“All those cliches, those things you hear about having a baby and motherhood—all of them are true. And all of them are the most beautiful things you will ever experience.” —Penelope Cruz
On Christmas after the birth of my first grandchild twenty plus years ago, I had her father set her down on the floor in front of the Christmas tree and declared she was the best Christmas present I could have ever been given. She was six months old on that first Christmas she celebrated with us. After that, whenever I was blessed with a new grandbaby, I had their parents put them down in front of my tree and I took a picture of my new best Christmas present. I have nine grandbabies. So, I have several of these precious pictures.
I tried to find that very first grandbaby under the tree blessing, but pictures can have a way of hiding from me when I’m searching for them for my blog posts. So, I found this picture of my youngest granddaughter on her first Christmas when she got to be the baby blessing under the tree. I do have one grandchild with a December birthday, but I don’t think she made it to my house that year since she was still so very young on Christmas day.
When I asked for stories about your best (or worst) Christmas gifts when I sent out my recent newsletter, I got plenty of great stories. I shared some of the most memorable gifts for all the wrong reasons last post. Now I’m sharing stories from three readers about those memorable gifts for the right reasons.
First we have a story from Cathy about a Christmas she cherishes.
Probably the best Christmas story that I cherish is MY first son’s birth. I was in law school and he came early – the morning of my first final after my water broke at an office party! Mortification AND fear that he was coming TOO early AND worry about those finals that I still had to take!
But God knows what he is doing and now almost 42 years later, he is a son I am truly proud of and a great father to three lovely granddaughters!!
Children can be those gifts that keep on giving all through your life. Glad all worked out for you on that Christmas, and you were able to manage motherhood and those finals somehow.
“A new baby is like the beginning of all things-wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities.” —Eda J. Le Shan
Linda had a couple of memorable Christmases. The first is what you might expect. The second might be a surprise as a pick for best gifts.
We had two memorable Christmases with gifts! The best Christmas gift ever was my daughter who was due November 16 and was born December 14th. As a result, everything was ready way before Christmas. We already had one daughter, who was 20 months old, and I knew I had to have the baking, gifts, cards, etc. ready before I went into the hospital. Great Christmas!
The second Christmas gift, chicken pox, wasn’t such a great gift but the result was really good! My girls, 4 1/2, 3, and 14 months, all came down with chicken pox. The fourth daughter wasn’t born yet so she didn’t get them. But it was a really pleasant Christmas because no one could come around, and we could go nowhere. The girls could play with their presents without having to leave the house as soon as they were opened. It wasn’t a happening I would have expected, and it was a really itchy event, but it was a laid back Christmas, and one we would never forget!
It’s great how the Lord can send us surprising blessings even in the midst of an outbreak of chickenpox. Linda, I’m guessing you had a big bottle of that pink stuff they used to say would help the itchiness. 🙂 Or maybe that had been replaced with something better by the time your girls were sick.
Last we hear from, Susan, an editor of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, with a story she wrote for one of those books. She was kind enough to let me share it with you here.
I am a Chicken Soup for the Soul editor, and the following story about my best Christmas gift ever appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Devotional Stories for Women. I hope you enjoy it!
My oldest “baby” is nineteen now, but for all his wisdom he doesn’t believe he was the best Christmas present I ever received — even though I’ve told him numerous times. The eighties were drawing to a close, and I was expecting my baby around November 30, 1989. This would be a very special Thanksgiving for our family. We planned to have the turkey dinner at my house so I could be close to the hospital, and everyone helped out with the cooking so I didn’t have to do too much.
But Thanksgiving came and went, November passed into December, and still there was no baby. My belly grew rounder and rounder, but my little firstborn seemed content to stay huddled inside. After all, it was unusually cold that year for a Florida winter!
Eleven days into December, I received a call from my doctor. “This baby may be trying to greet Jesus on his birthday,” he said, “but I think we’d better give him a little nudge.” So, the next morning, I waddled into the hospital and delivered my beautiful almost-Christmas baby. An enormous 9 pounds, 13-1/2 ounces, he was perfect in every way… just as I always imagined the little baby Jesus had been.
Dylan’s arrival just two weeks before Christmas put a little kink in my preparations for that year, but nobody seemed to mind. He was my parents’ very first grandchild, so he was their best Christmas present, too! I have no idea what presents were beneath the tree that year, but every December our family celebrates the best gift that God ever gave our family at Christmastime — our very own Christmas baby to love.
Thank you, Susan, for sharing your story with us. Indeed, those babies, whenever they come, are a mama’s and daddy’s and grandparents’ best Christmas gift ever.
“A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.” —Carl Sandburg
My grandkids still let me take their pictures in front of the Christmas tree each year. It’s fun looking back at the pictures and seeing how they’ve grown until now when I take their picture, the tree only peeks out from behind them. Here’s a cute one from five years ago. Who knows? Someday I may get to take a picture of a great grandbaby under my tree.
Merry Christmas to all of you and remember that for many of us another fine present is a book under the tree. And a great place to do some last minute shopping or perhaps spending that Christmas money you might be getting is Baker Book House. Always good deals on books you want to read there, including Along a Storied Trail.
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Loved reading all of those special memories. I brought chicken pox home from school right before Christmas one year and shared with my younger brothers. I remember my mom also being happy that we didn’t have to go anywhere on Christmas because of it. Christmas really is extra special with a new baby in the family, as we are reminded of Jesus arriving as a baby and being the most special gift we could ever receive. Merry Christmas! 🙂
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My son had chickenpox on Christmas one year, but he wasn’t very ill and all the other kids in the extended family had already had them or been exposed. In those days, it was let them have them and get it over with. Nowadays, they have a shot to prevent them, I think. You don’t hear about chickenpox outbreaks in the school these days. And that’s good since some kids got really sick and ended up with scars from the pock marks.
It’s fun that your mother enjoyed a break from the Christmas rush to get everybody seen. But I’m sure the extended family missed you all being at the gatherings. My son and his family used to have 4 or 5 places to rush between on Christmas Eve and Christmas. Now those events are more spread out.