Favorite Christmas gift of all time...

As a greedy, selfish, fat little kid, I really HATED getting anything I “needed” for Christmas. I figured if I needed something, I should already have it.  Christmas was for junk I wanted, not stuff I needed.  The thing is, my parents and Santa didn’t always see things my way. Looking back, little brother Craig and I were lucky kids. There was always something under the tree, no matter how tough things were economically.  Sometimes we got the pair of gloves we needed, or a new coat, and sometimes it was a toy, or several toys, but there was always something.
     When I got married as a very young man, I quickly found out the hard way how tough it is to make sure the kids all get something they really want when money is tight. As a parent, you look forward to the expression on the kids’ faces when they get that present they really want. It is even sweeter if you can come up with something they never expected to get. It took me a few years and a few kids of my own to realize that everyone did not share my selfish views of what makes a good gift.  Our parents put a lot of time and effort into choosing gifts for us.  My Wife and I put a lot of time and effort into choosing gifts for the family, too. I now realize that the time, effort, and love in a gift are much more important than money.
    Maybe it is a “girl thing” or a difference in how we were raised, but my Wife likes getting stuff she needs for Christmas, so she chooses gifts for others with that in mind.  I still would rather get stuff I don’t need at all.  But now my favorites are the ones that took more thought or effort than money.  Things given with love.  One year, one of the grandkids chose an electronic guinea pig with a long beard and a top hat that dances and plays a ZZ Top song as the perfect gift for Grandpa.  I still have it, and it still works.  I smile every time  I  push the button and it starts to play. I have every knick knack, weird necktie, or sweater one of my kids or grandkids ever gave me. They are all perfect. I can't choose a favorite.