Gift Week, Day Four – Gifts We Remember

What is the best Christmas gift you ever received? Which is the most nostalgic? Which ones do you remember from your childhood?

This is one of the first gifts that I remember receiving – a marionette of Princess Summer-Fall-Winter-Spring, from the Howdy-Doody Show.

 

princess-summer-fall

The best gift I ever received was a new car (1985 Pontiac Grand Am).

pontiac_85grandam

The most nostalgic gifts I remember aren’t ones that I received, but gifts that my new husband and I made for our friends and family the first Christmas we were married. We had very little money, so it was both challenging and fun. Friends of ours were just as broke, and got their “Charlie Brown” Christmas tree from the neighborhood lot for a couple of bucks. We all chipped in to make the decorations. Lots of fun!

Best of all, just a few weeks after Christmas, we were blessed by the birth of our daughter. A never forgotten and best gift ever!

This entry was posted in Family, Hobbies & General Interest, Holidays, Nostalgia, Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

23 Responses to Gift Week, Day Four – Gifts We Remember

  1. kinthenorthwest says:

    1959 is still the Christmas I remember the most. I do believe it is the year that I grew up some & learned the true meaning of Christmas.
    The summer of 59 we had moved to Texas so we could be closer to family.
    My widowed mother had just finally gotten a job about 3 months prior.. However, just after Thanksgiving someone had slashed 2 of her tires & money was tight. Oh how I wanted a Toodles doll for Christmas, but knew it was impossible.
    On Christmas morning we all awoke to presents under the tree which were mostly clothes. However, I got a special gift–my toodles doll.. Before the day was over out I realized that my mother didn’t have/get a winter coat like the rest of us. Upon asking I was told that she forfeited it for my doll.
    The next day with my older sister I returned the doll & got my mother her much needed winter coat. So I guess you could say my best gift was learning about the gift of giving…
    If you are curious you can see a description and picture of it at this site.
    https://www.dollreference.com/american_character_dolls.html

    Liked by 6 people

    • stella says:

      That’s a lovely story. It brought tears to my eyes. Reminds me a bit of the story by O. Henry – The Gift Of The Magi.

      Liked by 3 people

      • kinthenorthwest says:

        I remember it not being that easy, but I do feel my mom didn’t wanted me to enjoy another childhood Christmas for a 10 year old. My brother was about 4 years older & sister and another 2 years older than that..

        Like

  2. kinthenorthwest says:

    Wow Stella–Howdy Doody Show–you sure are bringing back some old memories

    Liked by 1 person

    • czarowniczy says:

      Oh yeah – first program I remember seeing on the first TV we had was “You Asked For It” hosted by Art Baker. Other early one was “I Married Joan”, which I thought was neat as my mother’s name was Joan.
      I can remember, pre-TV set and as a pre-schooler, sitting at the kitchen table and eating lunch while listening to the soaps. Young Doctor Malone, Guiding Light, One Mans Family…
      Then at night we had Gangbusters, The FBI in Peace and War, Gunsmoke, The Lone Ranger, Hopalong Cassidy, The Whistler….all on radio, all requiring close attention and imagination.
      I really do love the FX now, wouldn’t trade them, but as a kid radio was THE thing. I can remember seeing some of my old radio programs on the TV, seeing characters I’d listened to and formed an image of for the first time and thinking: “That’s not what they look like!”.

      Liked by 3 people

      • kinthenorthwest says:

        I only have antenna & some streaming, so my favorite is ME TV that has a lot of the 50s & 60s TV.

        Like

        • czarowniczy says:

          We have 500 channels of satellite TV and most of them are garbage.We spend most of our time on channels we could get with an antenna if we didn’t live in an area where we need satellite to get antenna channels.

          Liked by 2 people

          • kinthenorthwest says:

            Finding a lot of neat free channels on Roku too…only need internet..

            Liked by 1 person

            • czarowniczy says:

              So do we…

              Liked by 1 person

              • kinthenorthwest says:

                Tubi is free and has a Christmas movie that I really liked “Christmas for a Dollar”. Tubi has many other shows & movies too.
                TCD has some good documentaries too. Was a good one on the gypsies and Hitler..

                Like

                • czarowniczy says:

                  Problem is we’re stuck with using our cell phones as hot spots, aside from satellite that’s all we got. Se had HughesNet for a few years but the service was…less than satisfactory…and the hot spot is cheaper while being more reliable.

                  Like

                  • kinthenorthwest says:

                    oh no boy you are in the boonies…

                    Liked by 1 person

                  • czarowniczy says:

                    Like I said, 18 miles from the closest Walmart, 6 miles from a gas station and most of our neighbors have no familiarity with Starbucks.

                    Like

                  • kinthenorthwest says:

                    2 miles from closest mini mart but can’t walk it since it almost straight down hill to it & I’d never make it back up LOL. nearest gas is about 4 or 5.
                    10 miles from Walmart…but only 45 miles from city that has main stations with antennas. Since I’m on top of a hill so far an indoor antenna works. City also has a mall and some other good stores.
                    I found a nice small rural area that I can escape the crazy world but then be in civilization in less that 40 mins.

                    Liked by 2 people

                  • czarowniczy says:

                    Ahhhh….only 10 miles to a Walmart, so you’re in the suburbs.

                    Liked by 1 person

  3. czarina33 says:

    One year when I was about 11 I asked for & got a chemistry set. Messed with it for months making the formulas, but never cared for it. Liked baking cookies & cakes better, so it went out with the trash eventually. Chemistry either way.

    Liked by 4 people

  4. JTR says:

    My favorite Christmas was when I placed my 2 week old infant daughter under the tree for photos. She was all we had under that little tree, and the photos are precious. She’s been the best daughter any Mom could have! Every Christmas since, anything about the baby Jesus makes me burst out in tears. I’m a soggy mess.

    Liked by 4 people

  5. kinthenorthwest says:

    this kind of fits here look at the gift a 5th grader was to get Trump

    Liked by 3 people

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