The Very Best Gift Read online

  The Very Best Gift

  Connie Neal

  Mun Gode Press 2012

  Table of Contents

  A HEARTWARMING STORY COLLECTION

  CHRISTMAS HOPES & DISAPPOINTMENTS

  REJOICE!

  WHAT IS THE BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT YOU EVER RECEIVED?

  CASEY’S BEST GIFT: THE TEDDY RUXPIN STORY

  TAYLOR’S BEST GIFT: THE BUDDY STORY

  HALEY’S BEST GIFT: THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH

  MOM’S BEST GIFT: THE REAL GLORY OF CHRISTMAS

  THE VERY BEST GIFT!

  HOW TO MAKE CHRISTMAS COCOA

  CHRISTMAS COCOA RECIPE

  Share the Joy!

  A HEARTWARMING STORY COLLECTION

  This little book is meant to be read around Christmas time or given as a gift. It’s sure to make you and your listeners smile, feel encouraged, and wonder in amazement. You may laugh or even shed a tear, but it’s sure to lift your spirits. I originally crafted this collection as a talk for Christmas teas. The ladies loved it, but kids and teens who’ve heard the stories also beg to hear them again and again every Christmas. So, I’ve decided to wrap them up and present them to you and yours in hopes they will make your Christmas season merry and bright.

  CHRISTMAS HOPES & DISAPPOINTMENTS

  Ah! Christmastime!

  For most of us – especially children – it’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s time for friends and family to come together for festive parties and special meals. It’s a time for gift-giving and receiving, for special treats and beautiful music – the strains of which bring back happy and sacred memories. Anticipation grows with each day marked by the Advent calendar or counting down the days until Christmas Eve when Santa will make his way miraculously down the chimney – even in homes that have no chimney – to leave a lovely assortment of presents under the Christmas tree. It is a season of beauty with lights adorning houses, cities, and Christmas trees both humble and grand. Christmas is the time to give Glory to God and find Peace on Earth to those on whom his favor rests (Luke 2:14).

  Christmastime also brings with it stresses and strains. As the Christmas season approaches, the holiday machine whirrs into motion. Just as the lights begin to twinkle in the darkness, holiday decorations appear – sometimes far early – Christmas music is piped in and shoppers begin to bustle. Most of us find ourselves busy shopping for just the right gifts and searching for the perfect tree, juggling calendar dates, work, and family expectations.

  While the Christmas season rekindles childlike hopes, our hearts may warn that Christmas hopes can give way to disappointment. Even Jolly ol’ Saint Nick can fall short of expectations (especially if you happen to see him passed out drunk on the floor at the company Christmas party) and the image of the perfect Evergreen you saw in the magazine or at Rockefeller Center (on TV) only puts your poor tree to shame. Or maybe you don’t even have the energy or motivation to put up a tree this year. You may hope for happy family times, while fearing that __________ may ruin the celebration – nearly every family has at least one relative whose personality flaws or addictions threaten to disrupt the picture-perfect holiday we envision.

  At Christmastime, the contrast between the projected image and childhood memories of what the season promises and the reality in which we find ourselves can lead to depression. This is especially true if Mom or Dad is still unemployed, your child has her heart set on a gift way beyond your budget, the mortgage isn’t paid, the dog died, your marriage may not make it to the New Year, someone in your family is sick or suffering, some tragedy struck at this time of year, your loved one is serving in harm’s way, or any less-than-joyful circumstances that await down your chimney – if you even have a chimney! Christmastime may be “the most wonderful time of the year” but the holiday season is also when we feel loss, deprivation, or distance from loved ones most keenly.

  Where in the world do we find the JOY?

  This little collection of stories is shared in hopes of helping you REJOICE! Regardless of your pressures this holiday season, I hope it will help to put disappointments in their place, to make your season bright, and see that you receive The Very Best Gift.

  The stories you are about to read – while sometimes miraculous – are true.

  REJOICE!

  I consider it part of my role, as the Mom in our family, to help everyone rejoice at Christmastime. To rejoice means to gladden the heart. I like to think of rejoice as meaning to “re-joy” – that is to recall joy from times past and share those joys with each other to increase today’s joy. Sometimes I have to be very creative to bring this about, but we mothers have our ways.

  WHAT IS THE BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT YOU EVER RECEIVED?

  This is a picture of our family’s Christmas card back in 1998 when my oldest daughter, Casey, was 14, our son, Taylor, was 10, and our youngest, Haley, was 8. I like to get our family talking around the dinner table. That year I asked each person to answer the question, “What is the best gift you ever received?”

  You probably know that getting a family to sit down over dinner these days and have a meaningful conversation is no easy task. So, I added a little competition. They were to each think of the best gift – preferably a Christmas gift – they ever received. After everyone had told their best gift, their dad would pick the one he thought was the best and give a little prize. Their faces set in concentration as they sifted through their memories trying to come up with the winner, the BEST gift.

  I will tell you the stories of each of the gifts they chose as their best gift and reveal The Very Best Gift at the end of this little book.

  Each of their answers was remarkable.

  CASEY’S BEST GIFT: THE TEDDY RUXPIN STORY

  1 Teddy Ruxpin, Circa 1986

  We started with the eldest to give the younger kids more time to think about their answer. Casey chose Teddy Ruxpin, the first-ever singing and talking robotic teddy bear. Teddy Ruxpin debuted in 1986 when Casey was two years old.

  2 Casey at Age 2: "I want a Teddy Ruxpin. He can talk and he can sing."

  If you are a parent, you know that there is a huge difference between a child’s first Christmas and the second or third – once the child can start talking. That huge difference is brought about by television commercials which children learn by heart. That Christmas there was only one thing Casey could say about her Christmas hopes:

  “I want a Teddy Ruxpin. He can talk & he can sing.”

  But there was a problem. My husband, Patrick, and I were young and both working jobs that allowed us to pursue our dreams but didn’t bring in a sufficient income. Patrick was a waiter – which allowed him to audition for musical theatre productions – and I worked in youth ministry. Our entire Christmas budget for Christmas dinner, tree, gifts for each other and Casey was a grand total of $50. We had set aside $20 for Casey’s gifts. The problem was that Teddy Ruxpin cost a whopping $74. Even if we gave up everything else we still couldn’t afford the gift she had set her heart on.

  So, Teddy Ruxpin was way out of reach. We tried to dissuade and distract Casey and get her interested in less expensive toys. But whenever she was asked what she wanted for Christmas, all she would say was, “I want a Teddy Ruxpin. He can talk and he can sing.” And she said it with joy on her face and light in her eyes.

  I worried over her mounting hopes. I tried to think if there was any way, any relative we could approach or friend from whom we could borrow, but Patrick persuaded me that we had to deal with reality. Besides, he said, “She’s only two. She won’t remember what she gets or doesn’t get this Christmas.” So I accepted our financial limitations and determined to get the best deals I could find and make sure Casey would enjoy the gifts we could give her. About that time – a little
more than a month before Christmas – the Gemco department store chain was going out of business, so I determined to go to their Going-Out-of-Business sale to find some special gifts within my $20 budget.

  I found Casey three gifts. I figured that since three gifts were good enough for baby Jesus (albeit his were precious gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh,) three gifts should be enough for our child too.

  I was happy with my first shopping find. It was a pink tent that had a fitted sheet for the floor of the tent which would attach to the mattress on her toddler bed. As I turned onto a new aisle, I noticed a pyramid of stacked boxes bearing the face of Snoopy, the dog character from the Peanuts comic strip and cartoons. A closer inspection of the mountain of identical boxes showed that these were Snoopy step-stools. Casey loved Snoopy and she had just learned to brush her own teeth, so she would love having Snoopy help her get up to the mirror – like a big girl – to brush her teeth. I thought that might be just the thing. I bought a Snoopy step-stool. I also found her another small gift which has faded from memory with the passing years. I dearly hoped these three gifts and whatever she might get from other relatives would make up for not getting Teddy Ruxpin.

  Like any good mother of the only grand-child to two sets of grand-parents, I had to take Casey to the mall to get her photo taken with Santa.

  3 Mall Santa Taking Photos with Kids

  This also posed a delicate situation. I knew that Santa would ask the dreaded question. So as Casey climbed eagerly onto Santa’s lap, I tried to catch his eye and signal him.

  “Have you been a good girl this year?” Santa asked.

  “Yes!” Casey nodded her cute chubby little face excitedly.

  “What do you want Santa to bring you for Christmas?” Saint Nick asked her.

  I asked one of the elves to help me get Santa’s attention.

  Casey’s answer came without hesitation, “I want a Teddy Ruxpin. He can talk and he can sing.”

  While Casey’s back was turned away from me, her earnest little face toward Santa, I caught his eye and shook my head, NO!, silently letting him know that she was not going to get Teddy Ruxpin. The look of panic on my face seemed to be a language Santa understood. I dare say I was not the only parent that year who could not afford the hyped and coveted Teddy Ruxpin. Santa caught on. He smiled down at Casey and said,

  “Well, I’m sure you will like whatever I bring you because I will bring a special little girl like you something special.”

  Sigh!

  The elves snapped the photograph. We received the copies of the photo for the grandparents and moved on, with Casey waving back at Santa. As we walked away – Casey’s chubby little hand in mine – I tried to explain to a precocious two-year-old that Santa might not be able to afford Teddy Ruxpin either. It sounded lame even to me.

  On the night before Christmas we came home late after a youth event. Casey had become like the mascot of our youth group and was fawned over by the teens, so she came with us. We turned on the lights adorning our modest tree, looking at the place where the gifts from Santa were sure to appear before morning. Casey was SO EXCITED! Pat and I were happy and excited too, enjoying the anticipation. Casey hadn’t mentioned Teddy Ruxpin in days, so maybe it would be fine like Patrick assured me it would be.

  While Patrick retrieved Casey’s gifts and the wrappings from their hiding place – we waited until the last minute – I hurried to tuck Casey into bed, planning to keep her bedtime prayers brief. So I dressed her in her Christmas-themed nightgown, tucked her in, and said a cursory prayer. But Casey piped up before I could say, “Amen!”

  She added, “Dear God, I know Santa can’t afford a Teddy Ruxpin. But you can. Please give me a Teddy Ruxpin. He can talk and he can sing. Amen.”

  When I opened my eyes, she was smiling and giggling.

  I closed the door to her room with tears in my eyes. I found Patrick unrolling the Christmas wrapping paper around the box for the bedtime tent. He asked me what was wrong, so I told him.

  He said, “Just get the other gifts down. We have to wrap them. Don’t worry, hon. She’s only two; she won’t ever remember what gifts she got.” So I started wrapping, but the joy was gone.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t have taught her to pray while she is so young. What do you think this will do to her faith in God?”

  “Connie,” Pat said in a tired voice, “Please, just wrap her gift. We still have stockings to fill.”

  I took the Snoopy step-stool box down from the closet shelf where I had been hiding it. I read on the box that the eyes and nose were decals that had to be applied manually. Well, even though I couldn’t give my daughter a Teddy Ruxpin, I could make sure I didn’t give her a blind Snoopy with no nose! So, I removed the tape that secured the lid and opened the box.

  I was staggered to find that the box did not hold a Snoopy step-stool but a Teddy Ruxpin. I gasped, lifting the prayed-for bear out of the box. There below where Teddy had been, I found enough new batteries to power him and two cassette tapes.

  I sputtered and may have screamed, “Pat, look!”

  He was as shocked and confused as I.

  “Did you steal that?” he asked.

  “No! I didn’t steal it! I found it in the Snoopy step-stool box.”

  He grabbed the box and looked inside.

  I said, “I don’t know how it got in there. That’s not right. I should probably return it, huh?”

  Pat said, “You can’t return it. Gemco has been out of business for weeks now.”

  Bewildered and with tears of joy and amazement in our eyes, Patrick tucked Teddy Ruxpin back into his Snoopy step-stool box along with the batteries and cassette tapes (so he could talk and he could sing) and wrapped the gift. I filled out the gift tag:

  To: Casey

  From: Jesus

  And that was Casey’s best gift, which she played with until she wore him out by age eight, and which she distinctly remembered at age fourteen and which none of us can ever forget.

  Taylor and Haley were impressed. That was going to be hard to beat. We gave them a few minutes, while Casey sat there very pleased with herself and her best gift. The competition was not over yet. Taylor, whose turn came next, got a look of steely determination on his face as he searched his memories for a gift that could rival Casey’s. Then a smile spread across his face.

  TAYLOR’S BEST GIFT: THE BUDDY STORY

  4 Buddy: Our Family's 1st Dog

  Taylor’s choice for the best gift he ever received was “Buddy.” That one word said that the game was still on. That was a very good choice and it’s a good story. Let me tell it to you.

  5 Taylor as He Looked in 4th Grade

  When Taylor was in fourth grade, his dad decided it was time for our family to get a “real pet” which – to him – meant a dog. Our family had cats as pets for years but Patrick (Daddy) didn’t consider having a cat a “real pet.” Rather, he saw having cats as his way to prove that he loved those of us in the family who preferred cats.

  Getting our family’s first dog was a big deal. We held many family meetings to pick the right kind of dog. We read books about different breeds. We all picked names and held them up for a vote. Finally, we came up with the right name. We all agreed on “Buddy.”

  At the time I was traveling quite a bit to speak to groups and work on my books. One weekend while I was away, Patrick (Daddy) took the kids to look at puppies. All of the books we looked at said that a Collie was not a good dog to have as a house pet, and our dog would be an inside dog. But the kids fell in love with this little Collie puppy and talked Daddy into buying him that day. So, I came home to find three ecstatic children and one rambunctious Collie puppy named Buddy.

  Buddy made our home very fun, and everyone – even me – learned to live with his bouncy nature. Then the puppy started to grow, and grow, and grow some more, until he was a full-grown dog. And he was still very bouncy! We could live with that until… Grandma Perry came to visit.

  6 Grandma Perry Looking
a Bit Wobbly

  The kids sometimes called Grandma Perry “Grandma Goodie” because she would spoil them with too many treats. Grandma came to stay with the kids when Patrick and I had to travel on some weekends when I was speaking far away from home. Now, Grandma was a little frail. She sometimes had trouble walking because her legs were weak. She could get around okay if she was careful, but she certainly could NOT stand up to being jumped on by an excited full-grown Collie dog! We didn’t think this would be a problem because we could put Buddy outside sometimes, so Grandma came to stay for a while.