What Was Your Favorite X-mas Present as a Kid?

[ProudLib72]

Yep, it's time to take a stroll down memory lane. I will begin:

I had a lot of excellent presents when I was little, but the one that stands out the most is the one my grandfather gave me in 1979: a Millennium Falcon!!! You see, like many other children my age, I was fascinated by all things related to Star Wars. Oh sure, I had a few of the "action figures" (they were dolls, damnit!). I even had an X-Wing fighter with a single LED in the front that would light up when you "fired" its laser cannon. But the holy grail of all Star Wars toys (for me at least) was the coveted Millennium Falcon. You could take the top off to reveal the inside where Luke practiced his light saber skills! It even had the chess table where CP30 lost to Chewy! You could reenact those scenes to your heart's content! Very exciting!

I had no idea how my grandfather knew that the Millennium Falcon was at the very top of my needs list. Honestly, all that mattered is that here at last was THE MILLENNIUM FALCON!!! Later on I realized that, of course, my parents had clued him in. But for that brief moment I was sure he was a Star Wars fan, too.



So now it's your turn. What present most stands out in your mind?

[monmouth4]

1. My blue and white JC Higgins bicycle. It opened up a whole new world for me. n/t

[Maine-i-acs]

2. GI Joe anything. Full size 12" high

Combat gear, M-16, backpack/tent etc.
whirlybird chopper to fit.
Then the Jeep, SCUBA, etc from there!

[oldlibdem]

4. same here

Got the navy diver Joe one year (65)? Was the happiest kid ever!!

[LBM20]

85. Yup. I got GI Joes and a lot of gear. They were SO fun.

[juxtaposed]

3. Mouse Trap and Slinky, we had a lot of stairs in the home I grew up in.

[crazycatlady]

24. slinkys are still a lot of fun

In college, there was one building that had a lot of stairs. My friend and I had a blast unleashing a slinky.

[targetpractice]

5. Atari 800

It was dead out of the box on Christmas morning. It simply would not turn on. Somehow my dad got the owner of the computer store to meet him on Christmas day to replace it. I don't want to think how that transaction went down...

[DonaldsRump]

7. I loved my Atari 800!

It was sold in a garage sale, as well as my Atari 400.

I just bought an old one a few weeks ago to replace the sold ones

[targetpractice]

11. I moved on to an Amiga... What was your next computer?

The Amiga chip architecture was designed by Jay Miner, the designer of the Atari chipset.

[DonaldsRump]

15. I kept it until I graduated from college

I had the letter-quality printer that took something like 5 minutes a page.

I then switched to a Mac SE post-graduate.

I will always love Atari, though. I taught myself rudimentary assembly language programming, and Missile Command or Asteroids, as primitive as the graphics may seem today, were sublime.

Indeed, I believe Santa has gotten my children an XBox One, and Dad is looking at which Atari games I can play it on it on and after Xmas Day!

[targetpractice]

16. Many hours playing Star Raiders, Missile Command...

... and, all the Infocom games... Zork I, II, III, Enchanter.

Thus began my career using technology... Amiga was my personal computer of choice, but every cent I've made professionally has been using a Mac, starting with the Mac SE and LaserWriter.

[DonaldsRump]

18. Star Raiders was fab...

I loved it, and played it for hours. Do you remember Shamus? It was an obsession of mine and a consequential loss of GPA given how much I played it.

While I went into law rather than tech, having that Atari 800 and learning assembly and even machine language programming did help, as it helped me to understand technology and things like boolean searches without any formal training.

There are some Atari clubs in NorCal where I live, and I will try to attend one of those if I get some time in 2019 (hopefully, I won't be on DU as much if Trump resigns!)

[targetpractice]

41. I do remember Shamus, Battle on the Eastern Front, etc...

I never dove into assembly or machine language... I did do a bunch of things with Atari Basic using "peek" and "poke" functions to create glacially slow sprite based games with collision detection... The book "De Re Atari" was my bible.

I worked at a computer store in a mall in NJ the summer before college, and was fiercely trying to sell the "superior architecture" of the Atari XL machines over the Commodore 64. But, everyone wanted the Commodore 64 that year.

[ProudLib72]

8. On Christmas Day!?

He must have been PISSSSSEEEEDDD! I would not want to have been that store's owner.

[targetpractice]

10. My mother was like "Your father is going out for a while."

If I'd known what he was doing, I would have told him to relax. It all went down smoothly as far I know.

[Polybius]

34. Amazing gift

I have the Atari 800XL. I eventually moved on to a Mega STE. Atari computers should have fared better.

[targetpractice]

40. The Atari computer designers moved on to Commodore to create the Amiga...

The Atari Mega STE was a Jack Tramiel product after he left Commodore and bought Atari... I was quite religious about my computer platforms back then... Tramiel was furious he didn't get the Amiga intellectual property. So, basically, after the Atari 1400XL, Commodore continued on with the Atari architecture by Jay Miner... until they totally botched the marketing.

I do remember the Atari ST series with the slanty function keys.

[Polybius]

42. The Amiga should have went to Atari

They were so close to signing the deal, but at the last second they sold the Amiga to Commodore. To this day I wonder what would have happened if things went different.

I love the ST's operating system, TOS. I never had an Amiga, but always wanted one. Someday I hope. I do however have an Apple IIGS. Now that's a fun computer!

[targetpractice]

45. You can get Amiga & Atari emulators for Windows and Mac...

These are awesome, and it's just like having the real thing (but in a small window)...

The Amiga OS was awesome, full pre-emptive multitasking... a first for a personal computer at the time.

Just search for "Amiga Emulator" for Mac or Windows online... You will need to search deeper to download the ROM images separately.

Like I wrote earlier, I was very religious about my computer choices... But, I switched to the Mac for work in 1985 and never looked back.

[targetpractice]

46. I was also really bummed out that the Atari did not get the Amiga...

...But, Jack Tramiel (Commodore founder), owned Atari at the time... And, he was a real jerk as I remember. I loved the Atari brand back then.

[Cal Carpenter]

6. Books, books and more books

Not much has changed

[Ohiogal]

43. I loved getting books, too

Another in the Bobbsey Twins series ... Little Women ... art books ...joke books ... books about nature .... Baseball ... etc.

[a kennedy]

9. My first pair of skates that weren't USED.....

Finally when my mom thought my feet were done growing I GOT A NEW PAIR OF SKATES......my best present ever.

[The Genealogist]

12. Probably the Batman Big Wheel I got

I don't think it was a real Big Wheel, or even the real Batman, but I didn't care. Neither did any of the other kids in the neighborhood. It was just COOL!

[ProudLib72]

21. Oh, I had a big wheel

I don't think it was branded as anything other than a basic big wheel, no comic character. Those things were really cool, though!

[Codeine]

13. Electronic Star Bird!

A goofy plastic spaceship with modular pieces that allowed for multiple configurations, the Star Bird was mainly cool because the engine noise it made changed pitch according to how you held the ship; point it down and it went into a high-pitched diving sound, point it up and it changed to a climbing noise. Hold it steady and it hummed along in a standard flight mode.

Plus if you pushed a button on the top the red laser lights would flash while the ship made some sci-fi shooty sounds! All of this was pretty amazing in 1978, I can assure you.

[targetpractice]

17. I loved my StarBird... I think I got a Merlin the same year...

My mother said I had a flashing light fetish as a kid...

[MontanaMama]

72. I still have my Merlin!

It works great!

[lpbk2713]

14. My favorite aunt gave me a Kodak camera in the mid 1950's.

[ProudLib72]

22. Ah yes, the good old Brownie

I remember playing with one when I was little. And I distinctly remember that screw on flash. The funny thing is that I grew up with black and white cameras, a few color later on. Then, when I finally received a digital camera from my sister, it had a puny little memory card that would only hold eleven pictures! Remember how you would run out and shoot all your film then have to wait for the pictures to be developed? That was part of the fun. That digital camera sort of spoiled the anticipation that I had learned as a fundamental part of taking pictures.

[lpbk2713]

26. You even had to pay for the blurry prints.

As I recall there were twelve exposures to a roll.

[ProudLib72]

33. I had a 24 roll in a camera when I first moved to CO

We went to Garden of the Gods and took the nature walk. There were rabbits everywhere, and I was determined to take a picture of each and every one. You should have seen all the blurry pictures with tiny dots way off in the distance. What a disappointment! Later on I had "film" in junior high and again in high school. I guess the pictures I took in those classes were better...but not by much.

[malaise]

87. Same here

My godmother brought a Brownie for me from New York.

[TygrBright]

19. My Dad asked the Monty Wards department store for some big packing boxes.

He brought them home and painted them like kitchen appliances- a refrigerator, a stove, and a sink and cabinet/countertop combination. He used more cardboard to make shelves and knobs and handles.

Those, and a set of plastic cookware (from Monty Wards, of course!) were arranged like a "play kitchen" in the basement. Christmas Eve after I went to bed the 'rents even brought the little table from my bedroom, and the dishes I already had, down and arranged them with the new "appliances".

On Christmas morning I was too excited to even notice that my table was gone from my bedroom. I raced downstairs and tried SO hard not to be disappointed at what looked like a very meager haul indeed under the Christmas tree.

Then the 'rents came downstairs and explained that "Santa couldn't fit your present under the tree so he left it in the basement."

Keeping in mind this was in the early 1960s and I was about five or six years old and totally unaware of how gendered playthings contribute to the oppression of women by the Patriarchy, I was UTTERLY DAZZLED.

It was totally the coolest present I ever got. I was gobsmacked.

We had almost no money back then. I think my Dad might have been between jobs. For the cost of the plastic cookware set, a little paint and some fasteners and glue, he made me feel like a millionaire's kid. Those play appliances were WAY more lifelike than the tacky little plastic ones that we couldn't afford anyway.

reminiscently,
Bright

[ProudLib72]

25. You win the best present contest!

One time my father built me an airplane toy out of cardboard boxes and a wooden frame. It took him what seemed like forever to complete it (probably three days in reality). So I can imagine how much work your dad put into making an entire kitchen! That would have been a mammoth amount of effort, not to mention the creativity. Yes, that one is special!

[Adrahil]

74. Cool! NT

[dameatball]

20. Circa 1956(?). My brother and I got these cool machine guns on tripods, battery operated and also

"Robbie the Robot." I am pretty sure we got the flying discs by "Whammo" which later became known as "Frisbees."

[crazycatlady]

23. Can I list a birthday present instead?

THat would be a kitten.

[ProudLib72]

27. Your first kitten, I'm guessing

Was it a calico or Russian blue? Those two are my favorite breeds.

[crazycatlady]

36. Her name was Clara

Not a calico or Russian Blue. She was a black and white girl, markings very similar to a cow.

https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/1CmWxfQNTC2ZdAZNiDzY9Q.iA4cnWg9tpdkhlkHUE1yWo

https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/J11U7LViT12QwR6Gvz9w5Q.6I4rer2Pyfcf2yepqvNhh4

[ProudLib72]

48. Kitty cow?!

She looks cute! My first cat was black and white, too, but she was a terror. My next cat was a calico, and she was wonderful. I got her from my boss who was literally a crazy cat lady. She took in feral cats. At any given time she had between 12 and 15 living with her. When I would go over for dinner, she would have them locked away in their basement (don't worry, it was a huge basement with plenty of cat friendly perches and toys). After dinner, I would demand that the cats be let loose. She would open the door, and out they would come. It was so funny to watch them running every which way. One night we were sitting at the table discussing work, and one of the cats got in my lap. When I started to leave, that cat followed me to the door. Well, guess who ended up taking her home a few days later. Her name when she lived with my boss was "Mongo". I thought that was a terrible name, so I renamed her "Malka", which means "Queen" in Hebrew. She was a terrific cat. I had to let my girlfriend at the time take Malka when she moved to California. That was a sad day.

[crazycatlady]

89. Clara came from my grandfather

My stepuncle (then a senior in HS)'s then girlfriend's cat had kittens. She was one of the kittens (and my grandfather took her sister, who ended up so fat that her stomach dragged on the ground).

I can remember dying Easter eggs with my stepgrandmother and him walking in with a box. I asked him what was in the box and she jumped out. He did not tell my parents.

I also was owned by a gray Tabby (Tabby). The two cats HATED each other and fought all the time. My background on my phone is a picture of them right before a fight.

[UniteFightBack]

28. Video games...couldn't wait for everybody to leave so I could hole up. nt

[akraven]

29. I forgot a Slinky!!

Also my first "Spyder" bicycle with the tall handlebars and banana seat. Mom always blamed that gift for why I wanted my first motorcycle.

Sorry, mom, been riding ever since!

[Ink Addict]

30. The only time I remember actually getting what I asked Santa to bring.

The original Lawrence of Arabia soundtrack (vinyl) -

[GoCubsGo]

31. An aquarium.

It was 15 gallons. I didn't get to set it up right away, because we moved that summer. But, we set it up, once we got settled.

[Va Lefty]

32. A game called NFL Strategy. My friends and I spent countless hours playing this game!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

35. A book.

Trixie Belden and the Mystery in Arizona. I probably got it for Christmas in 1961, when I was 13. There were six kids in the family, and even though my mother worked full time as a nurse, money was quite tight. We were a family of readers, but got almost all books from the library, so being given one of my very own was just wonderful.

A few years earlier, in fourth grade I got some kind of academic accomplishment prize from my teacher, the book All About Dinosaurs by Roy Chapman Andrews. I read that one until I had it practically memorized.

[912gdm]

37. '89 lego pirate ship

[Delmette2.0]

38. It's a toss up between two.

First was the Betty Crocker Baking set with cake mixes frosting and pie mixes. Mom would give me chunks of dough when she made bread or dinner rolls and I would do miniatures in my bake ware.

Second was when my brothers got a train set. Four of us would spend hours running that train dropping off supplies (salt and pepper shakers from a collection ) we built loading docks from the Erector Set and Lincoln Logs.

[PufPuf23]

39. My favorite Christmas present ever was not a toy and not the favorite at the time.

When I was 9 (1962), my favorite uncle and his wife spent Christmas with my family and he dressed as Santa.

My gift from him was my great grandfather's gold scale from the California Gold Rush era. It was no longer then (and still not now) functioning but sits in my office, across the room from me at this moment.

Uncle Ellis (born 1899) was my Dad' oldest brother and the family historian. I have various old family and mining records, photos, deeds, etc. that people assume came from Dad but were from Ellis, giving them to me periodically up until his death in 1995. He had no children of his own. I have been sorting through them and gifting items recently to the county historical society. Locally my family was prominent in Gold Rush and subsequent times and in the various publications and accounts.

One book is In the Land of the Grasshopper Song. If one skips ahead to the last chapter page 308, Jonas Salstrom is my great grandfather. I have the cast iron and silverware from the meal as well as Jonas's rattlesnake cane, pocket watch, and other ephemera. My grandmother was a young woman at that meal. The mine was purchased by my great great uncle in the 1860s and sold to Jonas, his BIL. There are some factual errors in ITLOGS (Jonas had owned the mine for 35 years, not 20 years, the women knew Uncle Willy and had social meetings with him rather than the two dramatized encounters with him in the book, etc.) but the book is unique and an excellent read (or gift). BTW Uncle Willy died in my childhood in the 1950s when he was butted in the head by a goat. Note: I have no interest in the book other than liking it).

https://www.amazon.com/Land-Grasshopper-Song-Klamath-Country/dp/0803236379/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1545616285&sr=1-1&keywords=land+of+the+grasshopper+song

My Dad and grandmother were born on that mining property / farm and spent his entire life except 3 years in Europe in WWII there. I spent my childhood there and now live on part of the former mine in my old age and retirement.

[ProudLib72]

52. Now that is an interesting story and present

Uncle Willy died from being butted in the head by a goat?! My grandad wrote two books about our family history. He got a vanity press to publish several dozen copies so he could distribute them to the children, grand children, etc. I remember that, at the time he published them, I was a little skeptical of their quality. Now I don't care. There are some crazy stories in those books!

[kskiska]

44. I had a "Meet the Presidents" board game

It featured coins with each of the (up to 1950s) presidents.

[DURHAM D]

47. Gusher (Board game) 1953

If you grew up in an oil producing state you played Gusher instead of Monopoly.

I still have it.

[Ms. Toad]

49. Two:

My chemistry kit (with all sorts of things a kid would never be allowed to have these days), and a home-made substitute for the easy-bake oven. As to the latter, my parents decided that rather than spend full price (or more) for teeny boxes of cake mix, etc. they'd just get me the real thing and let me use the big oven.

[ProudLib72]

78. That chemistry kit reminds me of the time I got a toy soldier casting kit

The kit contained rubber molds and a clamp to hold them shut, a tiny pan, and a lot of lead. I was casting soldiers in the kitchen at the age of ten. I still remember cutting down huge ingots of lead to fit in the pan.

[Ms. Toad]

91. The third gift on my list is similar (but a less dangerous substance)

the Plastigoop Thingmaker.

I remember spending hours cooking squiggly plastic critters, mixing colors to get the perfect combination, etc.

[underpants]

50. A football

[USALiberal]

51. Radio Shack 65 in 1 electronics kit! Pic......

[ProudLib72]

55. I'm jealous of that, and I want one right now

I never seemed to get electronic kits. I never got building kits either. I begged for years for my own Erector set, but it was deemed too difficult and frustrating by my parents who thought I didn't have the patience to deal with all the nuts and bolts.

But man oh man, I really wish I had had an electronic project kit like that one when I was little!

As an aside, I looked at different electronic kits a couple of years ago. The only one that looked decent was for tiny children. All the wires, resistors, chimes, etc were embedded in plastic that you could connect Lego style to create a circuit. Still seemed entertaining enough to me.

[USALiberal]

57. I loved it! Then took a computer class......

in high school and went to college for programming. Started with punch cards and am writing iPad apps now.

I really think that kit made my career possible. Thanks mom and dad.

[LakeSuperiorView]

82. I had one of those!!! I made just about every project and created some of my own.

I think I have what remains of it down in the basement,

The first Christmas present I remember, could have been birthday (Dec 22) was Major Matt.



I remember he had a backpack that you hooked the string on something and pulled the other end and he would zip along the string. I remember using it on my little brother's playpen, so I would have been about 6.

[katmondoo]

53. I'm old, my favorite was a Shirley Temple doll

[dhol82]

54. Basically, when I was a kid I got underwear for Christmas.

One year I actually got a doll. That was one year.

[dansolo]

56. I didn't get Christmas presents

My family celebrated Hanukkah.

[912gdm]

60. thanks for that.

[ProudLib72]

97. I converted to Judaism when I was an adult

So all my childhood memories include X-mas.

[blur256]

58. A hamster

Who I named Nicholas. My parents hid him from me until we opened all of our presents and I was super bummed because a hamster was all I wanted. My dad then told me to look behind the couch because he thought Santa left something behind. I was ecstatic! That hamster lived for 4 years which is awesome and I loved him so much. Best gift ever

[customerserviceguy]

59. I got this really cool electronics kit

It had all kinds of stuff, no solid state transistors or anything like that, but I could hook up all kinds of switches, lights, and etc., and it kept me entertained and educated. It was in the late 1960's, as I recall.

Mom and Dad indulged my science interests with a chemistry set and a microscope, among several other tech-oriented gifts. Did I become a scientist? No, but I've always had an interest in things like that.

[former9thward]

61. .22 rifle.

"Santa" gave that to me when I was 7. Loved it.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

62. it's a toss-up

I can't decide between a wired remote controlled, battery powered bulldozer with rubber tracks, and a Johnny Seven OMA a few years later.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Seven_OMA

[Whiskeytide]

63. A Vertibird in 1971. Coolest toy ever. But I had ...

... had a lot of trouble getting my older brother to leave it alone so I could play with it.

[ProudLib72]

68. I had to look that up, but now I remember those

Can't recall if I had one or just played with a friend's, but they were pretty cool. I also had one of those airplanes on a wire. The batteries were in a flashlight looking thing you held, and you had to turn in circles as the plane flew. Vertibird was better. Less prone to make you nauseous.

[LBM20]

84. My brother got one. I remember those. Fun!

[dae]

64. A big red ladder Fire Truck around '62, I was 10yo.

[Olafjoy]

65. OMG

My best friend across the street got a pony!! That was the best Christmas ever.
Does that count?

[Bayard]

76. Definitely!

[SeattleVet]

66. An Erector Set

We had spent a summer vacation with one of my cousins, and he had one. I got hooked, and that was pretty much all I asked for that year. On Christmas Eve my father sat me down and was very serious and apologetic...I knew we didn't really have much money (we never went hungry, but we had to know how to stretch a dollar). He told me that sometimes we can't get what we really want, and asked if I would be really disappointed if I got, for example, a chemistry set instead. I was sad, but agreed that it would be fine with me.

Got up in the morning, and the first thing I unwrapped was a chemistry set. Followed shortly by an Erector Set. I spent MANY hours over the next several years enjoying the hell out of both of them!

Yeah, my father had a weird sense of humor, which I have happily inherited!

[marlakay]

67. A blue bike that was my horse

I put a belt on it and rode without hands flipping the belt.

[ProudLib72]

69. Don't lie or Santa won't bring you squat!

Come to think of it, I did some really strange stuff on my bike, too. So maybe, just maybe you ain't fibbin'.

[marlakay]

70. Lol I was a kid who practically lived in trees

I hung upside down, I skated, I did ballet (with a strict teacher), and yes I rode bike with no hands.

This was in the early 60’s when you were sent out to play until dark.

[ProudLib72]

71. I learned to ride on my parents' old Schwinn 3 speeds

They were ancient and kept outside under the carport. I learned to ride a bike when I was about four, so when the incident I have in mind happened, I must have been pretty young. One day, I took one of the old Schwinns out into the cul du sac to practice riding around. I was pumping away when the frame cracked right in half. It had literally rusted right through. Of course I was in a state of panic because I was convinced that I had done something to break it. I got my own bike soon thereafter.

[Adrahil]

73. But got the X-wing and TIE Fighter!

Damn, I loved 'em!

[ProudLib72]

79. I wanted a Tie Fighter!

And an Imperial Walker. Some of my friends had those, and I was so jealous. All those original toys are worth some serious cash now. At some point my parents either gave them away or tossed them.

[Adrahil]

92. I played with them until they were in pieces...

So not worth much.

I was 14 when ESB came out, somnot as in to toys (but did get some for nostalgia's sake). I was 17 for ROTJ and still loved Star Wars, but no toys. Star Wars kinda defined my tween and early teen years. Still a big fan!

[Wrz]

75. SNES

A Super Nintendo.

[Bayard]

77. A Collie Puppy

I loved him to pieces. Scott. We did 4-H, obedience and parades.

Next best was this mechanical white poodle that stood on its hind legs, wearing a red vest. If you pulled the control switch one way, he did this obnoxious yapping. Push it the other way, and he walked and rang a bell. My brother promptly walked him up to a cherry pie on the table, and nose-dived him into it.

[ProudLib72]

80. "My brother promptly walked him up to a cherry pie on the table, and nose-dived him into it."

That's what brothers are for!

[Dem2theMax]

81. My family.

This isn't the answer I would imagine anyone would be expecting. But it's the only one that means anything to me now.

My parents were children of the depression, and they had nothing. So when my brother and I were growing up, they more than made up for it with us. My mom went overboard every year, and I don't know how she ever got my dad to agree to pay the bills, but Christmas was really something at our house. We didn't have a lot of money, but my mom somehow made it stretch. We had a really fantastic Christmas every year.

I can think of lots of things that ended up under the tree every year, but the only thing that comes to my mind and fills up my heart is the fact that all of the family gathered at our house for Christmas dinner. My grandmother, my aunts and uncles and all of my cousins came to our house for Christmas.

Now everyone is gone, having passed away years ago. The cousins that are left are scattered all over the country. The only one who sits at the table on Christmas is me. Yes, my family, all of my crazy, wonderful family was the best Christmas present I ever had.

[ProudLib72]

94. I was expecting this as one answer when I posted

When I was really young, my extended family was large, and we all lived relatively close to each other. Because of the divorce of my grandparents and the different sides of the family, we would have four Christmases! I got to see everyone and feel like I was part of a something grand. That ended around the time I was eleven or twelve. Now I just look back fondly on those memories.

[Dem2theMax]

96. That warmed my heart!

[LBM20]

83. Back in the 70's, ice skates, hockey stick and puck, GI Joes, and Micronauts.

[BritVic]

86. Etch-A-Sketch, Magic Robot (quiz game where the robot figure would point to the right answer)

and Mouse Trap were three early favourites I remember.

[Jamaal510]

88. Nintendo 64 and Pokemon Stadium 2. nt

[mitch96]

90. Not a what but a who...

My father was a merchant seamen and not home that often.. So when he would show up on Christmas day it was a treat.. He would have presents for me and Mom and help with the cooking... He was a Jew and loved the Christmas holidays when he could make it.. I don't remember the gifts but remember the great feeling when he showed up..
One Christmas when he could not make it, we got a phone call.. Now mind you this was in the mid 1950's. The gent on the phone asked if this was the Mrs and Mom said yes.. He then explained he was a ham radio operator and had phone patch equipment and my father was on a cargo ship in the north Atlantic and would like to speak to ME! It was really exciting to talk to him over the phone via Ham Radio in the mid Atlantic.. The North Atlantic in the winter is a nasty place so we did not talk long but I will always remember it dearly...
m

[ProudLib72]

95. Whoa! Great story!

Great present, too

[panader0]

93. My dad's best Christmas Gift:

He was born in 1914 on December 24th and lived in the small
company copper town of Ely, Nevada. He said he only got one present
for both Christmas and his birthday.
On Christmas eve, thick snow on the ground, his uncle showed up
in a big overcoat. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a puppy.
My dad loved it.
My mom lived in Spokane (born 1908) and said it was a big treat to
get an orange in your stocking--something rare in Washington back when.