Your Stories...

We asked for your best Christmas stories and we received more than 1,000 of them! Productivity ground to a halt last week as we read every single story and tried to decide which ones should be rewarded with a prize. That was an impossible task! Who are we to say that a particular story is "better" than another?! But, we had promised an iPad and 3 Kindles to the top stories... so, we pressed on.

In the end, we decided to give away 6 Kindles instead of 3 in order to help spread the love. Our apologies if your story wasn't chosen. We narrowed them down to the Top 200 before we had to start making very hard decisions...

iPad 2 Winner: Kevin from Rhode Island

I am the oldest of four children and my father was a hard working lower middle class type of guy. My mother passed away when I was seven due to complications with my brother’s birth. My father had a serious drinking problem from that point on and most of my memories of him after my mothers passing are unpleasant to say the least. I would often find him face down on the bathroom floor, totally passed out. My siblings and I were always incredibly helpless in the situation and we had little family support. I took on a parental role most of the time and I was way over my head for my age.

Holidays were especially difficult in our home. We barely had enough to eat half the time and we lacked the amenities that most people take for granted. My father would make efforts to be emotionally available but he was just so broken and lost without my mother, especially at Christmas. My siblings and I would make lists for Santa with the highest expectations in mind. However the sad reality is that we maybe received two or three gifts each and they were usually donations from a local toy drive that my father stumbled upon. They were never the toys we really wanted. He barely made enough money to pay the rent and our food came from local food pantries in the area. I always wanted to help make things better but I never knew how, I was only 11 at the time.

Since that Christmas was so bad and depressing, I wanted to help make things different for my sisters and my brother. I went to local businesses trying to find a job so I could help out; obviously no one was hiring an 11 year old. They looked at me and laughed, some of them just ignored me. However, I stumbled into a breakfast restaurant and I spoke with the owner Ollie, short for Oliver who knew my father. He sized me up and asked me if I knew how to do dishes. I said I could do anything he wanted. Ollie told me to report next Saturday morning and he would put me to work. I was so excited at the opportunity to help.

I arrived the following Saturday and I was the official dishwasher. I worked from 7am to 12pm every Saturday and Sunday and would get paid $15 a day. Every weekend I was making what I thought was a fortune. I saved my money like you only read about. I gave my father $10 a week to help out and I kept the rest. All I did was save my money. I was motivated to never have my sisters and brother feel the way we did ever again. So I worked and saved all year long and then the holidays rolled around again. This time it was going to be different.

My aunt took us to see Santa at a local store a few weeks before Christmas. My siblings were standing in line with their lists which I knew would never be honored by this man in the red suit. As he sat there with his fake white beard, he smiled and nodded and told children that if they were good all year then he would try and do his best to honor their toy requests. When we go to the front of the line, Santa looked at us all and my siblings gave them him their lists and told him how good they were. Santa then looked at me and said “How about you Kevin, what do you want for Christmas?” Puzzled as to how he knew my name, I said nothing and wished him a Merry Christmas and left.

The week before Christmas, I counted up all my money and I can vividly remember having $642.00. I decided to go to the store to purchase gifts for my siblings. I would be playing the part of Santa this year. I knew exactly what they wanted and I was determined they were going to have the best Christmas ever. After I collected a full shopping cart of gifts I went to the register and remember the total came to $590. I reached into my pocket to pull out my money, only to find that there was a rip in my pocket and my money was gone. I mean totally gone. I went crazy, searching everywhere high and low. I went down every aisle and looked feverishly for the missing cash. It was gone, nowhere to be found. I was devastated and shocked, this couldn’t be happening. However it did happen and Christmas was once again going to be terrible. I walked home sulking in disbelief.

So there was nothing that could be done. Time was not on my side and I only had one weekend left before Christmas. I worked the weekend at the restaurant and collected my $30 pay. When I was leaving, Ollie wished me a Merry Christmas and gave me a Christmas card and asked what my plans were for the holiday. I told him that I didn’t have any and that Christmas would be just like every other year. He asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I just broke down crying. I told him what happened and how I lost everything and ruined Christmas. He listened and reassured me everything would be okay. I knew it wouldn’t be and left in disgust and embarrassment. I went to the store and spent what little money I had on a few gifts for my siblings. It was one of the worst feelings I can recall in my life.

Christmas Eve arrived and I wrapped the presents I had and hid them under my bed so I could put them out when everyone went to sleep. My father was not home; he was either working or drinking and was nowhere to be found. I put my siblings to bed and decided to watch TV. There was a knock at the door. As I opened the door, Santa was standing there in his full holiday garb. It was the same Santa from the local store. He stood there and outreached his arms with two large bags. He said, “I think this is everything you kids wanted. Some of the writing on the lists wasn’t very good but I think this will do. Have a Merry Christmas Kevin!” He turned and walked away, I stood there stunned. I quickly called out “Who are you? How did you know?” He looked back and said, “Santa always knows.” I was standing there in utter amazement, almost frozen, with two large bags of wrapped presents. I quickly brought the presents into the house and then ran to the driveway to see who this Santa really was. All I saw was taillights driving away and down the street. I didn’t know what to do, so I put all of the presents under the tree, they all had our names on them. I then went to bed and cried myself to sleep. This was a miraculous and unthinkable outcome. I couldn’t wait till the morning, this was incredible.

Christmas morning arrived and my brother and sisters were standing by the tree in amazement. My father was awoken by all of the noise and was totally dumbfounded by what he saw under the tree. He just watched as my siblings opened gift after gift. I will never forget the expressions on their faces, it was priceless. My father looked at me and quietly asked “where did these gifts come from”. I told him that Santa dropped them off last night. He looked at me in an almost upset type of way and then continued to watch as my siblings opened the remaining gifts. When they were done opening what was under the tree, he brought out a few more gifts from his room, he said “Santa must have left a few in my room too.” I looked at him in such a disappointing way when I realized that he forgot to put the gifts under the tree. He must have been so drunk that he actually forgot. When everything was said and done my father and I sat on the couch watching my siblings run around playing with their new toys. They were happy, I was happy but my father was not. He asked me again “How did this happen?” I told him that I had no idea and then explained to him what transpired. I told him everything from beginning to end. My father started to tear up and went in his room and closed the door behind him. A couple of hours later he came to my room and told me that he was going to quit drinking. He had never said that before. I looked at him, hugged him and cried. He has never had a drink since. It has been over 24 years since he drank. That Christmas was the best one I ever had; it changed everything in my life and my family’s lives for the better.

So, that’s my story from beginning to end. Hopefully someone actually reads this. Every year I talk to someone and tell the story of that particular Christmas. Everyone always asks who brought the presents that night. Well, it just so happens that the Santa in the store was actually Ollie. Little did I know then, but he was the local Santa every year and had been donating his time and volunteering because he had no children of his own. I found this out a few years later when I reached high school. I worked for him till I went to college. He is still on my Christmas card list today and always will be. I am eternally grateful to him for providing that day but also for helping us get our father back.

Kindle Winner: Thomas from Arizona

It was 2007 and I was in Afghanistan sitting in my little hut on the day before Christmas. I was severely missing my kids (4 boys) at that point.

You see, this was the first Christmas I had to spend away from them. Mail call came that day and I had a package waiting for me. I was tired after a long day of working and we were expecting the enemy to rocket and mortar us due to the American Observed Holiday. So, tired and sad, I opened my package while alone on Christmas Eve and found a card and DVD inside. I put the DVD in and began to watch.

Tears streamed down my face as I watched a video of my kids growing up before my eyes on a DVD for the past year. Each child was captured throughout the year on a video journal. All the school events, holidays, and family events I missed were there in front of me. I watched that video 10 times over and, as I did, I realized I had the best Christmas ever sitting right in front of me.... the rarest opportunity.... to see the life of my children that I had missed over the past year. It was simple... I was by myself.... and I was very thankful and blessed to be alive and have four amazing boys!

Kindle Winner: Amy from Minnesota

Christmas is a wonderful time of family gatherings.  With 6 boys in our house, my husband and I enjoy the excitement that comes from their faces as they enjoy the holiday spirit and learn what the real meaning behind this time of year is.  It is not just a time of receiving but an opportunity to share in the warmth that comes with giving.

My husband is small business owner in our town, a town of roughly 3000 people.  Everyone knows everybody!  One of his customers, Mr.J, arrived at his shop one morning for some much needed repairs to his vehicle.  He was very stoic in receiving the bad news regarding the repairs to his vehicle.  With all dignity and honor of a hardworking man, Mr. J asked my husband if there was a way he could make payments until after the holidays as it was the only car his family had.  He was reluctant to share his situation but my husband jokingly told him I have to check with the boss, me.  This was usually his way to think about it instead of feeling obligated to make a decision immediately.  I think I have become the bad guy in several scenarios without even knowing they existed.  Mr. J explained that his hours had recently been cut at work and he needed to take some time to be home with his wife who was sick.  My husband said he would see what he could do and get back to him.

That night Zach arrived home from work.  As our kids ran around the house with excitement for the upcoming holidays, my husband proceeded to tell me of Mr. J’s need.  Now I know Mr. J and his wife, as well as most of their 11 children.  As a matter of fact you cannot miss their farm on the way to ours.  It is the one with all of the kids working in the yard together, planting, feeding animals and hanging laundry.  This is a family that cares for each other and works together for a better life.  My children have come home many times from their long bus rides into the country and are humbled by the way these children interact and care for each other. As my husband and I talked, I was surprised that he did not just agree to the payments.  His reason for not accepting the payment plan was he knew there was more that we could do as a family to share our holiday blessings. 

At the dinner table that night, I explained to our children the sadness that was occurring within a family we knew dearly.  I asked each one of them if they would be willing to give up half of what we would spend on each of them to provide dinner and gifts to this other family.  I will never forget the instant “yes” that came from my 11 year old.  Now I could tell our 16 year old was not as excited, however he was definitely outnumbered.  We continued to share with all of them the wonderful gift we would be able to give to this family.  They all were so excited about giving to others even though it meant taking from them.  This was a day my husband and I knew that we had done a great job with our kids.  They were willing to give their own gifts away to see the happiness on the face of others.

That next day my husband met Mr. J at the shop.  He told him he was going to fix his car and take care of the bill as a holiday gift.  Mr. J, immediately insisted he make payments.  After going around and around with him, Zach said “our family has been blessed this year and it will not mean a thing unless we can share it with you and your family”.  In addition to the car repair, Zach handed him a large gift card to the grocery store, for a holiday dinner, and a check made out to their family for whatever they needed it for.  Mr. J dropped to the ground in tears and said his prayers had been answered.  It was not the gifts his family would miss this year, it was the meal, the meal where they all came together and sang as a family in the spirit of the holidays. 

My husband and I did not tell our children who the family was.  While many of them asked, it did not seem necessary for them to know.  A few weeks went by and our eight year old come home from school one day.  He was smiling and so eager to share a secret with me.  We stepped aside and he explained how his best-est friend in the whole wide world had the best Christmas ever because of him. I just smiled and winked and told him that would forever be our Christmas secret.

Kindle Winner: Joey from Arizona

My best Christmas ever was two years ago.  This particular season had a strong, internal warmth about it as it carried a season of sharing.

On Christmas Eve, I invited 19 people to my home that had no other way to celebrate the holiday season.  I cooked for all to enjoy and reminisce in the holiday season.  The following day, I had decided to cut up the turkey and ham that was left ( a few platters full) and make some extra sides to top off the food I already had.  I headed to a park in downtown Phoenix and set up a table with turkey, ham, bread, mashed potatoes, stuffing, greenbean casserole and homemade cranberries.  I sat for about an hour before someone approached and asked what I was doing.  I said I had food to share.  The woman, Janee, was young and frail and appeared a little unsure of the situation.  I advised that I had just decided to come share some holiday warmth.  She told me that her husband had lost his job two months earlier and that she had four small children at home.

I decided to pack up my table, with her permission and take all of the food to her house as it would go to good use.  When I arrived at her house, the kids were excited and the husband appeared a little embarrassed.  I advised that this is what the holiday season is all about.  I noticed that these children did not have much in the way of presents.  Without alerting the parents as to my plan, I advised that I hoped they enjoyed the food and that I needed to leave due to a prior commitment.

As Walgreens was the only store I could find open, I went in and purchased a stuffed animal for each child and some small trinkets and candy to make a stocking for each.  I showed back up at their house and rang the doorbell with toys and candy in my arms.  The father opened the door and tears started to roll down his cheek.  I told him that it was ok and that helping them in their time of need was the best Christmas present I could give to myself.  The kids were excited and happy to receive the small gifts.  Janee hugged me and thanked me again and again.  This time I left for good and feeling that my holiday was complete.

Kindle Winner: Rae Ann from New York

Last year my best friend was battling Acute Myleoid Leukemia, having just received a bone marrow transplant she was not allowed to go out for fear of catching any airborne viruses.   She was also very weak and sick from the chemotherapy.  She is a nurse and the single mother of three beautiful teenagers.  Too weak and tired to put one foot in front of the other let alone make a Christmas dinner, she was very depressed. 

Her family lives in Ireland and she was unable to make the journey to see them.  Now Avril would never want to put anyone out, and insisted she was going to make sure she made her children a christmas dinner, and in the back of her mind wondering if it would be her last.  My fellow workers knew of the countless hours that I spent taking care of her and travelling back and forth to Hamilton with her, and to visit her while she spent months on end in the hospital.  I was also the care provder of her children as they have not heard from their father in 14 years.

Christmas Eve, I recieved a call from my co-workers and they had collected money and bought Avril and her children everything from food to gift cards to clothes to lottery tickets.  I surprised her early Christmas morning with an entire feast to prepare while she sat teary eyed watching and knowing her children would not miss their special Christmas dinner.

We laughed, cried, and shared many stories, made plans for her bucket list, and I had never seen her more happy or positive about her future.

Unfortunately she acquired H1N1 just as her bone marrow and immune system were starting to regenerate.  She lost her battle on Oct 29th, and I am so very thankful for making her last christmas possible.  I now have guardianship of her teenagers until they are finished high school.  It is a huge undertaking as my children are no longer teens and I forgot how challenging they can be.  We miss her terribly, and although it is hard, I would not change anything, I promised her that I would be here for her children and I do my best to make their lives tolerable without their beloved mother.

Kindle Winner: Theresa from Georgia

In November 2001, my husband lost his job of twenty-eight years.  He began as a file clerk for a major financial institution soon after graduating high school, in the era of “on the job training”.  Twenty-eight years later he was AVP of Disaster Recovery, working from home and enjoying time spent with our two home-educated children.  We had worked hard to get to the point where I could work part time and be home with the children. We were never wealthy, and had tried to always live within our means.  In the blink of an eye, it all changed.

My husband was without a job at an age deemed “unemployable” with only a high school education.  I was working two full time jobs and our children were placed into a formal school setting.  It took every penny we could earn to pay our bills and provide for our needs.  The children knew I was anxious about providing them with a Christmas.

I found the letter below on my vanity.  What was at the time thought to be the worst Christmas ever, proved to be the most blessed Christmas of all.  Times are still hard and Christmas will not be presents under the tree this year, but my children convinced me a long time ago, Christmas will always be a blessed time if you have love, patience, and kindness in your heart.

Kindle Winner: Robert from Maine

My mom, widowed since 1965 was always working to support 4 kids, one of whom had Downs Syndrome. Ricky, my twin, was born in 1958 and though he was physically 17, he had the perpetual mental age of 8. He fully believed in Santa Claus.

Every year he would try to "catch" St. Nicholas. He would stay up all night and wait for him. Just before dawn of every year, she would hide the presents under the tree and ring a small metal bell which hung from the lowest branch. She would then yell "He's here, come quick or you will miss him." Ricky would bound down the stairs as quick as he could with all of us in tow. We knew his fate from previous excursions. As he would round the corner my mom would open the front door and slam it saying " Sorry, you just missed him." Ricky was always heart broken and it pained us all to see him so. My mother who couldn't provide many gifts for us but ALWAYS kept a roof over our heads and food in our bellies, always wished for a way to make his dream come true.

It was Christmas morning 1975. My mother once again performed her magic with presents and bells and on queue Ricky ran down the stairs. As my mom opened the door to slam it shut, a hand stopped her from outside. It was Santa standing there with a sack of toys. To my mom's amazement, he walked right in and walked up to Ricky. There were squeals of delight as he jumped up and down, saying over and over and over, "I got him. I got him!" Santa gave Ricky all the time he wanted to spend with him. Whenever Ricky was asked what he wanted for Christmas all he would say was "A Big Box." Well Santa even provided one of them and in it were all sorts of toys for Ricky to unwrap. Santa stayed while Ricky unwrapped all of his gifts and just kept running up to hug Santa. A happier child you will never see, even to this day. As Santa left, he gave my mom a hug and a gift card with money in it for food and other necessities. Mom didn't know who Santa really was so she could not ever really thank him.

In June of 1976 our home caught fire and my brother perished in the fire.

At the funeral, one of the local firefighters who had fought to save my brother walked up to the casket and placed a small metal bell inside of it. He turned and walked over to my mother. As she gave him a perplexed look, he said "I was the Santa last Christmas that Ricky had caught. It was my privilege and honor to have known him and make his dream come true."

I have followed in the footsteps of such courageous men and women who give their heart and soul each and every day to others. I am now a professional firefighter/paramedic and only hope that some day I can give back as much as I received.