What's Your Christmas Story? (Mine is kind of lengthy).

fletcherfam

So this time a of year always reminds me of 5 years ago at Christmas time. The story goes:

 

Working construction, found out my wife was pregnant with our second child. We were excited, yet nervous about the economy and my job security. Three days after we find out we are pregnant I am told I will be laid off at the first of the year. My wife stays at home so my income is the only one. We were slightly nervous but knew that God would take care of us some how.

So our budget for Christmas that year was $10 for the wife and I each and $15 for the kiddo.

My wife is at home one day a couple of weeks later and a friend of hers calls and asks if she is home as she wanted to drop something by. My wife goes outside to meet her and the gal opens the trunk and my wife sees some random grocery things from Costco. She says "Merry Christmas." My wife doesn't get it, and the friend says "It's for you, the whole trunk of food is for you." My wife breaks down crying in feeling so blessed in our circumstances and our friendships.

There was meat, ketchup, bread, all kinds of staples that lasted us 3 months.

Fast forward another couple of weeks and I had been interested in shaving with a straight razor for some time and had been lurking on the forum www.straightrazorplace.com I had made a couple of posts but nothing significant. Anyway, I posted on there my attempt at appreciation of what I had learned so far and that I couldn't get a straight razor yet due to my job lay off, but was excited about what I was learning. Long story short, the kindness of humanity and that forum kicked in and I had a very blessed Christmas. They sent me a straight razor, all kinds of soaps, a strop, a hone, a very very nice brush. Probably $400 worth of stuff. One of the guys told his wife about it and the wife said that it wasn't right for a wife not to get something too so they sent her a bunch of girly smelly stuff. (Still brings a tear to my eye thinking about that Christmas story).

That Christmas was one of my favorite of all time. I still have the straight razor, strop, and brush. I still shave with a straight razor, and use that same brush almost every time. We were very blessed, and though we had very little money, we had more than we ever wanted.

Merry Christmas!!

Do you have a Christmas Story?

In case you are interested, here is the address to the forum where the straight razor stuff went down:

http://straightrazorplace.com/beginners/45709-i-have-confession.html#post500748

johnkitchens

That is a great story! It also proves that most people are kind and will help their fellow man. 

itsmce

Cool, thanks for sharing.

cazzy

Great story man!  I've shared this before, but my favorite Christmas moment was when my mom gave my brother and I a NES.  We wanted it but were convinced it wasn't happening.  Single mom, raising two boys who wanted everything and she blew us away.  Still don't know how she did it, but that's just one Christmas that sticks with me.  The love and joy I saw in her eyes is something I didn't truly understand until I had children of my own.  I definitely taught me the true meaning of Christmas.

fishlessman

they were always pretty good on that forum, it does amaze me a shaving forum can run so long and keep members

dldawes1

Great story !!!

I got a great early Christmas present.... 22 years ago.

God delivered me from being a cocaine addict of 8 years, an alcoholic of 15 years, and of my addiction to tobacco for 17.

That was the greatest Christmas present ever.

Now I'm 1 year....eggdicted !!!!

johnkitchens

@dldawes1 it is totally acceptable to be eggdicted. I am sure there are many of us that are afflicted with that addiction! 

JGoodson

Thanks for sharing! Great story.

RRP

My Christmas story isn’t a warm and fuzzy story about good times, children, religion or charity so I hope it doesn’t turn off some people - instead it is a true story about someone finding something quite dirt cheap at a garage sale which then became a wonderful and special Christmas gift.

Here’s the background - back in the early 80’s I began subscribing to a magazine which most people believe is the top publication for serious wood workers. It is entitled Fine Wood Working. Though my first issue started with issue #33 for Mar/Apr 1982 I’ve always kinda wanted the whole series, but as we all know some things in life just won’t happen so as adults we learn to deal with it and let the petty things go.

On Christmas morning 2004 I opened a heavy gift from my wife and lo and behold it contained issues numbers 1 through 16. She had found them at a garage sale that Summer! These are not reprints, but the original magazines and all were in excellent condition! In fact several of them were never even paged through by the previous owner! The only imperfection on any of the 16 is where the seller used a ball point pen to write a small $.50 price on the corner of each issue.

What a find!!! What a blast from the past!!! And all for only $8.00 for magazines printed nearly 30 years prior!

It’s not the price of your Christmas gift, but the special thought that goes in to it.

fletcherfam

Great story!

gamason

Sounded warm and fuzzy to me! Great story..

lkapigian

dldawes1 said:

Great story !!!

I got a great early Christmas present.... 22 years ago.

God delivered me from being a cocaine addict of 8 years, an alcoholic of 15 years, and of my addiction to tobacco for 17.

That was the greatest Christmas present ever.

Now I'm 1 year....eggdicted !!!!

I am betting this habit is more expensive

nolaegghead

I woke up one christmas morning and thought I saw santa claus.  Turned out it was just another damn raccoon.

Fred19Flintstone

 

GrannyX4

MDSH was a pilot and he was always very fortunate to be home sometime around Christmas for the kids when they were little. When the kids were in college we weren't so lucky. He was living in New York and on call so the kids and I thought we would to New York and we would all be together. Before we got on the plane he called and said that they just assigned him a trip on Christmas morning and wanted to know what we wanted to go. Well we flew to New York and thought Christmas Eve dinner would be better than nothing. Christmas morning we decide to go on his trip to San francisco. GREAT time was had by all. Rode the cable car, had great food and we were all together. Next morning it was back on the plane back to Florida. We still talk about that Christmas and what a fun time we had being together and spending 3 days in an airplane. ;;)

TigerTony

@fletcherfam‌ -- So beautiful! Heart warming.

@cazzy‌ -- glad to see you back.

WeberWho

I proposed to my wife in front of this Christmas tree on Lake Superior 3 years ago.

I gave my parents a large egg that I cleaned and restored for Christmas 3 years ago.

Tjcoley

When I was 7, my brother and I found all the wrapped gifts hidden under a tarp in a back corner of the basement.  We left a note saying "Ha Ha, we found them".  Christmas morning we came down to a big empty space under the tree.  Just a little piece of paper saying "Ha Ha, find them again".  So glad my parents had a sense of humor.

johnkitchens

WeberWho? said:

 I gave my parents a large egg that I cleaned and restored for Christmas 3 years ago.

Son of the year!

kdink

Me 6 and my brother 5 wake up early xmas morning, get dressed heading to grandma's house, wake them up to get our goodies.  Grandma, calls mom wakes her up, yelling at her how could she let us walk over in a snowstorm.  Tells her to come get us so she can go back to bed.  Mom gotta love her says they walked over they can walk back.  I can still remember banging those marching drums all the way home.  Thanks mom, me and my brother will never forget that walk back!

Fred19Flintstone

When I was six or seven we spent Christmas with my aunt, uncle and cousins.  We woke up Christmas morning at 5:00 and were delighted that Santa put kazoos in all of our stockings.  So our parents woke up to a seven kazoo band.  Santa never gave us noisy gifts in our stockings ever again.  Also, the rule was established that it must be daylight before us kids were allowed to wake our parents.  Opening presents without the parents was not contemplated.