Happy/Inspirational Christmas stories only...

[indimom]

Too many Christmas threads on here are utterly depressing. Please share your happy or inspirational Christmas stories. I don't care if they are old memories or something you heard from a friend. Just share. PLEASE!

The first thing that comes to mind for me is that my daughter has been holed up in her room most evenings and weekends for the past couple weeks making Christmas presents. I have no idea what she is up to. She posted signs on string across the hallway in front of her door telling us to stay out. The only "evidence" I've seen is a piece of lumber she snagged from the garage and she got into my paint supplies for the day care. Oh, and she asked me to purchace some small white hooks for something for her dad. My little elf is busy, busy, busy.

Oh, and to make you laugh (I hope). My day care kids went around the dinner table during lunch yesterday telling me what they wanted for Christmas.
My day care version of the "12 days of Christmas"
12 Pillow Pets
11 box of Legos
10 princessess dresses (yep, princessess)
9 reindeer sightings
8 Disney cartoons
7 John Deere tractors
6 caterpillars (diggers)
5 Playschool Kitchens
4 Hugs from Santa
3 types of candy
2
AND 1 'REAL' CHAINSAW!!!! (Mom says he is getting as platic one! )

Kids are so much fun. Merry Christmas.

 

[ford family]

Christmas officially began here on Monday when I sat with our youngest daughter (22!) and watched Polar Express.

ford family

 

[lovesmurfs]

Christmas 1992 -- We were broke and living in Shreveport, LA, married 1 1/2 years. DH's job didn't pay much, and after moving from Atlanta, I couldn't find work and was working temp jobs. Christmas arrived and we had absolutely nothing budgeted for gifts (and we were too proud to tell family in NJ and GA that we were struggling).

Well, a month before Christmas, I received a $100 bill from my grandmother. Now, to understand this, you needed to know my grandmother. She regularly shopped thrift stores and had these great "grandma miscellany" gift boxes that would put jeafl's MIL in a close second! Grandma NEVER sent cash, EVER. We found out several years later that she'd gotten an unexpected bonus and shared it with the family.

I was able to take the $100, and buy some fabric -- I made Christmas placemats, and cross stitch towels and tree skirts for family gifts. I had enough money leftover to buy a few decorations for our house. The gift totally turned around what would have been an entirely gloomy Christmas -- it was such a blessing for us (and I was sure to tell my GM what it meant to us).

 

[indimom]

Christmas officially began here on Monday when I sat with our youngest daughter (22!) and watched Polar Express.

ford family

I didn't think I'd like that movie when it first came out. Changed my tune once I gave it a chance. Love It!

Christmas 1992 -- We were broke and living in Shreveport, LA, married 1 1/2 years. DH's job didn't pay much, and after moving from Atlanta, I couldn't find work and was working temp jobs. Christmas arrived and we had absolutely nothing budgeted for gifts (and we were too proud to tell family in NJ and GA that we were struggling).

Well, a month before Christmas, I received a $100 bill from my grandmother. Now, to understand this, you needed to know my grandmother. She regularly shopped thrift stores and had these great "grandma miscellany" gift boxes that would put jeafl's MIL in a close second! Grandma NEVER sent cash, EVER. We found out several years later that she'd gotten an unexpected bonus and shared it with the family.

I was able to take the $100, and buy some fabric -- I made Christmas placemats, and cross stitch towels and tree skirts for family gifts. I had enough money leftover to buy a few decorations for our house. The gift totally turned around what would have been an entirely gloomy Christmas -- it was such a blessing for us (and I was sure to tell my GM what it meant to us).

Amazing what you can do with $100 when you put your mind to it. And I bet you had fun figuring out how to use it. Isn't it fun when you get a complete surprise gift like that? Something you never expected? I love it.


That's exactly what I'm looking for. I needed some feel-good Christmas stories.

Anyone else?

 

[pennymom]

Every year my kids receive something practical from Mrs. Claus...robes, pjs, etc. This year DS8 is very into Club Penguin and asked for Club Penguin slippers. I am NOT crafty or good at making anything, so I searched for CP iron on patches that could be attached to a plain pair of slippers. No such luck...so I called a company on Philadelphia that makes patches, and explained what I was looking for. The woman on the phone was very sweet, put me on hold a few times to confer with her coworkers, checked out some images on the CP website to see what one DS would like, and said they could make two patches. When I asked how much it would cost, as I really need to do this on a budget and their minimum order is 12 patches, she said that she would mail them and wouldn't charge anything as long as I didn't tell anyone what she did. DS is on the fence about Santa, and I think this will help him believe for at least this year, so she really made my Christmas!!!

 

[indimom]

Every year my kids receive something practical from Mrs. Claus...robes, pjs, etc. This year DS8 is very into Club Penguin and asked for Club Penguin slippers. I am NOT crafty or good at making anything, so I searched for CP iron on patches that could be attached to a plain pair of slippers. No such luck...so I called a company on Philadelphia that makes patches, and explained what I was looking for. The woman on the phone was very sweet, put me on hold a few times to confer with her coworkers, checked out some images on the CP website to see what one DS would like, and said they could make two patches. When I asked how much it would cost, as I really need to do this on a budget and their minimum order is 12 patches, she said that she would mail them and wouldn't charge anything as long as I didn't tell anyone what she did. DS is on the fence about Santa, and I think this will help him believe for at least this year, so she really made my Christmas!!!

That's awesome! A little goodwill goes a long way, huh?
I'm so not crafty, I wouldn't even have thought about iron-on patches for slippers. Are they done? How did they turn out?

 

[C.Ann]

How about the Christmas when my DGD was quite young and every time anyone asked her what she wanted for Christmas, she replied - "A bouncing sausage.." No matter how many different ways we asked her, that was the only description we got..

We never did figure out what she meant, but just to be "safe", Santa put a stick of pepperoni in her stocking and she seemed pretty darn excited!!

 

[indimom]

How about the Christmas when my DGD was quite young and every time anyone asked her what she wanted for Christmas, she replied - "A bouncing sausage.." No matter how many different ways we asked her, that was the only description we got..

We never did figure out what she meant, but just to be "safe", Santa put a stick of pepperoni in her stocking and she seemed pretty darn excited!!

 

[Keli]

How about the Christmas when my DGD was quite young and every time anyone asked her what she wanted for Christmas, she replied - "A bouncing sausage.." No matter how many different ways we asked her, that was the only description we got..

We never did figure out what she meant, but just to be "safe", Santa put a stick of pepperoni in her stocking and she seemed pretty darn excited!!

That's too funny!

 

[minkydog]

My day care version of the "12 days of Christmas"
12 Pillow Pets
11 box of Legos
10 princessess dresses (yep, princessess)
9 reindeer sightings
8 Disney cartoons
7 John Deere tractors
6 caterpillars (diggers)
5 Playschool Kitchens
4 Hugs from Santa
3 types of candy
2
AND 1 'REAL' CHAINSAW!!!! (Mom says he is getting as platic one! )

Kids are so much fun. Merry Christmas.

As Dr. Phil says, "Good luck with that, son."

 

[castmemberb4]

I've been reluctant to tell this story b/c I didn't want to feel I was patting myself on the back. You gave me an easy forum.

I have a niece who was in a very controlling relationship for years. She was able to break free of that relationship this past year, get herself into secondary schooling and povide stable housing for herself and her DD9 and DS4. I'm very proud of her and have told her so.
However she is still living off of Food Stamps and was worried about her kids having any Christmas. I sent her money to buy "Santa" for the kids (without anyone but DH knowing) and have bought many gifts for them all to open when they come to visit us "from the whole family" on Chistmas Day. It will be the first time our family has seen the 9 yr old since she was a toddler and the first time ever for the 4 yr old to meet us. I'm SOOOO excited to see them and to get to buy presents for kids again ! It's going to be a wonderful and fun filled Chistmas day.

 

[minkydog]

I've been reluctant to tell this story b/c I didn't want to feel I was patting myself on the back. You gave me an easy forum.

I have a niece who was in a very controlling relationship for years. She was able to break free of that relationship this past year, get herself into secondary schooling and povide stable housing for herself and her DD9 and DS4. I'm very proud of her and have told her so.
However she is still living off of Food Stamps and was worried about her kids having any Christmas. I sent her money to buy "Santa" for the kids (without anyone but DH knowing) and have bought many gifts for them all to open when they come to visit us "from the whole family" on Chistmas Day. It will be the first time our family has seen the 9 yr old since she was a toddler and the first time ever for the 4 yr old to meet us. I'm SOOOO excited to see them and to get to buy presents for kids again ! It's going to be a wonderful and fun filled Chistmas day.

I think that's wonderful. My sisters have done that for me when we were struggling one year. I know you can't wait to see them all. God bless you for doing this.

 

[olwyngdh]

There are so many happy memories of Christmas both as a child and an adult, that I don't even know where to start.

1. The reason I still believe in Santa-The Christmas I was 8 I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, looked out the hall towards the living room, and saw him bent over placing presents. I dashed back to bed for fear he would see me and take them back! My Mom and I tried for years to figure out who I saw, but we never could. It had to be him.

2. Looking back, I didn't realize how poor we were some years (Dad was a commission salesman) One year, Santa took my Twin dolls about a month before Christmas, leaving me a note that they had to return to the North Pole, and that he would get them back before Christmas if I was a good girl. Christmas morning they were there, with their hair styled, clean and shiny as new with new clothes and bunk beds! I found out years later that there wasn't really money for Christmas that year, so Mom cleaned up my favorite dolls and made them new clothes and Dad make the bunk beds for them.

3. One year we got my DD25 a Barbie A-Frame house. If you looked at it cross-eyed, it collapsed. It took my DH hours to get it to stay together. DD could pick it up and move it across the room without it falling apart, and when it did come apart, she could put it back together in seconds. Just saying the words "Barbie House" can still make him twitch I make sure I do it at least once a Christmas Eve when he starts to complain about assembling toys!

Those are the ones that hit the top of the list

 

[pennymom]

That's awesome! A little goodwill goes a long way, huh?
I'm so not crafty, I wouldn't even have thought about iron-on patches for slippers. Are they done? How did they turn out?

They came today and are very cute! She used one of the penguin cartoon figures from the main CP web page, and the patches are edged in red which is perfect for the red & blue slippers DS is getting. Now to get the patches attached without too much blood letting (I am terrible at sewing)! I'm afraid that the fleece slippers will melt if I iron them...

 

[pennymom]

A few years ago, DS6, then probably around 3 years old, kept saying that he wanted a "squeaky hamburger" A few weeks after that request, and the day before Christmas Eve, DS8 (then 5) decided that HE wanted a stuffed carrot. I had absolutely no idea what to do, until we were driving past PetSmart .

Santa came through on the squeaky hamburger and stuffed carrot on Christmas! Both boys still have them in bed with them at night, and might be the only kids I know who sleep with dog toys! I can't wait to tease them about that when they're older and I can tell the story!

 

[southern_redhead]

A few years ago, DS6, then probably around 3 years old, kept saying that he wanted a "squeaky hamburger" A few weeks after that request, and the day before Christmas Eve, DS8 (then 5) decided that HE wanted a stuffed carrot. I had absolutely no idea what to do, until we were driving past PetSmart .

Santa came through on the squeaky hamburger and stuffed carrot on Christmas! Both boys still have them in bed with them at night, and might be the only kids I know who sleep with dog toys! I can't wait to tease them about that when they're older and I can tell the story!

That is hilarious

olwyngdh - I think I had that SAME Barbie house (I'm 32 so maybe mine was an earlier edition) I believe my uncle still attends therapy to deal with having put it together for me one Christmas Eve.

My happy story: When our kids were tiny - 3 kids ages 4 and under - I wasn't working and DH worked all the time for what amounted to no pay. Add to that having a stepson we paid child support on, we could barely afford to breathe. That Christmas I would do a kid at a time and would take a bit of grocery money each week and buy a few presents. I hid them in my laundry closet and I was SO proud that we had scraped together those presents. I remember sitting in there after the kids had gone to bed and looking at the gifts, I couldn't wait for them to open them!

 

[pearlieq]

Mom's going to be with us for Christmas this year, which is pretty miraculous. She's got advanced cancer with plenty of complications and we had a really close call this summer. They gave her "weeks" at the time but she's still here with us and feeling relatively good!

My brother is coming up to visit, so we're all going to be together for the holiday. It feels like God has given us a very precious second chance and I'm really looking forward to enjoying it!

 

[autumnpalm]

Love this thread!

There is a refugee family at my church who arrived from Iran two months ago. They were experiencing extreme religious persecution and left their home with essentially nothing. This will be the first Christmas in years and years that they will be able to openly celebrate and they wanted to host a big dinner at their apartment to celebrate. They didn't have the funds so the church had a collection for food, plates, drinks, decorations, folding chairs and gifts for the whole family. Just this past Sunday about 50 people crowded into their relatively small apartment and had just about the most joyous Christmas celebration ever. They were SO proud and SO happy and SO grateful for their freedom... it really was amazing.

Probably one of the best Christmas stories I've experienced!

 

[indimom]

As Dr. Phil says, "Good luck with that, son."

What makes his request so funny to me is that this is S O O O O O him! This little guy is going to be the death of his parents someday. They caught him piling rubbermaid tubs and rider toys on top of a bench on the back porch one day this summer, creating a sort of large tower. Asked what he was doing, and he replied, "I'm going to get up on the roof and go down the chimney like Santa. "
He also discovered all on his own that a bike pump will siphon gas out of a rider mower. He then watered his mom's roses with it. Scary Smart. He has been banned from the garage since this escapade.

I've been reluctant to tell this story b/c I didn't want to feel I was patting myself on the back. You gave me an easy forum.

I have a niece who was in a very controlling relationship for years. She was able to break free of that relationship this past year, get herself into secondary schooling and povide stable housing for herself and her DD9 and DS4. I'm very proud of her and have told her so.
However she is still living off of Food Stamps and was worried about her kids having any Christmas. I sent her money to buy "Santa" for the kids (without anyone but DH knowing) and have bought many gifts for them all to open when they come to visit us "from the whole family" on Chistmas Day. It will be the first time our family has seen the 9 yr old since she was a toddler and the first time ever for the 4 yr old to meet us. I'm SOOOO excited to see them and to get to buy presents for kids again ! It's going to be a wonderful and fun filled Chistmas day.

I am so glad you are finally able to enjoy your family again. It was a much milder situation, but we had a family member in a relationship like that. (We just weren't welcome in their home. If we wanted to see her, she had to come to us.) But, I sort of know how that feels and it really stinks. I'm so glad she got out (my family member finally did also). Merry Christmas to All Of You!!!

I think that's wonderful. My sisters have done that for me when we were struggling one year. I know you can't wait to see them all. God bless you for doing this.

Minky, I'm glad you have a happy memory too. I know you are having a rough year right now and hope that your Christmas is Merry anyway!

There are so many happy memories of Christmas both as a child and an adult, that I don't even know where to start.

1. The reason I still believe in Santa-The Christmas I was 8 I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, looked out the hall towards the living room, and saw him bent over placing presents. I dashed back to bed for fear he would see me and take them back! My Mom and I tried for years to figure out who I saw, but we never could. It had to be him.
We had a snapshot of the tree when we were girls that had a fuzzy outline that looked like something pink/red and fuzzy right at the edge of the photo. We were convinced it was Santa. As an adult I saw the picture again and realized someone had their finger up against the lens when they took the picture. You just reminded me of the picture that had me convinced for many years.
2. Looking back, I didn't realize how poor we were some years (Dad was a commission salesman) One year, Santa took my Twin dolls about a month before Christmas, leaving me a note that they had to return to the North Pole, and that he would get them back before Christmas if I was a good girl. Christmas morning they were there, with their hair styled, clean and shiny as new with new clothes and bunk beds! I found out years later that there wasn't really money for Christmas that year, so Mom cleaned up my favorite dolls and made them new clothes and Dad make the bunk beds for them.
That is so awesome. Your parents were very creative and made the magic for you!
3. One year we got my DD25 a Barbie A-Frame house. If you looked at it cross-eyed, it collapsed. It took my DH hours to get it to stay together. DD could pick it up and move it across the room without it falling apart, and when it did come apart, she could put it back together in seconds. Just saying the words "Barbie House" can still make him twitch I make sure I do it at least once a Christmas Eve when he starts to complain about assembling toys!
Poor Dads. They always get the dirty work. It's no wonder they get a little "bah humbug" once in a while!
Those are the ones that hit the top of the list :)

Thanks for sharing. I loved them!

They came today and are very cute! She used one of the penguin cartoon figures from the main CP web page, and the patches are edged in red which is perfect for the red & blue slippers DS is getting. Now to get the patches attached without too much blood letting (I am terrible at sewing)! I'm afraid that the fleece slippers will melt if I iron them...

Good luck with the thread and needle! My sewing isn't pretty either, but I can usually repair a pulled seam or shorten a shoulder strap in a pinch. (As long as the sewing can be hidden underneath/inside, you'll do fine.)

A few years ago, DS6, then probably around 3 years old, kept saying that he wanted a "squeaky hamburger" A few weeks after that request, and the day before Christmas Eve, DS8 (then 5) decided that HE wanted a stuffed carrot. I had absolutely no idea what to do, until we were driving past PetSmart .

Santa came through on the squeaky hamburger and stuffed carrot on Christmas! Both boys still have them in bed with them at night, and might be the only kids I know who sleep with dog toys! I can't wait to tease them about that when they're older and I can tell the story!

OMG, that is hilarious. I can't believe you found them both. That's Christmas Magic!!!

That is hilarious

olwyngdh - I think I had that SAME Barbie house (I'm 32 so maybe mine was an earlier edition) I believe my uncle still attends therapy to deal with having put it together for me one Christmas Eve.

My happy story: When our kids were tiny - 3 kids ages 4 and under - I wasn't working and DH worked all the time for what amounted to no pay. Add to that having a stepson we paid child support on, we could barely afford to breathe. That Christmas I would do a kid at a time and would take a bit of grocery money each week and buy a few presents. I hid them in my laundry closet and I was SO proud that we had scraped together those presents. I remember sitting in there after the kids had gone to bed and looking at the gifts, I couldn't wait for them to open them!

Amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it, and I bet they had a fabulous Christmas that year.

Mom's going to be with us for Christmas this year, which is pretty miraculous. She's got advanced cancer with plenty of complications and we had a really close call this summer. They gave her "weeks" at the time but she's still here with us and feeling relatively good!

My brother is coming up to visit, so we're all going to be together for the holiday. It feels like God has given us a very precious second chance and I'm really looking forward to enjoying it!

I am so glad you have gotten this opportunity. Enjoy it to the fullest.

Love this thread!

There is a refugee family at my church who arrived from Iran two months ago. They were experiencing extreme religious persecution and left their home with essentially nothing. This will be the first Christmas in years and years that they will be able to openly celebrate and they wanted to host a big dinner at their apartment to celebrate. They didn't have the funds so the church had a collection for food, plates, drinks, decorations, folding chairs and gifts for the whole family. Just this past Sunday about 50 people crowded into their relatively small apartment and had just about the most joyous Christmas celebration ever. They were SO proud and SO happy and SO grateful for their freedom... it really was amazing.

Probably one of the best Christmas stories I've experienced!

Isn't it amazing to see others who are just thoroughly enjoying the moment, who are so happy and full of joy. So glad your entire Church got to take part in making their first Christmas amazing!

I am loving all these stories. This is just the medicine I needed! Thanks Everyone!

 

[GirTheGecko]

When I was a junior in high school, we had a student who had some sort of degenerative disorder. All he wanted to do was go to school and have art class. The father had abandon them, so it was just him, mom, and a sister. Weave (my art teacher) found out that they probably wouldn't have a Christmas, so he talked to the students to see if we could put something together. I spoke to my dad to see if we could give something. He did one better, he was the senior vice commander at the local VFW and got them involved. The VFW paid for their entire meal, and my family and Weave paid for a Steelers jersey for the student. I just remember when he said thank you to me, turning to mush. Apparently, when everything got to their home, the mother cried from happiness too.