Lots of dreams in her eyes

Everything was going smooth and I had planned a big surprise for Christmas. But, destiny had other plans and I lost my job two months before Christmas. My little girl had many dreams in her eyes last Christmas. She is my ten-year-old daughter; I wanted the best for her as well. I did not wanted to break her heart so I told her that I would get whatever she wanted for Christmas despite of my financial crunch. I had full faith in God that something better would turn up. That day she was quiet and she just smiled at me.

The next day I got a letter kept under my pillow and it read, "Mom it's ok if you cannot plan a Christmas surprise for me. It is ok if you cannot gift something special to me. It is ok if you cannot give me what you thought of. Just wrap my old toys and keep them under the tree this Christmas. What matters is the love that I can see you have for me. All the memories we will make on Christmas would be valuable for me. Your love is enough Mom." I was stunned after reading the letter and tears of joy flowed down my cheeks. My little one has grown so big; last year's Christmas was surely the best for me.

Christmas is surely the best time of the year.

My quest for a Christmas gift!

What is my quest for a perfect Christmas gift I asked myself? I have everything that I can buy in life. I have all the gadgets and expensive things. I have the latest car and I have a wonderful family. So, what can be the perfect gift I thought to myself? For days, I have been searching for this answer but I am clueless. One day I thought let me just go out for a walk and see if I can get any idea about the perfect Christmas gift. As I walked down the lane, I saw a person distributing sweets to the poor and I thought so noble of him to do that. I walked passed a park and saw an old couple hugging and greeting each other Merry Christmas. That sight just bought a smile on my face. Once I reached the main street I saw a singer singing a Christmas song for a crowd, and that too made me smile.

I reached home and realized that it is not expensive gifts that are a part of Christmas celebrations. But, it is the gestures and things you do for others that bring a smile to your face. I got my perfect Christmas gift. The joy of giving happiness to someone you love or a stranger is the perfect Christmas gift. This year my Christmas will be a lot more meaningful. I have realized that the true value of love is giving happiness and making others smile. That is my ideal gift too.

Christmas is all about love and happiness.

I had planned so many things

Everything was good until I received a dreadful news last Christmas Eve. I had planned so many things with my family and friends. The news just shook me to no end. I lost my Grandfather as he suffered a major cardiac arrest. My Grandfather was really close to me and I looked up to him for small things in life. I had planned a big celebration and I had bought a special gift for him as well.

Last Christmas Eve, as I was ready with my gifts and preparations, I was dancing to some Christmas tunes. My Granddad and Grand mom were supposed to reach at 8 in the evening. At 7.30, I got a call that my Grandfather is no more. I was so shocked that I hardly reacted...there were tears in my eyes on Christmas Eve. Christmas is here this year too but my Grandfather is not with me. I am missing him so much. I am missing the hugs he used to give me. Christmas will never be the same without him. I am really sad today but also happy that he gave me so many memories for life. I pray that he stays in heavenly peace forever, I miss you my Grandpa on this Christmas day.

She is back this year

I am too excited for this Christmas as I have many things to share. I am waiting for that special someone to come and hug me tight. I am waiting for that special someone to come and talk to me. It's been four years since I last saw her. She is my best friend and she left on Christmas Eve. She was all I had in life, I being an introvert never spoke to anyone. She was my best friend in school and she understood me like no one can ever do in life. I lost all hopes of meeting her as her father got posted at a faraway place.

Today after the long wait of four years, she is finally here and I cannot wait to see her. This Christmas is going to be the best one for me. I finally met her and had tears of joy seeing her after such a long time. I talked to her like there is no tomorrow. We kept talking the whole night because we wanted to make up for the loss of four years of not being together. She is going to stay here now and I am so happy. I have my friend along to celebrate Christmas and do things that I love doing.

Indeed this year's Christmas is the best for me.

An angel in disguise

We had lost all hopes of celebrating Christmas last year as my Dad had lost his job. My Mom also ran out of money because of household financial expenses. I had savings but that was not enough for us to make our Christmas memorable. Least we thought would be going to church and lightening a candle. No gifts and no elaborate expenses was our way of Christmas celebration last year. I was really disheartened about the situation as I thought that Christmas comes once a year and we should celebrate it with a little bit of cheer.

A distant uncle came to visit our house two days before Christmas and came to know about our plight. He was good to us and motivated me that everything will be all right in due course of time. Suddenly on Christmas Eve, our doorbell rang and someone gave us an envelope that was full of cash. It was from the uncle who had visited two days back. It had a letter, which read, "I am not giving this money to you as a charity, but as a loan. Please go ahead and celebrate Christmas with the same joy in your heart. Return me the money once you have it and it will make me happy." Suddenly there was a spark on my face and my Mom and Dad accepted the money with joy. Last year, there was an angel who I call my distant uncle. I will never forget him and that Christmas celebration. After six months, we did return him the money :)

I believed in Santa

I always believed that Santa is there and everything about Santa is true. My Mom told me that start writing letters to Santa and see if you get a reply. I was a kid five years back so was not aware of anything. As an innocent child, I wrote letters to Santa and used to put them in a post box near my house. You know what; I always got a reply back from the letters I wrote. I know you must be amazed to hear that. You might be thinking that is Santa for real. You might be thinking, did he really reply?

Well, then answer is yes he did reply but the real Santa was my Dad. Every time I posted a letter, my Dad used to get that letter and he replied me back with another one. This I got to know one day when I was out playing with my friends. So, my Dad was my Santa, but so what I am happy that he did so much for me. My Dad is also my angel because through the letters he taught me many things about life being a Santa. I am happy that I got to talk to my Santa who is my Dad.

I think I believe in Santa and also believe in the spirit of Christmas, do you?

A time together with her

I have always been unlucky in life as I never got to spend time with my mother. Oh, by the way, I have five sisters and I am the fourth one. With such a big family, I always had to get that kind of attention from Mom. It was not as if she did not love me enough but still, I being an emotional person wanted to spend some time alone on Christmas with Mom.

Well, I knew that was not possible with a big family and so I did not say anything to mom. Spending a good ten minutes with mom was impossible. We always celebrate Christmas at our cousin aunt's place. But, last year something unusual happened. I got fever and I was advised bed rest by my doctor. Mom told that she would stay back to take care of me. That was the biggest moment of happiness though I was sick. I finally got to spend some time with my mom and that too on the Christmas Eve. My Mom sang wonderful carols for me and also got me a small gift. That really melted my heart and I told her that she is the best Mom in the whole world.

It was indeed a special Christmas Eve for me.

Taking the time out for me

I still remember the surprise I got last year from my parents on Christmas Eve. I study at a far away university and often feel lonely without my family. I remember that I had called up my parents a week before Christmas to ask them about their Christmas plans. My Mom told me that she is busy with her meeting and Dad told that he is going out of town. I thought that my parents do not have time for me. When was the last time I saw them? When was the last time they came to my university to meet me? When was the last time I got a Christmas surprise from them?

It was on the Christmas Eve; I got the news that my parents have come down to meet me. I was so surprised that I hardly reacted actually I was so happy with the surprise. My parents came along at my place and hugged me tightly. They bought so many gifts for me as well. When I asked them that weren't they busy on Christmas? They told that they wanted to surprise me and see a smile on my face. I still remember that moment and I will cherish that moment for a lifetime. My parents love me so much and I am surely lucky.

That was the best Christmas ever!

He hugged me so tight

He was so happy that tears started flowing down his cheeks and he hugged me so tightly. I am talking about an old man who used to sleep near our house for years. Mom told me not to talk to him, as he is mentally unstable. Dad told me that he treats kids badly so I should just stay away from him. He was scary for all my friends and they used to run away seeing him. There was something so endearing about that old man and I wanted to know what his life story is. Though, I was also scared to approach him.

Last Christmas, I thought of distributing Christmas goodies to poor people as a random act of kindness. So, I also went to that old man and gave him some sweets. I asked him why he stayed this way and why he looked so scary. He poured his heart out to me and told me that he lost his family in a car accident. He had to sell his property because there was no one to support him in his tough time. Eventually, he was left with none and had to beg on streets for food and money. And, he got tired of life and gave up on everything thus this condition. It was sad to hear his life story and I told him that he could call me his son. I told him that I would take him to an old age home as well where he would have a better life. He hugged me and blessed me, I still remember last year's Christmas.

Santa in the wonderland

I had lost my hopes of finding true Santa in life. I had a perception that Santa is indeed real and he comes from the chimney to give us gifts. I always wondered that would I ever get gifts on my roof. If I did, then Santa is real. I was always in my dream world and that is the reason my Mom thought that it would be perfect to surprise me with something unexpected. My Mom thought that since I love Santa so much she would do something for me.

A day before Christmas two years back, something happened and I was so happy. There was a Christmas gift for me on my roof. I was so overwhelmed, that I could not believe that Santa came and left a wonderful gift for me. I ran to my Mom and told her that I saw a gift on the roof. Mom was equally amazed and she hugged me. I got my favorite doll. But, I had a question in my mind, how Santa knew that I wanted this doll? It was my sister who later told me that Mom had left the gift on the roof for me. She made me believed that Santa is for real. I thought of confronting my Mom on the same but I could not as she was the one who bought a smile on my face that Christmas. Till date, she is not aware that I knew who kept that gift. But, it's ok as she wanted to bring a smile on my face. I still remember that Christmas memory.

Christmas is surely a magical time!