Best present you've ever received?

[Ms. Chevious]

We've done a thread on the worst gifts ever received, so how about one on the BEST presents ever received? Of course the best Christmas present I believe is just being surrounded by friends and families (and great food!), but if you had to pick the best thing you ever had the pleasure of opening, what would it be?

(Maybe your answers will give us all great gift giving ideas!)

[lindrusso]

Great question Ms. Chevious!

Of course, as you said, the best things in life cannot be wrapped or unwrapped (generally speaking ), but...

One of the best presents I ever got (it's so hard to choose!) was for Mother's Day. My husband gave me a whole day at the spa - facial, massage, manicure, pedicure, lunch, haircut and makeup. Wow! It was wonderful!!

Santa gave us some money one year and I bought myself a KitchenAid mixer - that ranks up there too. And I'm sure there are others....

[lhall]

One day when DD was a little over 1 DH taught her to say "I Love You" then he brought her into the laundry room and had her say it to me.

Leigh

[daner94]

My mother had her mother's engagement ring diamond made into a beautiful pendant necklace for me. She worked with the jeweler to design it. It blew me away.

[Jewel]

I have two: Best Sentimental Award/Family goes to: My mother! Last year my Great Aunt Minnie passed away. She and my mother were very close, and she was just about the only Great Aunt that I ever really got close to also! She left my mother her wedding set, which is somewhere near 4 CTW set in 18k white gold, but that's HER gift to write on this board about... She also left behind a gorgeous quilt that her grandmother had made...so this is my mother's Great Grandmother, and MY Great-Great Grandmother. Mom presented this quilt to me last January. It's a soft butter yellow background, and a very nice pattern of pastels on the design, but I have no idea what the design is! It's in what would be called 'Near Mint' condition with no stains, no tears, no fading whatsoever. It looks like my Great Aunt Minnie took very good care of this quilt through the years! For being over a hundred years old, it's miraculous. The fact that Mom gave it to me just made me bawl! It makes me a bit sad to know that since I'm childless I have no one to pass this quilt on to, but just knowing that I'm in possession of something my GG-Grandmother made by hand so many years ago is comforting. I bought an oak quilt stand for it, and it's displayed in my living room!

Best Sentimental Award/Romantic goes to: My husband! Dave is not known for his gift-selecting abilities (see worst gift thread... ) but on our First Anniversary he couldn't have done better. We were in his hometown of Pittsburgh for our first anniversary because his sister picked that weekend to get married, so I was stuck spending my first anniversary staying with my MIL!! Dave planned our anniversary night beforehand. He made reservations at a swanky hotel in downtown Pittsburgh so we wouldn't have to stay in his mother's house on our anniversary night, and made reservations at this amazing Italian restaurant called "Pasquarellis" that had a gorgeous view of the city. We were dressed to the hilt, there was champagne and roses all over our table that was sitting right against the window. The Chef came out to give us a special dessert that Dave had specially requested beforehand, and they complimented us with a free bottle of champagne on top of what Dave had already purchased... (sigh!) We had the rest of the night in our swanky hotel room with the complimentary bottle of champagne and just each other. What a night! Kinda makes up for the Car Tool Kit he gave me for Christmas...

[DmOrtega]

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I had high blood pressure. I had my blood pressure checked every day. This particular evening my pressure was very high (I can't remember what it was) and I was admitted into the hospital. My doctor told me that I had to have the baby now. He didn't elaborate, but proceeded to do an amniocenthises (sp) and started inducing labor.

This was 5 weeks before she was due. I prayed for God to please take care of my child. I had no idea what to expect. The next morning, on December 13th, my daughter was born (5 lbs 6oz). With all of the medicine that I was taking, I had a hard time pushing and they used forcepts on her. She had the ambilicle cord wrapped around her neck. The doctor took care of that and her. She was in an incubator for a week.

That year we had the worst snow storm on record and on the day she was released we had to wait 7hrs for a cab with our first child and no expeirence.

After all of that, any other present paled by comparison. I was just happy to be home with my daughter.

Two years later, on December 26th, I gave birth to my second child. I was also induced because my blood pressure was starting to rise, however my sons due date was December 25th. So I spent the day in the hospital watching cooking shows and the sun shining into the room, though the window. We took our son home the next day, with no complications.

Neither pregancy was planned for December, it just worked out that way.

So for me and my husband, these are the two most memorable Christmas's and presents that we have had.


Ms. Chevious - - - I love your name.

[Little Bit]

I have trouble answering questions like this, because the things I remember most strongly about the holidays, are the experiences I have had, related to the holiday, not necessarily to the 'stuff' being gifted. I still remember Christmas parties, and all the black olives, chicken wings, and other munchies that were so much fun, but usually not on the menu.

I discovered that I was to receive a mouse one Christmas ahead of time, since Dad hadn't hidden the cage/wheel, etc. well enough, but I was SO THRILLED!! I really wanted one, but didn't think it would ever be the sort of thing I'd receive, especially from Dad. Happily enough, I was so jazzed about getting the mouse, my excitement was genuine, if not created exactly in that moment, LOL!

The main Christmas memories I have, dating from childhood, are of the way my mom used to decorate the house. Sure, for most of the holiday season, there'd be decorations up, lots of them, she'd put us kids to work helping, but on Christmas Eve, she'd add stuff to it, and see to it that everything in the house had a little extra Christmas magic that appeared overnight. The room with the tree and all the presents would be arranged in such a way that all the presents were shown to their best advantage and look especially magical. The whole house seemed magically transformed and extra-Christmassy, overnight.

She'd work really hard finding neat stuff to put in our stockings (there was talk of some neat store in New Orleans, but Dad doesn't seem to remember it anymore. ), and she'd wrap everything in our stocking in tissue paper, so we had LOTS to unwrap. There was always something special in the toe of the stocking.
These are great, great memories, and I adore them, but Mama died when I was young, and the first few Christmases after her death were kinda rough, since Dad was clueless, and the stepmother we got always put the nuts no one would eat from the nutbowl in the toe of our stockings, along with a pitiful looking orange. I still don't understand why she thought it was appropriate to do that. Nothing in HER stockings got wrapped with tissue, lemme tell ya! (She and her kids always had some lame tradition about how they always got the same stuff in their stockings every year. Oranges, nuts, paddle ball whatchamacallits, etc., etc. . How dull!)

Given my mom's devotion to creating a magical Christmas setting, is it any wonder I believed in Santa longer than most kids?

[aggie94]

Eight years ago for Christmas, DH gave me a tiny, baby lop-eared bunny. He was brown & white, warm, fuzzy, and small enough to sit in the palm of your hand. We named him Larry. He was the sweetest bunny imaginable, and he loved to play with and chase our beagles around the yard.

Sadly, he passed away in March of this year, but I have lots of fond memories of him.

[mandarin2j]

My Mom'll think I'm a total ingrate for this, since our's is one of those families where the mom typically does all the shopping and then labels the gifts as from "Mom & Dad." But...the best gift I ever got was when I got studded snow tires from my Dad one Christmas. I had just bought my first car, and he knew I was terrified of driving in poor weather conditions. It was a particularly nasty winter (for us, anyway. It would be a walk in the park to people who live where there are real winters.) and I had already done a 180 across 4 lanes of the (thankfully!) empty freeway in the wee small hours of on my way into work. The tires didn't make me cocky the way 4-wheel drive does some fools, but they did help assuage the terror and allowed me to keep my wits about me. The tires were my Dad's way of showing his concern, and he got bonus points because he's generally not a super thoughtful person. The gift showed me that he's thoughtful when it counts.

[beejayw1]

I mentioned this before in one of the other threads.

It was a year when my cost of living doubled (sister, with whom I lived, was transferred to Japan), I was out of work for a couple months and took a job at a huge pay cut. My grandmother died after a long illness (I was one of the caretakers) and things were just terrible.

My purse was a big mess, falling apart. Those of you who have dealt with major life problems will probably agree that sometimes you cope by concentrating on something relatively minor. In my case, it was my purse. It seemed to symbolize to me what my life was like at the time. I needed a new one, but didn't want to get an el cheapo (yes, I was stupid) but I couldn't afford a good one.

Christmas morning (the first one after Grandma died) I was handed a gift box. I opened it and found a brown Coach handbag. I burst into tears (very unlike me). It seemed as though the things that had been bothering me had been understood and helped.

Now I smile at the memory, but that was the best (material) gift I ever received.

[donleyk]

One day when DD was a little over 1 DH taught her to say "I Love You" then he brought her into the laundry room and had her say it to me.

Now that brought tears to my eyes! How sweet.

[BlueMoose]

Well, I guess technically I got this present for myself. We had just moved to our house from an apartment a couple weeks before my birthday in 1998, so we finally had room for a dog. So I took it upon myself to search the paper for one, and I came upon Casey "free to a good home". Little did I know that he was an uncontrollable 90 lb 10 month old black lab cross. Well, of course, once I went to see him, I couldn't say no! So I kind of used the fact that it was my birthday the next day to get my DH to agree to get him (he never gets me a present ). I guess you could say I guilted him into it .

[Laura B]

When I was about 7, my father made an incredible doll house for me. It was two stories with six rooms, and a front porch. He spent months making it. There were individual wooden shingles on the roof, real glass in the windows with little window panes, a stair railing and porch railing that he made, doors that opened and closed with little doorknobs on them, and real wallpaper and carpet (and hardwood in the dining room). He had bought all of this little furniture and little people to go in it. It was really a masterpiece. We have a video of him and my brother wheeling it out to me on Christmas morning. I don't think I said anything. I just walked up to it and stared at it. And then I sat down and started playing. I can remember hours and hours of time spent playing with that house. And now it is in storage with my Aunt and generations of my cousins have played with it. Unfortunately, it is in bad shape as a result. I plan to get it back and restore it one day before I have a daughter of my own to give it to. It is huge, though, and I have no where to put it until DH and I get a house. I don't think anyone can ever give me a Christmas gift that matches that one in terms of the love and time that obviously went into it. And, at that age, a dollhouse like that was pure magic. I was daddy's little girl.

[m4star]

My engagement ring.

When DH and I got engaged we were very poor. We picked out a pretty ring, but it wasn't a traditional engagement ring. Then about a year and a half after we were married I was in an antique store and found the most precious antique engagement ring. It just happened to perfectly match my wedding band and be just my size. Talk about a sign!! But it was expensive. I told DH about it and then proceeded to push it out of my mind. About 4 months later it was Christmas. DH blew me away when he pulled out that little box and slipped it on my finger. I burst into tears and flooded him with kisses.

[catharine]

Here is something no one else mentioned...

I think one of the nicest presents DH ever gave me was for our first Valentine's day. He is a musician - he plays harmonica for a blues band. They were playing at a club on valentine's day and I went to see them. Anyhow, the singer said he had a special song to dedicate...and it was for me. Bill had written the song and the band had rehearsed it. The song is titled "Yours Forever" and it is so sweet. When we got home that night he had another surprise: the band had recorded the song in the studio, and Bill had recorded the performance that night. He gave me copies of both as well as a printed and framed copy of the lyrics. Isn't that so sweet.

[SueK]

Aside from all the things (non-tangible and otherwise) that DD and DH have given to me, I'd have to say it was my 29th bday gift.

My DH (fiance at the time) knew I had my heart set on getting a Basset Hound. Despise my mother's warnings to him (because Bassets tend to be rather mischevious!) he got me our male Basset. He's brought many smiles and rewards into my life since then.

[JHolcomb]

Tiva! She is our 2 year old tabby cat, and DH adopted her for me (us) after a really bad day looking for kitties. Our day started at the Humane Society, where the woman "helping" us with picking out a cat and adopting was so rude. She totally treated us like potential cat abusers as opposed to 2 people who wanted a cat to take home and love. I know they have to be careful about that, but she was horrible. DH got really upset and said that we were leaving, which upset me because the cat I had my eye on was a cutie. We were driving home when he made a quick left onto the highway. I asked him where we were going and he said "Greensboro. I know a place that has cat adoptions there." So we went to a pet store there with a cat rescue program. It was between two animals, Carmen , a one year old tabby with a sign that said "does not play well with other animals" and a cute little kitten that looked so full of energy. I wanted the kitten, but we took Carmen out to play with first and instantly fell in love. She was so sweet and receptive-purred the second we swept her into out arms. We sat down in the pet play area and she divded her body equally between me and my husband. She was ours from then on. I had been unemployed for a month and had no money, but DH paid for her. We took her home that day (they were much nicer than the other place). We did rename her because Carmen didn't match her at all. She is now Sativa, most usually called Tiva and she is my best present ever.

[SuzyQuzy]

Ok, you are all going to think this is so cheesey.

My BF of about six years and I have always lived at least a hundred miles apart (thankfully, this is soon to change!). We have a fantastic relationship, but its really easy to get caught up in other things and then realize that we haven't seen each other in weeks. One year for Christmas he gave me a bud vase. I thought this was a little strange becuause it isn't really his type of gift (See the worst gift post!). He left early the next morning and when I woke up the bud vase was on my night stand with a beautiful red rose in it. It seemed like my sleepy eyes had just focused on the rose when the phone rang (how'd he do that??). He told me that everytime he saw me he would give me another rose to replace the last and if I ever had one die before I had another than we had gone too long without making time for each other. That was two years ago and he still does it.

My other best gift would have to be from my grandfather. A few weeks after my grandmother passed away he called me at work and asked me to stop by. When I got there he handed me a laytex surgical glove. I was confused at first, but then I realized there was something in one of the fingers. I opened it and it was the necklace he had given her when they were married. She always wore it and I had always admired it. He said she took it off just minutes before she died and asked him to give it me. I was so honored. Not only did she want me to have something so special, but she thought of me in those last few moments.

[kwormann]

The CHristmas after we got married, DH got me my beloved Persian, Calliope. I had had a cat as a child but noone else in my family liked him and when he died I wasnt allowed to get another one, which made Calliope all the more special...I waited 10 years for her!