A Loving Family & Sant Letters – The Best Christmas Gift Possible

Last year I received the best Christmas present I have ever been given. It was a complete surprise and I never expected it. Let me tell you how it all started. Like most families we all write letters to Santa every year.

Last year while the kids were writing their letters I wrote my own asking for a photography studio. I never intended to do anything with it. I tossed it aside to help Trenton with the glitter he wanted to use. From there I can only assume one of my other children found letters to Santa. I didn’t think about that Santa Claus letter again until Christmas morning.

Before I had children I loved taking and developing photographs. There came a point that we no longer had the room for my dark room. We sold my projector and chemicals. At the time I wasn’t even sad about it. I had a digital camera and no free time to spend in the dark room. Now my kids were older and they no longer need or want to spend every moment of every day with mom.

I had been so busy raising kids for the past several years I didn’t know what to do with myself now that they were older. I was actually finding time to get bored. I needed something in my life that was just for me.

Christmas morning we all rushed around the tree to find gifts from Santa. The kids ripped into the wrapping paper and rainbows of ribbon rained down around the room. When the gifts were all opened I couldn’t help but notice I hadn’t received even one.

We all gathered the wrapping paper and cleaned up the bits of ribbon and tape. I was about to take the trash out to the can when suddenly all six members of my family were at my side. My husband took the bag from my hands and told me to close my eyes. He led me through the back yard. The sound of crunching frozen grasses stopped and I opened my eyes.

They had read my letters to Santa. Before me was a nice sized ‘shed’ with a green velvet ribbon on the door knob. I can’t imagine how they got the shed past me. Inside the shed was everything I could possibly need for my photography hobby. The interior of this building is extremely comfortable and inviting. But the best part is that my loving family worked so hard to keep everything a secret just to surprise me with a gift that was beyond my wildest expectations and dreams. Tears filled my eyes and I couldn’t speak for a few moments. I was surprised that they had been so sly. They told me sneaking out to paint the inside of shed black was the hardest part to pull off.

Every time I walk through the door of my dark room I can’t help but take a few moments to be grateful for being blessed with such a loving and giving family.

Christmas Lights Add A Magical Touch To The Season

My little granddaughter gets so excited about driving around and looking at Christmas lights every year. The tradition started when she was just a baby. On a very fussy night when my husband and I were keeping her so her mother could do some Christmas shopping we decided we would try a car ride to calm her down. She didn’t fall asleep on the ride but she did fall in love with the glow of Christmas lights. I can still remember her stretching as far as she could in her car seat to watch the lights twinkle. To this day that is her favorite Christmas activity.

With that in mind, when my granddaughter was three she woke up one morning to find a gift from Santa on the front porch. She made movements in blurs as she quickly unwrapped the present. To her delight it was boxes of outdoor Christmas lights. I was sure if we all worked hard she would be able to see the lights lit up by nightfall. We spent the day hanging her Christmas lights. My husband made a quick trip to the hardware store and returned with a plastic light up Santa Claus.

Every year some sort of outdoor decorations are sent from Santa to my granddaughter’s family. She has come to check the porch first thing every morning starting the day after Thanksgiving. Over the years as the collection has grown so has the glow from my granddaughter’s home. When she was still small she would cry when Christmas was over and we had to take down the lights. We told her that it is bad luck to have your Christmas lights up after New Year’s.

One of my all time favorite letters to Santa came from my little granddaughter. She wanted to have a big house covered in lights when she became a grown up. She went on to give a detailed list of things she wanted have display on the front lawn. She thought that a merry go round would look perfect in the driveway. She still thinks the merry go round is a great idea. After the lights are up she can’t wait to mail a letter to Santa to thank him.

Sally is now ten years old. There are times when I am informed by her that she is now too big to do certain things like hold my hand in public. I was happy this year when she said that she was going outside to check on the food for the reindeer.  I watched out the window as she carried out the big silver bowl of food. She sat the food on the ground and sat down on the bench. She was smiling as she looked around at the lights. I couldn’t help but smile. Watching my grandchildren do the things that their parents did as they grew up is truly a blessing. Children are what make my holidays special.