return them and then go buy a second set of the beautiful dishes which we could ill afford at the time. I have had those beautiful dishes for thirty years, and every time I take them out I think of the generosity of my FIL and the efforts of my DH to give me a happy Christmas.

Yuletide Eureka
What my son wanted most for Christmas that year was a pool table. They were not inexpensive, but we reasoned that a pool table would be a good incentive for a fourteen-year old to have his friends come in, and keep him at home. How do you hide a pool table until Christmas? Many of our friends had used our attic to stash their gifts until Old Santa could make his rounds, but nobody could handle a pool table for us. The store would not deliver on Christmas eve so we had to agree to have the table brought to our house a few days before Christmas. It was put into a room in the basement that was unheated and never used in the winter. A day or two before Christmas I heard someone open the door leading down to the basement. I looked to see my son starting down the steps. Surely he must be going to get something from the garage, but I went to the door to listen. If I told him not to go into the back room, it would be a giveaway, so I crossed my fingers and waited. I heard his footsteps go down the hall. He was not going to the garage, probably just out the back door. But no, I heard a door open, and then a very quiet voice say "oops!"
His "oops" reminded me of my own little "oops" many years ago. I was probably about eight at the time. Being the youngest in the family, my sisters and brothers did what they could to keep me in the camp with believers. I never had this explained to me, but that Christmas eve, I heard a voice coming down the chimney, telling me I better go to bed, or Santa Claus wouldn't come. My sisters who were in the room at the time told me it must have been Santa Claus or one of his elves. I had never heard of anyone who had heard Santa Clause's voice coming down from the chimney, but I was afraid to take a chance. On my way to bed, and just as my son did many years later, I opened the door to a room I should not have. There on the bed lay many things. One thing I could not miss...black, shiny and obviously my size. The patent leather shoes I wanted so badly and had asked Santa Claus for. What did this mean? I hadn't gone to bed yet; Santa could not have come. And if he had, he would have put everything under the tree, and besides, they weren't even wrapped up. I stared at the bed like it was Santa's sleigh. I stepped back, closed the door, and crossed that invisible barrier, and I knew.

Did your son like the pool table? You hafta tell the ending, :)

Sorry to be so long getting back to this. It actually slipped my mind until I saw a similar post just a few minutes ago. About the pool table. He and his friends enjoyed the table for quite some time, and then as soon as Summer came they preferred being outside. But it was worth the effort, and I cant remember now how long it was used as they grew and found other interests. Probably about two years though. (PS. I mentioned the unheated room, but by changing a valve on the furnace, the room could be heated.)

Merry Christmas.