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Dear readers, I just received this note from a writer for the Ladies’ Home Journal and wanted to pass it on to you right away. I know there are several of you with great gift stories that would be perfect to share with readers of the Journal. If you have a story that you think might work, share it with us in the comments, or if you’d rather, email me, and I’ll pass it on to the editors at the Ladies’ Home Journal.
“I’m a writer working on a story for Ladies’ Home Journal’s Christmas issue about ‘the best gift you ever got’; the gift that, for whatever situation you happened to be in, was absolutely perfect. A favorite example from last year’s issue was a story about a woman going through a rough patch who had all but given up on her one sanity-saving pastime, horseback riding, until Christmas morning she found that her family had banded together to buy her a beautiful saddle. Another woman wrote about her boyfriend who was obsessed with water skiing. She said when he gave her expensive water skis for Christmas, she knew he was in it for keeps. If any of your readers have something that might work, we’d love to hear it.”
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
One year, my mom & her best friend traversed Ebay (no small feat for these ladies in their 60s) to get me VHS copies of all of the Faerie Tale Theatre videos that I loved so much as a child. I was absolutely shocked that they were able to find them all & floored by how thoughtful it was.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faerie_Tale_Theatre
Another awesome gem – one year, my mom bought copies of every Ezra Jack Keats book for me (since I had read my own copies to pieces) as he was my favorite author & she wanted me to be prepared for her future grandchildren.
I am an extremely lucky woman to have a husband like I do – he is not only a really kind person, but he has this amazing ability to zero in on the perfect gift for my birthday.
Last summer we were in Scotland and visited a museum that had it’s “sign” made of flowers. I said, offhand, that I totally want to do that – have my name written in flowers. Later that trip, we visited the London Zoo and I mused about how cool it would be to be able to meet a giraffe up close.
To my surprise, he remembered all of this (mind you – my birthday is in March and this was July!) and I came home on my birthday to my name made out of styrafoam and fake flowers plus a ticket to be a “zookeeper for a day” and feed giraffes! Best. Birthday. Ever.
Would an undeliberate gift work? If so, here I go. Last August (almost a year ago), my husband was working for “only” two weeks in London, England. I had managed to keep myself and my 4 kids busy with stuff to do the entire time so that our sanity would be intact for when he came home. Nearing the end of the second week, he called me to let me know that he would be needed for a third week. My heart sank, thinking what would I do to handle one more week alone? But before the fears could totally overtake me, he said, “Do you want to come to England?” I would have to say that my jaw dropped. The company wouldn’t pay for my ticket out and so it was going to come from our pockets. The best part was, my budget-friendly husband wasn’t worried at all about the cost! I sent my kids to family for the week, and boarded a plane for London, England, all by myself!
While he worked for the next week, I toured and hit museums and galleries and saw what I could in London – all on my own. It was the trip that I should have taken right out of school and didn’t. I should also mention that on my bucket list of places in the world to visit, London, England – was #1! I still think of that trip with such fondness, I can’t even describe it.
(And would it be even nicer to mention, that almost a month later, I was able to go back, with my parents in tow? Lots of love to a hubby that was so willing to pay for me to go twice, and happily let my folks come crash with us so they could come to.)
Since high school I have really been into handbags. When I got a job after college I realized that I could buy whatever bag I wanted without any explanation…that is until I got engaged. My fiancée and I agreed that as we planned the wedding we would not make any purchases of more than $50 without consulting each other. A few weeks before Thanksgiving I found a bag I had been eyeing for some time on clearance. It was a beautiful tan leather satchel with gold hardware and a floppy grosgrain tan and blue bow. It was on super sale for $50! I called my fiancée many times but was unable to contact him. I hesitantly left the store without the bag. When I spoke to him later he said I should have just gotten it! So, I called the next day to ask them to hold it for me but it was no longer there. I eventually let go of the dream of having that beautiful purse. So, imagine my surprise when I opened a box on Christmas and the purse, floppy bow and all, was inside! The bag was no longer on the shelf because he had already had them hold it for HIM. Though the bag has since been replaced with bigger (equally cute) diaper bags that purse is the best gift I’ve received because it reminds me that God blessed me with a very thoughtful husband who loves me dearly.
I loved this idea for an article, and wrote about mine in a blog post. It was a pirate’s chest shoebox full of toys that I received when I was a kid.
http://twokitties.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/05/the-best-gift-youve-ever-received-.html
I linked through to your entry and I hope folks will send you their memories. Such a cool idea!
Heidi